Laughter to Warm Up a Chilly December Day

Here are some humorous things I've either seen or heard in the last few days that I thought I'd share:

1)  At our Christmas Open House a week and a half ago, I was having a conversation with Caleb, the son of my friend Laurie.  Caleb would ask me to guess an animal based upon his impersonation of that animals' call.  Well, because I love to tease and play around with kids, when Caleb would say "Ribbit" I'd guess "Cat".  He'd repeat it, and I'd guess "Cow".  After several of my lame attempts at guessing the correct animal, Caleb would announce the correct animal (in case you didn't know, "Ribbit" is what a frog says).  Caleb when then begin the game again with a different animal noise, and once again I'd guess incorrectly, sometimes with completely random guesses (I could have sworn Ear Wax said "Meow"!).

After a couple of rounds, Caleb asked me to guess another animal.  But instead of making a noise, Caleb got down on his hands and knees.  Then he very slowly dipped his head down, and then slowly brought it back up.  As he continued to repeat this motion, I looked at Laurie because I had no idea what Caleb was doing.  Based upon the look on Laurie's face, she didn't know either, so she finally asked him, "Caleb what animal is that?"

Caleb's response?  "I'm an ornamental reindeer!"

2)  At lunch on Sunday, my 5-year-old son announced to the whole family, "Jesus is in our whole house!  He's in the whole world!  And we step on Him!"

3)  I just saw one of Apple's Christmas commercial's for this year.  Of the two I saw, this one made me laugh.

Cedar Rapids Flood makes Top 10 in Time's Year End List

While I agree with Relevant Magazine that Time went a little overboard with their "Top 10" Lists for 2008, it was still surprising to see a photo from the Cedar Rapids flood as the #5 photo in the Top 10 Photos list.  It's too bad it took a flood to get a Cedar Rapids photographer attention for his talent, but congratulations to Brian Ray of the Gazette for having his photo make Time's Top 10 list.

(By the way, I don't know Brian, but in case one of my readers does (this is Iowa after all), please say "Congratulations" to him for me!)

photo credit: Brian Ray / Cedar Rapids Gazette / Rapport Press

The Dance of Christianity and Culture

"At its best, Christianity has the adaptive ability to connect with an enormous diversity of cultures around the world.  At its worst, Christianity has the lamentable propensity to become completely intertwined with its host culture.  When this happens, it is difficult to distinguish where the culture stops and the church begins.  While it is imperative that Christians communicate and live out the gospel so people within the culture will connect with the message, at the same time the church is to be, by its nature, countercultural.  The message of Jesus challenges all social, religious, and political powers.  The church must dance between these two polarities.  If the church's message is too aggressively countercultural, few people will hear its words.  If the church over identifies with the culture, the gospel becomes tame and loses its power to transform lives."

from "The American Church in Crisis" by David T. Olson, pg. 161-162

Appearances

It's been WAY too long since I've posted.  I've had too many thoughts that I wasn't able to get recorded, and with my horrible memory, I'll never recover them.  Oh well.

Since it's been so long, I'm going to do another "catch up" post (which means it will be entirely too long!), with a true "blog thought" at the end.  So for my family and close friends, read the first portion.  For those who don't care about my life and just want to read my thoughts on an issue, skip to the non-bulleted section at the end (it's okay to skip, I won't be offended - the first part is mostly for me anyway).

• Got back last Saturday from taking two weeks off.  Just moments ago I handled the last email that had piled up during my absence, so I'm celebrating by allowing myself to post here.
• The two weeks were WONDERFUL.
• Week #1 - went to Cedarly Pastors Retreat.  Andy and Nancy are incredible hosts.  Mike is an amazing chef.  The other couples there are awesome people.  The environment was perfect for having time to read, reflect, and pray.  And getting to sleep in each day and then having time to do things like read and write was almost too good to be true!  The week really was refreshing.  (Thank you, Tom Pietz, for your strong recommendation!)
• I had decided before going on the retreat that I would spend time writing a book.  I've never done that before, but I heard Pastor Ray (the pastor who was here at New Covenant when I came on staff 6 and half years ago before going home to Christ after a battle with prostate cancer) say once that he thought everyone should write at least one book in their life, even if it would never be published.  The discipline would be good for them.  Since I always learn so much when I work on sermons, I thought I would get just as much out of writing a book.  I had WAY more fun writing than I ever thought I would.  Who knows what I'll ever do with the book, but it's been fun and educational (or maybe I should say transformational) for me.
• After coming home from the retreat, we got to celebrate S's 5th birthday with a "Bird Family Night" style birthday party.  The 5 friends he got to invite (plus their families) all piled into the middle school room in New Covenant's building to watch a LarryBoy cartoon, eat popcorn and munchies for supper, play games, and enjoy controlled chaos.
• On the Sunday we were home between the retreat and Thanksgiving week, I enjoyed watching and helping with the cardboard testimonies in the worship services (click here to see an example of what we did).  There was some very powerful ones.  As someone who grew up in a Christian home, it was difficult to come up with my own cardboard testimony, but the more I thought about it, the more God truly has changed me.  I thought of what I'd be like without Christ, and I'd probably be a "nice guy", but I'd be incredibly selfish.  While I am still selfish, I'm sure my wife, kids, and friends are glad I'm a Christ-follower!
• Watching the cardboard testimonies fueled my desire to see even more people's lives changed by the gospel of Jesus.  I'm realizing that I'm a bit addicted to changed lives - I rarely am moved to tears, but when I hear of how Christ has changed someone's life, I find myself choking up a bit.  And the weird thing is, I want to choke up more.
• Week #2 was spent in Bellevue, NE to celebrate Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family.  As usual we had a blast!
• My family got to help serve at my brother's church's Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday night.  The church bussed in over a thousand people, fed them an incredible meal, and allowed those who needed a new winter coat to select one before being bussed home.  This was the second time we got to do it.  This time around they had TOO many volunteers, but the evening still went well.  We got to serve as table hosts.  Two years ago when I got to do this I had some great spiritual conversations with the people at my table.  This year I only got to host one table, and it seemed that everyone they sent me either was already a believer or didn't want to talk.  Oh well.  My wife and sister-in-law had a good conversation with one gal - hopefully the lady will pursue Christ and not simply religion.
• I enjoyed the Nebraska game - well, I only enjoyed it cause they pulled out the win (and got to watch it with my brother, dad, and one cousin).  I didn't enjoy the fact that they allowed Colorado to score 3 easy touchdowns in the first half.  Nor did I enjoy the fact that the Husker offense seemed to move the ball at will until they got within the 20 yard line.  But if you like dramatic football games, this one was for you.
• LeAnn and I put up new blinds on Monday this week in the eating area and kitchen - finally!  The old ones were in horrible disrepair - they were so bad that I think it embarrassed some of our neighbors.  But no longer!  Now instead of cheap, broken, "alabaster" vinyl blinds, we have cheap, non-broken, white blinds.  Huge thanks to my dad for helping me out!  (Hanging the blinds went much smoother by having someone who is actually handy helping with the job.)
• Now that the blinds are up, all young adults (and those who help serve and lead them) at New Covenant are welcome to our annual Christmas Open House tomorrow night from 6-12.  If you are on Facebook, here is the "Event" a friend set-up for the party.

