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!