Christmas Red

This year I'm trying something different and a little risky for our Advent Wreath devotions for WJACC. I am writing them myself. The theme this year is "The Colors of Christmas". Here is the first one we used yesterday.

Christmas would not be the same without the color "red". Holly berries, Santa's red suit, Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer, red-velvet cake, even the "Home Sweet Home" candles from Yankee Candle Company fill the holiday season with brightness and cheer. There is no overlooking the color red. It is bold and it is intense.

Imagine the red in Mary's cheeks when discovering she was chosen to carry the Messiah. The excitement she felt must have been overwhelming. To be the one to carry the Christ child in her womb meant she was also carrying within her God's plan of hope and salvation for the world.

The color red is so often linked with blood and sacrifice. Christmas celebrates the birth of the only one whose sacrifice made a difference for the entire world. The sacrifice of Jesus continues to make a difference today for all who believe.

The color red reminds us of hope. Reminds us of salvation. Reminds us that no matter how intense our sin may be Jesus' sacrifice can and does still cover it with forgiveness and grace.

Let the red of Christmas remind us all of hope and the salvation found in the Son of God.

Good Day

At the moment I am sitting at my in-laws house in West Virginia. The air is cool but not cold. The leaves that remain on the trees are a variety of colors. There are family and friends that are happy to see us and I have just finished a great cup of coffee with "gingerbread" holiday creamer. Today is a good day. It is a chance to take a moment and breathe. A chance to watch Allison and Natalie's Aunt Sarah attempt to take Natalie's holiday picture. A chance to watch some college basketball. A chance to do a little reading. A chance to blog. A chance to just "be". Today is a good day.

Holiday season

It's official...we are in the midst of craziness. The holiday season is here. Mall parking lots are beginning to fill a little more quickly. I can almost smell turkey as I sit here typing...and I haven't blogged for two weeks. For those of you who read my blog regularly I apologize. If you didn't even notice then "welcome back":-)

I had the chance to meet my brother's fiance this week. The two of them seem like a great match for each other. Just the fact that they are both willing to register at Bass Pro Shop says so much. Stacy is a sweetheart and I look forward to calling her "sister".

On a completely different note...
This Sunday morning we are going to look at a topic that is not uncommon for the Sunday before Thanksgiving. *sarcastic grin placed here* We are going to tackle the monster of "FEAR". What are we afraid of and why? Sometimes it's easy to recognize fear in the big things. Death, Divorce, Sickness, Depression, Parenting...etc. But what about the things that sneak up on us? What about fear of expectations (ours or others)? What about fear that someone else will do something wrong? What about fear of disappointing God? What about fear of messing things up?

The more I think about fear the more I can hear Jesus tell me..."My GRACE is bigger than your fear." Wow!!!!

I invite you all to be here at WJACC this Sunday to celebrate the Grace of Jesus.

Monday randomness

We had a good "Homecoming" here at WJACC yesterday. "Calvary's Voice" did a great job with their portion of the service. I don't tend to be much of a southern gospel fan but they were pretty good. If you like southern gospel then you should check them out.

The food yesterday was awesome! I love church pot-luck dinners!

I think the time change this weekend was for everyone but us. Between Natalie and the dogs we really didn't see much of that "extra" hour of sleep Saturday night. Oh well...maybe next year.

Two times this past week I saw two different people make decisions concerning other people that they felt God was leading them in. They didn't necessarily know all of the "why" behind it but they made the decision anyway. Both times God made it very evident that was the right way to go. The fruit of this decernment showed that these individuals are listening to God and what He has to say. These are people who show true leadership. The one most crucial characteristic you must have as a leader is to listen to God.

We have entered the holiday season and I am feeling the anticipation right now. Holidays mean parties and food. These are a few of my favorite things...yeah!!!!