And now my blog thought (at least the one I've hung on to the past couple weeks...)

While at the pastors retreat in Wisconsin, LeAnn and I met 5 other really neat couples.  One of the couples was newly married and instantly likable.  But they were also unemployed.  The husband had recently resigned from his Jr. High youth pastor position at a church.  He and his wife were at the retreat to seek God and his direction for their lives.

Over the course of the week, we learned more about each couple.  The reason he had resigned from the church was due to unhealthy boundaries.  As a single guy, he didn't notice these unhealthy boundaries, but as a married man, he began to see that these issues would keep him from being a great husband, which in turn would keep him from being a great youth pastor.  What were these "boundaries" being crossed?  He was regularly working 80 hours per week.  He was overseeing two youth groups at two different campuses (their church was "multi-site").  He would receive phone calls from his superior at 2 or 3 in the morning to talk about "business".  The final straw came when he was told he had to lead one of the youth groups on Tuesday night instead of Wednesday night, the same night his small group met.  His small group was the one thing that was actually helping him, encouraging him, and strengthening him to make it through the week - the thought of losing that on top of everything else was enough to open his eyes to these unhealthy patterns.

One evening during our week, this particular young adult couple mentioned the name of the church they had resigned from.  We didn't have Internet at the retreat house, so I looked up the church when I was back home and could hook the Internet I.V. back into my digital veins.  I wanted to see this "horrible" church that abused it's staff like this.

To my surprise - the church looked great!  As I perused the church website (I tend to read other church websites - it's what us pastors do), I found myself thinking, "This looks like a GREAT church!  I'd go there based on what I'm reading!  The site is beautiful.  The vision and mission is compelling.  The appearance of this church's site makes this look like a great church."

Had I not talked to someone on the inside, I would have believed the appearances.  But the story of what was lying underneath was completely different than the website indicated.  Staff were leaving in droves.  Relationships among the staff weren't emotionally healthy.  And a fantastic young Jr. High pastor with an incredible heart for Jesus left.

I feel so sad for this church.  They lost a great guy.  LeAnn and I found ourselves wishing there was some way New Covenant could hire this twenty-eight year old.

But I'm also excited for this young man and his bride.  They did the right thing by stepping down and they are doing the right thing by seeking God in all of this.  They are living by faith, willing to do whatever HE wants for them.  And I know that God will do great things through them for His Kingdom.

As I pondered all of this after seeing the church's website, I couldn't help but think - what appearances am I giving off that aren't true to what is really underneath?  Are there things that need cleaned up, corrected, or improved in my life?  Am I saying one thing with my mouth, but doing another in my thoughts or actions?

All I know is that I don't want to be like that church - giving the appearance of being one thing, when underneath a completely different story exists.  To live like that is to live unlike Christ.  However, it is my prayer that God would daily continue to change me to be more like Jesus in how I think, talk, act, and love.  Jesus didn't put on appearances, so neither should I.

Focus on Strength or Weakness?

Tonight, I was playing a game of Sudoku on my iPhone.  Actually, I've been playing this particular game for a couple of days off and on.  Usually, I can solve the "hard" games in less than half-an-hour.  But this particular one had me stuck.  I had lots of 6s, 7s, 8s, and 9s, but I just couldn't get the lower numbers.  No matter which way I looked (vertically, horizontally, within the boxes, etc.), I just couldn't located the missing 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s.

So finally tonight it dawned on me to look what 6s, 7s, 8s, & 9s I might be missing.  And sure enough, I found a 6 within a minute.  That led to another 6 (which completed all nine 6s), which led to the discovery of a couple of 7s, and then 8s, and then 9s, which then began to process where the missing 3s, and then some 5s, and then some 1s, and then some 4s, and on and on until the whole thing was solved.  I had been stuck for a couple of days (not that I had had much time to actually play), but suddenly I was done with the game in less than 5 minutes.  Rather than focus on what I didn't have (my weakness in the lower #s), I focused on what I did have (my strengths), and suddenly the game became easy.

In Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham suggests that people shouldn't spend the majority of their time trying to improve their weaknesses.  Rather, they should put the majority of their efforts into improving their God-given strengths.  Sure, we need to balance or shore up our weaknesses so that they aren't a detriment, but to spend the majority of our time on them is foolish.

No matter how hard I try, I will never be a good car mechanic.  I just don't have the knack for it.  Sure, I need to have some knowledge so that a mechanic isn't pulling one past me and ripping me off, but it would be a waste of time for me to go to mechanic's school.  But I do have a strength for learning, and so I can go and learn through reading and asking questions to find out what my car needs so that I'm getting the best service.  (Not the best example, but I think you know what I'm getting at)

What are your strengths?  And where are you spending the majority of your time?  Are you wasting your time looking for the missing 1s rather than leveraging the 9s you already have?

And now I need to end this post, and go exercise my strength of dunking and eating Oreos. :o)

Shout Outs

I want to give props to four young adults who are doing great things:

• First, my wife's cousin Kami has another article on Neue.  Without knowing who was the author, within a few sentences I suspected it might be Kami - and I was right!  Excellent article, Cuz!  Disconcerting and thought-provoking, but excellent nonetheless.
• Next, I want to point the spotlight on Jonathan Spaulding.  He has put together a WONDERFUL short film (starring a few friends of mine!) entitled Father, Who Art.  The film premieres on November 22 at 8:00 pm sharp (so arrive early) in the Activity Center of New Covenant.  I was honored to see the film beforehand and I was SOOO impressed.  And when it comes to film, music, art, etc., I don't hand out compliments like that easily.  Jonathan has done a fabulous job.  So put it on your calendar, cancel other plans if you have them, go see the film, be touched by it, and congratulate Jonathan on a job well done.  As I told Jonathan after seeing the complete film for the first time, I'm really proud of him, and I think you'll be impressed to.
• Last, I want to let everyone know about Randy and Heather Ransom.  I had the joy of having them in my small group one fall, and it was neat seeing them grow in their relationship with Christ.  But one day they announced that their jobs had been transferred to Dallas, and they left Iowa.  Last week, out of almost no where, this letter appeared in my mailbox at church - the Ransoms have quit their engineering jobs to make a difference in the country of Zambia!  They were willing to give up their incomes to go help orphans have a better life and find hope in Jesus Christ.  Way to go, Ransoms!  (Click this link and scroll to the bottom of the page to see Heather and Randy's pictures and read their bios)

It's encouraging to me as a young adult pastor to see young adults applying their faith, pointing people to Christ, and using their talents to advance the Kingdom.  If you have similar stories, I'd love to hear them!

It's been a long time...

...since I've rock and rolled... er, rather... posted.  My blog has probably been feeling quite lonely.  I've been having lots of thoughts and lots of activity, but either haven't had time to post or not quite sure how to share the thoughts I was having.  So finally the crowd of thoughts is rushing in, and the blog isn't so lonely for the moment...

• I helped out 2 days last week with Eight Days of Hope.  While I am extremely unhandy, it was a blast to help out.  In one home on Ellis Blvd. I helped rip out plumbing and old electrical wire that was still in the house 5 months after the flood (the photo here is from that home - you can see more photos on Facebook if you are one of my "friends") .  The next home (in Palo) I helped frame a bathroom, rip out old drywall screws, and do whatever they needed me to do so the rest of the team that actually knows what they are doing could do their job. :o)
• My friend and executive pastor, Kim Pagel, posted about each day of Eight Days of Hope.  Each post is worth reading. And if you click on each of the photos, you'll see some great photos of each day.
• So much work was done in just 8 days.  But not only physical work was completed.  Spiritual things happened as well.  At least two people we know of crossed the line of faith this week (they found the "Stairway to Heaven")!  And the couple that I got to help on Tuesday and Wednesday who hadn't darkened the door of a church in quite a while were at New Covenant this past Sunday! Kim said it well in his Day 6 post:

Who ever thought that people would come to Cedar Rapids from all corners of the United States with a common mission to bring hope and healing? Our city has been blessed, our lives have been enriched. Thank you for caring! Thank you for sharing! Thank you for coming!

• I was sharing with my best friend in Michigan over the phone about some of the work we were doing in the homes, and how we had to tear rotten wood out before we could begin framing the bathroom in the home in Palo.  He responded with a smile in his voice, "sounds like a song I've heard."  He was referring to a song I wrote 8 years ago in response to a prayer he had been praying.
• I played that song on Sunday, Oct 26th in all 4 services at New Covenant's 46th St. Campus and in the service at our Wash Campus on the 19th.  It fit really well with Bob Westfall's sermons from Romans 7.
• The chorus of the song is:

Take me apart

Remake my heart

I don't care what it costs

I just want to be like you

• I'll warn you - don't pray that prayer unless you are ready for God to rock your world! :o)
• I just heard another song today that rocked my world.  Here it is:

• Well, I slowly typed this as I watched election results tonight.  And now that Obama's been declared the winner (and my wife is asleep on my shoulder) I should head to bed.  I have more to share, but will do that at another time.
• And since I've slipped in a couple of Led Zeppelin references throughout this post, I'll end with one more...
  

All my love,

-E

God wins in Nebraska Court

I really hope for this guy's sake that God doesn't countersue...

Another Windows Jab from Apple...

