Glorious Mud

I have only been on a two float trips that I can remember.  On both  occasions , I floated past some sorry souls passed out on the river bank after having consumed too many jello shots.  They were lying there getting fried in the sun and drooling as we floated past - laughing, splashing water on each other, and looking for the next rapid or cliff to jump off. It struck me (deep thought time) you kind of have to be awake to enjoy the day. Related thought (trust me, it will come together): Darrin Patrick used an illustration once from his seminary days.  He said that one of his professors told them that there was only one thing the church could do here that it would not be able to do in heaven.  It will be able to worship, learn about God, grow in community and joy - but it won't be able to share the good news of God's grace with those who haven't yet believed.  That is a pretty sobering thought, even for a Calvinist.  Most of us simply do not have the proper urge

So, a strange thought came to me in the shower the other day.  Being a pastor is like being a Chinese buffet.  Everyone shows up with different and specific expectations and everyone walks away disappointed. This thought didn't come to me because I was feeling sorry for myself, because I'm not.  I love what I do because of who I do it for (Jesus), and I have no internal need to meet everyone's expectations of me.  My job is to please the one who loved me and called me to himself.  (And, awesome thought, he is already pleased with me and will continue to be because I am covered with Christ, the delight of God!) The thought actually came to me as I was thinking about how the church today has lost the experience of being the church.  O ur cultural Christianity has essentially taken all the “one another's” of scripture and robbed them of their community experience. Like Colossians 3:16.  It says Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one

A quick update - the blog I wrote a while back detailing my history with Acts 29 was published today on the Acts 29 website.  Pretty cool! You can check it out here: http://www.acts29network.org/acts-29-blog/called-led-blessed/ Feel free to leave comments on it over there!

Kelly, our wonderful  Trailhead Kids leader, sent me a link to a great blog over at Sojourn Church.  It is titled " 9 Reasons not to Ask Jesus into your Heart ."  You should read it because it is clear, succinct, and right. I am not a fan of asking Jesus into your heart.  I am not a fan of committing your life to Christ or making him Lord of your life or asking Jesus to be your friend, either.  Strange thing for a pastor to say, right?  Wrong. After I became a believer and started working in a Christian high school, I came to see just how short those kinds of sayings fall from leading people to the real gospel.  As a new believer (and a lover of all things English), I loved my job, most of the things about my school, and, of course, my students.  One of the key frustrations I had, though, was that so many of my students claimed to follow Jesus but so few of them seemed to know him or love him. So, about two months into the school year, I decided to have the students wr

I. Want. To. Do. This. Human Slingshot Slip and Slide : 'via Blog this'

Came across this today. I have been a fan of O'Connor since high school, but I have never heard her read her own stuff. This was gold. Nothing like her sweet Southern voice bringing the grandmother and the Misfit to life. Fits & Starts | Listen to Flannery O’Connor read her short story,... : 'via Blog this'

If you are already wasting time on twitter and aren't following Paul Tripp (@paultripp), you need to fix that.  He puts out a series of three tweets every morning and they encourage and challenge me daily. This morning, these were his tweets: Grace confronts you with what you don't have while it provides you with everything you need. Grace calls you to submit and obey while it offers you freedom like you've never had before. Grace calls you to fix your eyes on eternity while it lavishes spiritual blessings on you in the here and now. So simple, but so easy to forget.