Money and Sex

Yesterday's service went well. Recently it hit me that while couples may fight about sex and money those are two topics we hear so little about at church. I know we tend to address these things in the contexts of other "broader" issues like stewardship, relationships, or something else. However, the question in my head lately is "why". Why not hit these topics head on? What does the B-I-B-L-E say about sex and money? Yesterday we tackled money head on. We not only hit the well known passages like "give to Caesar what is Caesar's...etc" but also passages where Jesus tells the pharisees what He thinks about their tithing but forgetting things like justice and faithfulness. Now I think I've started something with this "head's on" approach. I guess I better get to work on the "sex" sermon next.

Leadership revisited

I want to thank everyone for their responses to my leadership question. Some left comments here on the blog while other called to discuss the question. Either way some productive conversations have spun off this. I want to encourage everyone to continue exploring this issue.
Here are a few bullet points that have crossed my mind lately in this discussion.

• What is the difference between church leadership and ministry leadership?
• Can a ministry leader learn certain techniques and people skills from a business leader? (and vice versa)
• Can a business actually be a ministry? If so, what is the goal of the business?

I hope these things do not muddy the waters any but rather help spur on more thinking.

On a completely different note. Natalie's pictures that were taken at daycare a few weeks ago will be in today and tomorrow. I have not seen them yet but I'm sure one will find its way onto the blog somehow. She's talking more and more every day and recently she has discovered that shrill scream that little kids can project. Isn't life grand. :-)

leadership

Here is a question that has come up recently. What, if any, is the difference between business leadership and ministry leadership? I don't want to influence anyone's response with my own comments at this point. I know what my opinion is but I really would like some feedback from others. Feel free to make a comment here, e-mail me (theodude@juno.com) or just give me a call. I'm looking forward to your responses.

Starbucks Jesus

Do you believe in him? Do you put your life behind your belief? Those are the two questions going through my mind lately. If I say I truly believe in Jesus do my choices reflect that belief? Am I satisfied with simply believing in comfort or am I comfortably uncomfortable following Jesus whereever He is going? Afterall, Jesus is limitless in His creativity. Just when we think He can't surprise us anymore He does. So what does that look like in every day life? I believe it begins with a willingness to ask "what if" type questions. (check out Allison's "what if " entry)http://www.sidestreet-allison.blogspot.com/

As we ask what if questions we begin to see the places where the only thing we have to hold on to is Jesus Himself and we really the discover the work that He is doing in, around, and through you. The work that is performed to impact others.

This Sunday we will explore this a little further in the sermon "Starbucks Jesus".

C3

Yesterday I had the chance to attend the Creative Church Conference led by Ed Young Jr. here in Jacksonville. It was AWESOME! Ed is a great communicator and has really inspired me over the past several years to think more creatively about church, preaching, and ministry as a whole. Here are a few bullet points I took from the day.

• God is all about creativity-He is the Creator.


• Church should be comfortably uncomfortable.


• Leaders take people where they need to be not always where they want to be.


• Don't be afraid to ask hard questions and be ready to listen, listen, listen.


• Surround yourself with the right "T.H.E.Y"-Tough, Honest, Encouraging, Yielded to God.


• My favorite line was....be consistently inconsistent. (As far as methodology...in other words don't be predictable...the gospel never changes)

It was a great experience and I highly recommend the C3 conference for anyone who is considering it.

Eric, exercise, wisdom, etc.

*This weekend we had the chance to see Eric in concert here in FL. Allison and I got to go backstage and visit with him for a few minutes. It was great to catch up with Eric for a little bit. It's always great to see someone realize their dreams. If you like your Country music "rockin" then Eric is your man. Check out his link below to see when he's in concert near you.

*My month of September started out as the "month of exercise". It was quickly derailed by an ear infection and various other ailments. So, I'm going to try to exercise every day for the month of October. Hopefully I will stay well.

*Today was a good day at church. Our Sunday School class is attempting to answer the question "what does God say about wisdom?". Today was a really good discussion that will actually be continued next week. Good stuff. Who knows how long this train of thought will go?