A fellow Mac-user popped his head in my office earlier today and showed me an inside joke Apple has built into their OS.  With Apple's current operating system (10.5 aka Leopard), there is this really cool feature called "QuickLook".  While browsing in a Finder window, if you highlight a document or picture, you can hit the space bar which brings up the document or the picture so you can see it without opening the program that actually created the file - in other words, you can take a quick look at what is in the file.

By accident, my friend hit the space bar while highlighting one of the Windows computers on our church's network.  And what he saw made him laugh, and he had to share it with me.

What did he see?  A CRT monitor with the infamous Windows blue screen of death. :o)

The greatest challenge for Christians...

Today, the greatest challenge facing American evangelicals is not persecution from the world, but seduction by the world.

(quote by C.J. Mahaney in a Neue Ministry article entitled "Distinctiveness Lost" published in the Sept. 26, 2008 weekly email, which was an excerpt from his book entitled Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World)

Being Different

This past Sunday night I had the chance to be in the College Bible Study here at New Covenant.  As always, Linda Jenkins hit a homerun with the food.  This time it was crackers and cheese with pepperoni slices and grapes to add to the palate.

As I was eating my bunch of grapes, I realized I had one solo green grape in the middle of my red grape cluster.  How this cluster grew a green grape when the genetics of the plant should have grown a red grape, I have no idea.  We all thought this was slightly strange and amazing, so someone suggested I document the moment with a photo, so here it is untouched with this blog post.

I'm sure I could find some sort of deep theological or devotional truth to accompany such a photo, but I'll let you come up with that yourself. :o)  I'm sure Leeland would have liked to have seen this cluster since this one little grape seemed to be going the opposite way of it's siblings.

More grace and truth

As I blogged a while back, I preached about grace and truth on September 7th at New Covenant and September 14th at Encounter Christian Church.  I came across this great quotation on Bob Hyatt's blog which recalled to my mind some of the points I made during my message:

Personal transformation happens best in the context of a loving community that extends grace and truth. The Gospel of John proclaims 'The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.' Personal transformation happens best when the individual is offered a grace-filled environment. When Jesus encountered Thomas' doubt following his resurrection, He did not lash out in anger. He responded with grace (John 20:27). Judgment, criticism, guilt, or shame can produce short-term change, but meaningful, long-term, inside-out change is nurtured by grace. Creating an environment where an individual experiences acceptance in spite of failure allows personal transformation to take root.

Update on Cedar Rapids (Video)

One of the young adults here at New Covenant sent out an email with a link to a video by Metro Studios about Cedar Rapids, the flood of '08, and the current recovery.  I thought it was well done, conveyed some of the similar sentiments I shared on my blog about the flood and the response of the community, and gives people an idea that recovery is still ongoing (which is why I'm excited 8 Days of Hope is coming Oct. 26 - Nov. 2!  I encourage you to sign-up and come help, no matter where you live).

Enjoy the video!

What Not To Say About Your Mission Trip

While she is actually LeAnn's cousin, I like to think of Kami as my cousin, too.  I've always enjoyed the times I've gotten to chat with Kami and play card games with her at the Rice Reunions.  She's witty, independent, fun, and serious about Christ, and turns out she's not too bad at writing either.  Neue (formerly known at The Relevant Network - of which I've been part for the past 3 (or has it been 4?) years) is highlighting one of her articles, "What Not To Say About Your Mission Trip".

And I can say "I knew her when..."

Present-ing the Blog

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, so I thought I would bring my blog up to the present...

• LeAnn's X-ray on Thursday showed everything was fine - the broken bone is no longer broken!  Good-bye boot!
• In her excitement at my return home on Sunday night, M misjudged the bottom stair in the basement and sprained her ankle.  So we still have one Bird girl on crutches. in the house.
• I preached 4 times on Sunday.  Thanks to anyone who prayed - it went well.  I really didn't think the sermon would be all that great or memorable, but several other people seemed to think otherwise.  I get the privilege of sharing the same message this coming Sunday at Encounter Christian Church.
  
• I loved the video shown on Sunday of an interview with Chad and Amy Sauser.  That was awesome!
• Proof that miracles still happen: Despite my incredible ineptness at handyman projects, I managed to stop the drip in the bathroom faucet on the main level.  (I just won't tell anyone that this 30 minute project took me over 2 hours...)
• Friends had a baby this morning - it was fun taking our whole family on our weekly "Family Night" to go visit them and greet their new little one.
• Our family gets to "star" in a comedic sketch this coming Wednesday night at our church's monthly "Family Night".  We get to be the "unified" family (K was bummed, she wanted to be the "disunified" family since the sketch is called "Family Feud")
• I've had some really big projects as of late (other than preaching).  We are doing a custom mailing inviting the community to be a part of our fall Impact Series - I ended up doing the design for it and most of the content layout as well (with great input from the rest of the staff).  We are also doing our own small group study guide for the Impact Series - again I get to do the layout.  However I've never done a booklet like this before so I had to call in help from the professionals (thanks Jeff!).  Next project - a wedding guide for "everything a couple needs to make their wedding ceremony successful at New Covenant..."
• I finish up pre-marital counseling with one couple this coming Sunday.  LeAnn and I are doing pre-marital counseling for another couple on Tuesday nights - it's fun doing it with my wife.
• I'm reading It right now and I'm really enjoying it. It has really affected my prayers lately.  Seems every Craig Groeschel  book I read helps me get my priorities back in order.
• I really wished I could have seen more of the US Open.  I only got to see bits here and there.
• I really hope I get to see a Cornhusker football game on TV at least once this year before the Colorado game.
• LeAnn and I finished Lost season 4 last night (seemed like a great way to wind down from a busy day).  Part of me wants season 5 NOW, and another part of me is ready to just be done with it.  If I were a single guy and a girl treated my heart like Lost does, I'd have given up and moved on by now...

That should do it for now.  It seems there was one other "bigger" thing I had thought about including on here, but I can't seem to remember it.  Oh well...

Prayer Requests

Need to make this quick, but I have two important prayer requests for you if you are willing to pray for these things:

(Please don't offer up half-hearted prayers. If you are going to do that, then please just move on to the next thing you were planning to do. But if you are willing to genuinely pray about these things before our Father, I appreciate it!)

1. I preach on Sunday at New Covenant. Pray that I will be prepared, share exactly what God wants me to share, and those who need to hear it will not only be present, but will make changes in their life accordingly.
   
2. The father of a college classmate sent the following email to friends, and thankfully it got forwarded to my inbox:

Dear Friend,

The King of Busoga (our tribe) died on Monday, 1 September 2008. This is a major, major event in our nation. He is being accorded a "state funeral"; Monday, 8 September 2008, the day of his burial, has been declared a public holiday in Uganda. From today up to tomorrow his body will lie in state in the Parliament of Uganda and there will be a special session of Parliament in honour of the fallen king tomorrow. This is a major, major event that has gripped the whole nation, and I as Bishop of Busoga am at the centre of the funeral services. I will be heading the special church service for the whole nation in honour of the fallen king on Sunday, 7 September 2008. I will further be heading the the funeral service for the king on Monday, 8 September 2008, which the President of Uganda will attend, and "who's who" in the whole nation and thousands of people. I have written to you, friend, because I want you to pray for me. I am going to share The Gospel. It is an opportunity of amazing proportions.

Yours in Christ,

Michael Kyomya

The Connection (Young Adult Newsletter) Issue 4

I had a SUPER busy week last week, and have another one coming up.  One of the things I was busy finishing last week was the fall issue of The Connection.  The purpose of The Connection is to help further connect the young adults at New Covenant with God, one another, and the broader church body.  In Issue 4, you get to meet a wonderful single gal who has been part of the New Covenant family for about a year, learn the dates for the Barn Dance outreach event and the annual Birdnest Christmas Open House, and read a fantastic article about evangelism by one of New Covenant's own young adults.  Enjoy!

One day just wasn't enough...

My wife's birthday was yesterday.  We celebrated with brownies and ice cream and gifts as part of our weekly Family Night.  But I felt like one day just wasn't enough to celebrate this incredible woman's birthday.  So I surprised her Sunday night with a "schedule" for the entire week to help celebrate her birthday all week long.  Clothes shopping, a massage, conversation with friends, time with me, and more are all on the docket this week.  We already accomplished the clothes shopping, but it's fun to know she has more things ahead to remind her how special she is to me and the kids.

I have been so blessed to be given such a faithful, loyal wife, who is not only passionate about me and our relationship, but even more passionate about a relationship with Christ.  I marvel at how she makes just about everyone feel accepted, and how she accomplishes so much with 4 kids to care for.  She truly has been, is, and will continue to be a wonderful gift from God.  And when something this wonderful comes along, you just can't celebrate it on only one day.  And so our family has declared this "LeAnn Bird Week!"

Happy Birthday, Le.  I love you!

Not getting away with it...

I've recently heard several stories in the news about high profile individuals or organizations being discovered as deceivers:

• A pastor in Australia lies about having terminal cancer (and undermines the inspirational worship song he wrote).
  
• A former presidential candidate finally admits to having had an affair.
• A country official has an adorable 9-year-old girl lip sync to another girl's voice (who was considered not cute enough to represent the country) to present a "perfect" Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

What makes people think they can get away with lies and hypocrisy of this magnitude?

I will admit - as a human I sometimes have thoughts of doing sinful things.  Really, really sinful things.  But everytime I play the scenario out in my mind, I get caught.  And even if I think I've created the "perfect crime", I still know that God has witnessed my imaginary sin-escapade.

As someone who desperately want to be like Christ, thinking through an action before I engage in it has kept me from making some huge blunders.  It is what allows my wife to trust me, my kids to admire me, my co-workers to respect me, and my friends to listen to me.

But let's say I did blow it.  If I were to screw up - God's grace is still there for me.  I am forgiven, even for my future sins.  Thank God for that!  But even though I am justified through Christ, there are still natural consequences for my sin, as the pastor and presidential candidate are currently experiencing.  And personally, I don't want to do that to those I love, to myself, my reputation, nor the Kingdom of God.

If you have screwed up in the past, the worst thing you can do is keep it hidden.  And rather wait until it is discovered and you are found to be a deceiver, be proactive and admit it.  Confess your sin not only to God, but to those who will be hurt by it.  Step into God's grace and move forward toward Christlikeness.

If you are being tempted to create a lie to get attention, or to have an affair, or to embezzle some money, or whatever it might be - confess that to someone.  Confession not only works retroactively, but also proactively.  If others know how you are being tempted, you are less likely to engage it the act.  But not only do I encourage you to confess it, but I also encourage you to think the matter through.  Imagine getting caught.  Who gets hurt?  What happens to your job?  What happens to your relationships?  What happens to your faith?  What happens to your reputation?

Something as simple as thinking the matter through can spare you and others a ton of pain.  Because even if you think you can keep the matter hidden, it will be discovered eventually.  You won't get away with it.  So don't even try - it's not worth it.

Learning to Do Church from DGrin

On September 5 & 6, New Covenant is hosting a conference about mid-sized groups (Adult Bible Fellowships, Sunday School Classes, Ministry groups, whatever you want to call those groups that are 15-60 people in size) called Growing Groups, Growing Lives. Our speaker will be Josh Hunt who has been studying, writing, and speaking about mid-sized groups for most of his adult life.  Josh puts out a weekly email, and this latest edition was so good, I thought I'd share it here.

If you are interested in the Growing Groups, Growing Lives conference, simply email growing AT newcovenantbible DOT org to register or request more information.

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Learning to do church from DGrin

by Josh Hunt

A good metaphor compares something unknown with something known. In this way, we come to understand by analogy. We understand that Google is like a giant phone book for the web.

Well, I want to do the opposite: I want to explain what is known--church--by learning about something that is unknown--DGrin. I have discovered some insights here that I just can't keep from telling about.

What is DGrin?  http://www.dgrin.com/

DGrin is an online photographer's forum. The participants range from long term, hard-core professionals, to semi-pros, to those just getting started, to serious hobbyist. Most everybody there has a DSLR--Digital Single Lens Reflex camera--a real camera as opposed to point and shoots.

There are two things that every church could learn from DGrin. First, it is a very welcoming community. These people love photography and they want to encourage every budding photographer. You can go onto DGrin and post any photo you want. It can be the most lame, out-of focus, badly composed, high-noise, low resolution, piece of junk you can imagine, and if you post it with a heading like, "First post" you will get responses like these:

*   Good to have you!
*   Welcome aboard!
*   Great photo!
*   Nice expression!
*   Cute kids!
*   You will love it here!

Churches should be more like that. We should be totally welcoming of newcomers, and especially those who are not very far along in their faith walk. We should be totally enthusiastic of people with bad habits and bad language. People who don't dress right and smell right should be welcome at church.

There is a second thing most churches could learn from DGrin

DGrinners won't let you stay crummy. They will gently lead you to be a better photographer. They will encourage you in what you did right and offer suggestions about how you can get better. Better, and better and better.

DGrinners will never leave you alone. They are relentless. Once you have been posting for a while and they feel they know you, and ask for "cc please" (comments and critic) they will let you have it. They will find a million ways to improve your photographs and when you think about it for a bit, you realize they are right. Usually. There is even a place they call the Whipping Post when you think you have a photo that can withstand the scrutiny of the DGrinners watchful eye. I have not had the nerve to do the whipping post yet.

Good churches should do that. We should push one another higher and higher up the rungs of the ladder of spiritual maturity. We should be relentless, from one glory to another.

How churches actually are

Here is the bad news. In many cases, I have found churches are just the opposite. They are not that accepting of people who are far from God. And, they don't do particularly well at pushing people up the ladder of spiritual maturity. We shun people we ought to accept and we are too easy on the bad behavior of people who ought to be leaders.

How we can do better

DGrin doesn't work on auto-pilot. It is not that photographers are just better people than everyone else, although, that is probably true. ;-) There is an unseen force that makes it work. It is the same force that makes a church work well or a business run smoothly: leadership.

Leadership, in the case of DGrin, takes on the form of moderators of the various sections of the forum. There work is largely unseen, but I have spent enough time on DGrin to see it at work and cause me to realize that it is the vigilant work of the moderators that makes this whole thing work.

A time or two I have seen constructive criticism go south and turn into meanness. (Of course, we all know there are no mean people in church, but just stay with me anyway.) The moderators step in and give a polite but firm warning. Of course, what might happen behind the scenes next I am not privy to. I assume if someone would not fall into line, the moderate could and would kick them off the forum and remove all of their entries.

I myself received a warning at the hand of a moderator. The conversation was about what makes a photograph a photograph and not a snapshot. One person had posted a famous picture that was apparently snapped rather snap-shot like, but the photo certainly had all the qualities of a photo. I responded by posting a photo in a similar vein. What I had not picked up on was the first photo included an attribution--it said who took it. Mine hadn't. I was told quickly, politely, but firmly, to dig up the name of take it down. DGrin does not allow the posting of third party photos without attribution. You must give credit where credit is due.

If we would create communities that welcome newcomers no matter what their habits and hang ups, if we would create communities that push people farther and farther up the mountain of spiritual maturity, it will require ongoing, vigilant leadership. It will require constant vision casting around the goals.

We will not be able to speak of things just once and expect it to be so. Vigilance to the dream is the key. We want to create a community that accepts everyone as they are, as they saying goes, but loves them too much to leave them that way. We must say it over and over. We must say it publically. We must say it in small groups. We must say it privately. We must confront one another when we fail to live according to these values.

We must all say it. The pastor must say it. The staff must say it. The group leaders must say it. It must become part of the culture, part of the DNA, part of the conversation. Part of conversations at church and  part of conversations at Starbucks.

This was the Acts 2 church: they loved people the way they were, and loved them to much to leave them that way. They pushed people to higher and higher levels of glory.

This was the ministry of the apostle Paul. He accepted people no matter what, but pushed them higher and higher up the rungs of the latter of spiritual maturity.

This was the ministry of Jesus, accepting prostitutes, but pushing the Pharisees and his own disciples to be more like God.

This must the ministry of every church: to accept people the way they are, but challenge them to be more like God.

And the Darwin Award goes to...

If I ever get 15 minutes of fame, I don't plan to waste it like this...

Summer Blessings

With school beginning in just a few hours for my girls, summer break has officially come to a close.  As part of our family night this past Monday, we each shared highlights of our summer.  I thought I'd share some of my highlights here, but I'm going to share them in two sets - the "expected" highlights, and the "surprise" highlights of the summer of 2008.

Expected Highlights/Blessings

• Our trip to Topeka over the 4th
• Our trip to Indianola the first weekend of August
• Seeing K use her birthday as an opportunity to serve
• Officiating 4 weddings
• Celebrating T's 2nd birthday with lots and lots of balls
• Celebrating 14 years of marriage in June
• Swimming laps almost 3x per week
• Leadership Summit
• Some good family time

Surprise Highlights/Blessings

• The Flood of 2008 (because it allowed the Church to shine and serve this city like never before)
• LeAnn's broken leg (because it showed me I'm not as great of a servant as I thought I was - and gave LeAnn time to actually sit and read)
• Tsion's mysterious infection in July (because it forced us to rely on God)
• Officiating a funeral for a 5-month old (because I got to minister to his parents, who are also my friends, in a way I never would have otherwise)

In each of these surprise highlights, I think I would gladly give up the "blessing" so that others could have back their homes, legs, and children.  Yet I can't help but realize that even in the darkest of times, there are still linings of God's grace and blessing.  Romans 5:3-5 (which was just preached this past Sunday at church) encourages us to rejoice in sufferings, because of what they can lead to in the long run - endurance, character, and hope.

With this thought in mind, I'd like to close with a Franciscan blessing I've had hanging in my office for several years, and I heard shared at the Leadership Summit a few weeks ago.  It has a similar sentiment as my "surprise blessings" of this summer:

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Election boycott?

NOTE:  IF YOU ALREADY PLAN TO VOTE FOR MCCAIN OR OBAMA, THIS POST MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.  BUT IF YOU AREN'T SURE WHO YOU'LL VOTE FOR, YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN THESE THOUGHTS...

For a few month now, I've been hearing rumblings that some Christians may boycott this November's presidential elections. I first heard from various sources that this idea was expressed by James Dobson of Focus on the Family fame. Then I heard the idea again from others on the Catalyst podcast.

The reason some are thinking of skipping the elections entirely is because they don't like Obama or McCain. They hate Obama's pro-choice stance, and McCain isn't conservative enough for them. (On the Catalyst podcast, frustration has been expressed that the Republican Party is taking evangelicals for granted.) Christians think neither candidate represents them or their values, and so they are deciding that skipping the presidential election is the best way of communicating their disdain for the candidates served up by the two big parties.

Before I proceed with my thoughts on this, let me share somethings. I am not a very politically-active person. I didn't caucus in January. I haven't given any money to any candidate. In fact, I am registered as an independent and have no plans to change that. (However, I watch the political realm casually, and have a vague idea of what is going on, especially in the presidential race.) My primary reason for not being uber-active is because politics seem to divide people more than unite them, and (to paraphrase Bill Hybels in "Courageous Leadership"), politics can only move the yard markers in the game of life - they can't truly bring change (I believe only Christ can bring the change people truly need - the changes needed are personal and cultural, not governmental). And so I don't get caught up in certain candidates because they can't be the savior so many people want. I already have a Savior, and I'll keep following him.

But while I am not very active on the political scene, I still believe it is my duty as an American citizen AND as a follower of Christ to vote. There are people who died in order for me to have this freedom and right, so I will not waste their death by boycotting an election simply because I don't like the presented candidates.

I think a better option is to research the other candidates from other parties. Sure, their chances are beyond slim to none that they'll actually win, but you still cast your vote as a citizen and let your voice be heard. If you don't like any of the other candidates presented by the smaller parties, then find one you do like and write them in.

So if you can't find a way to vote for one of the two primary candidates, then find someone you can vote for. Hopefully this option will allow you to exercise your right to vote, but to do it with a clean conscience and not feel like you are either picking the lesser of two evils, or worse yet, boycotting the election entirely.

And like a good neighbor...

Last Saturday night, we hosted our almost-annual neighborhood BBQ.  We had a GREAT turnout!  Everyone brought their own meat to grill, a side to share, and a chair to sit back, relax and enjoy the company of great neighbors.  When LeAnn and I moved into the neighborhood 6 and a half years ago, only 1 neighbor intentionally welcomed us to the neighborhood.  Since that time, almost every home around us has since sold and gotten new owners.  These new neighbors have all been eager to not only get to know one another, but also help each other.  It is common to see one neighbor snow blowing another neighbors driveway, to know one neighbor is taking care of another neighbors pets while they are gone on vacation, or to see different neighbors out on a walk together.  In our neighborhood the ages range from baby to grandparent; but what truly matters is people truly are friendly and we can trust one another.

LeAnn and I had our first neighborhood gathering 5 years ago, and the whole neighborhood looks forward to it every summer.  If your neighborhood or apartment complex doesn't do something like this, I'd encourage you to consider recruiting some neighbors to help you start one.  And it doesn't have to be an outdoor barbeque - you could host something around Christmas, or do something around a football game.  I know one person whose whole neighborhood gets together a couple of times a year to watch a movie - they hang a big sheet on the back of their house, set-up a projector, and enjoy treats everyone brings to share.

So get creative!  It will be worth it.  I know - I spent 6 hours in the yard Saturday just getting ready to host the event in our side yard, and don't regret a minute of it.  Because I can't let State Farm be the only good neighbor!

Small changes, Big results

I recently had a conversation with a ministry leader who is frustrated with the current state of things, and so this leader is considering some big options: personally moving into a different ministry, closing the current ministry down, relaunching the ministry with new direction, or anything he can do to help the ministry recapture "It".  I could completely relate to how this friend was feeling - I've had similar feelings and thoughts many times in the past concerning different ministries.

Yesterday, I read about Rotating Sockets.   Rather than have the electrical sockets at the standard stationary parallel position, someone came up with the idea of having the sockets rotate so that you can plug two power bricks into the same socket.  Such a small change, but the result is huge.  (Okay, it's not earth shattering huge, but you don't have to go buy a 6-prong outlet just to plug two things in).

Sometimes it isn't the big decisions like relaunching a ministry, or finding a new job, or jumping into a new relationship that will bring the biggest changes.  Sometimes it is simply the small adjustments that give the big results.  If a ship makes just a small 1, 2, or 4 degree change in direction, the ending port is very different than the original ending place.  A small change can bring big results.

What small change might you need to make rather than the sweeping change you are being tempted with right now?  Maybe it is simply getting back to the discipline of prayer and Scripture intake.  Maybe it is just a correction to your attitude.  Or perhaps it is simply changing how you eat, or being disciplined to get enough sleep.  There is a time for big changes - a move, a new job, a new ministry.  But sometimes the biggest changes can come simply through small things.

Baptized!

Last night our church family celebrated the 33 lives that have been changed by Christ who also chose to be obedient to God by being baptized.  The rainy weather that was threatened in the forecast stayed away and we had a beautiful evening to enjoy the sun, the cool air, the testimonies, the fellowship, the worship through song, and more.  It was a wonderful evening.

The photo to the right is from my spot in the grass using my phone's puny camera.  But I just had to capture the moment my friend Shane Ohrt was baptized by his mentor, Don Purdy (they are the two white dots in the center of the photograph).  When I moved here 6 years ago, I remember playing ping-pong in my basement with Shane.  As we talked, it was clear he was really young in his faith in Christ.  Now, he is a leader, a godly man, a maturing disciple of Jesus.  It was a joy for me to get to see him baptized. It was also fun for me to see Shane him baptized by Don, an awesome man I've had the joy of co-laboring with for the past 6 years.

Seeing Shane baptized reminded me yet again that I live for changed lives.  Nothing gives me a rush like hearing how God has worked in the lives of people.  I am in awe of His grace!

8 Days of Hope is coming to CR!

This is SUPER exciting news - hot off the press!

God has orchestrated plans for a group called 8 Days of Hope to come to Cedar Rapids!  8 Days of Hope was originally supposed to be a one-time event to help in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  Instead, several "8 Days" have occurred, and this non-profit organization has decided to make their 6th event the city of Cedar Rapids.  When I first hear about 8 Days of Hope and a potential event here in Cedar Rapids, I was rather cool to the idea.  But after hearing Stephen Tybor speak and his passion for Christ, I was really excited and prayed that God would work it out for them to come.  And He has answered those prayers!

This will be HUGE for our city, and an awesome way to open doors to conversations about Christ.  This will also be a great opportunity for you to help out, whether you have done anything yet to aid the recovery effort.  Rather than type out all of the details here about the event this fall, I'll post the email that 8 Days of Hope has sent out themselves:

Friends of 8 Days of Hope,

 

Wasn't this supposed to be a one time trip? Isn't our God awesome? Are you ready for 8 Days of Hope VI?

 

Today, it is with great excitement that we are able to share with you that tomorrow (Tuesday, August 12th) at 11:05 EDT/10:05 CST, we will be announcing our next trip on American Family Radio. Please tune in to listen on your local station or listen online atwww.afr.net. We will be announcing this trip on Today's Issues.

 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa here we come!!!

 

The flooding that hit this area back in mid June has caused over One BILLION dollars of damage. There are over 3,000 families that are not yet back in their homes! It is a very unique situation because this area is no longer in the news or national media with the Olympics, the election, the economy and with gas prices but this is where you and I come in!

 

Are you once again ready to make a difference for Jesus? Are you ready to serve these homeowners and show them the love of Christ? We pray the answer is YES!

 

There is great organization called "Serve the City".  This is a large group of churches in the Cedar Rapids area that is helping us as we prepare to go to America's Heartland. They are well organized and are preparing as we speak, for our visit in late October!

 

We desperately need people who know how to hook up furnaces, install water heaters and yes, we still need hundreds of volunteers to do the usual drywall, electrical, painting, carpentry and other jobs that we do at an 8 Days of Hope missions trip! We need skilled volunteers as well as the unskilled variety! This is an unique chance for the body of Christ to come and serve in HIS name!

 

We are modifying our minimum stay from three days to two days on this trip. To all of our past volunteers that live in the Midwest.....this is your chance to rally your church, your friends and your family to experience an 8 Days of Hope missions trip at a much closer venue!

 

Once again we will have a nightly devotional and worship time..... and YES, Mike Failla will once again be leading worship!

 

What can you do help us prepare for this trip?

 

1.) Pray that God will be exalted! Pray that when people see us they see Jesus!

2.) Pray that God will send His army of saints to 8 Days of Hope VI!

3.) Pray that God will show us favor in regards to travel mercies, safety and the logistics that will be different from what we are use to in past trips.

4.) Pray that lives will be changed. That not only the homeowners lives but us as volunteers, as we leave this area we are refreshed in HIM!

5.) Pray for our finances! We know that God will provide!

 

We are ready for you to sign up! Please go to www.eightdaysofhope.com and learn more about this trip! Click on the FAQ link for answers to your questions. Also, you can donate online if God leads you to do so! Also, please consider passing this email on to people you think might be interested.

 

We are so excited! This is going to be a unique trip like we have never seen before! I pray that you will be a part of 8 Days of Hope VI!

 

May God Bless your week!

 

Stephen Tybor III

1st Peter 4:10