*Since Florida lost yesterday there were a lot of sad people in church today but that's ok. Since FSU won there were also several very happy people as well. It all balances out.

*Tomorrow I'm going to see Ed Young Jr. at the C3 conference here in Jax. It should be awesome.

*Everyone pray for Natalie. She had an allergic reaction to her antibiotics this week. See Allison's blog for pics.

Monday Morning

As I continue through ministry I am more and more convinced that a lot of our frustrations come from poor communication or simply a lack of clarification. People spend a lot of time making wrong assumptions about issues or things said when a simple question could go a long way towards clearing up the confusion. Of course in order to ask clarifying questions one must admit that they did not understand in the first place. No one wants to come across as ignorant. We all what to look smarter than we probably are. Therefore, we do not ask questions...we make assumptions...and continue to live in the ignorance that leads to frustration. Does any of this make sense to you or should I try to clarify further? :-)

realness and unpredictability

So last night I asked some friends a question that I've heard others address several times already. "If you were in charge how would church be different?" The answers were all good, honest responses. As I thought back over the answers later on I realized that 2 major themes came out. 1-a desire for realness in relationships 2-a desire for unpredictability. If God is so unpredictable why should our worship be? Also the need for intentional involvement.
The trick seems to be that even if we say we want these things we don't always recognize how to bring them about...or more to the point...observe God bringing them about. So if we know the "who" of church and worship is the next question...how? Maybe...maybe not. Anyone have further thoughts on this rambling?

Gator Tasor

So many of you have heard the story of the student at the University of Florida who while questioning John Kerry on election procedures was led by police away from the microphone. He was then arrested for disturbing the peace and in the midst of the whole incident was tasored by campus police. Today students are still protesting the actions of the campus police calling the tasoring "unnecessary". This story has brought up many questions this week about free speech, police actions, and other issues. Here is my one question.

Why was John Kerry in Florida in the first place? Just asking. It seems like trouble follows him everywhere.

Worship

Sorry I haven't written in a little while. Last week was an adventure of illness. To get Allison's view point click over to her blog. I am better now and almost up to full strength.

Yesterday we celebrated "Youth Sunday" and the kids did a great job with the service. There was drama, new songs, a great message, and variety in the service. This coming Sunday frightens me. Here is why. I know once some people see the big, monster-sized pulpit back in the middle of the stage they will be relieved. I also know that when we sing more than one hymn in the service some will feel comforted. I also know that when some see the drums off the stage there will be a sense of thankfulness and curiosity as to how long they will be gone.

What frightens me about all of these things is you could change pulpit for drums, hymns for chorus', and again drums for pulpit respectfully and get similar reactions from a whole different group of people.

It really doesn't matter what the object is. The focus is not worship. Some may try to explain that it is about worship but it's not. Worship is more than something tangible. Worship is more than songs. Worship is more than actions. Worship is more than Sunday morning service.

Your worship looks different than mine because your relationship with God is different than mine. Our worship is not dependant on things. Our worship is dependant on our relationship. That is why this Sunday I am going to preach using the monster-sized pulpit that is difficult to use and hard to get around. Even though it's not ideal for me it will not keep me from the whole reason I will be in the church building with the church family on Sunday morning.

WORSHIP.

Treadmills and listening

I did want to check in with everyone about the exercise quest. I have managed to stay with it so far. (By the Grace of God) Last night I got home late from a meeting but still found the motivation to get on the treadmill. I did sleep better last night but it was a short night as I had to calm my system down after the treadmill workout. Tonight we have a softball game so that will definitely count as exercise for the day.

Last night Allison shared an interesting story with me that came from a person she met yesterday. This person was well known for being a good listener. The reason being is this. If you and someone else both have something to say and you listen to that other person then you benefit. You get to walk away knowing what you knew before and what the other person knew. So you get to know twice as much. The other person loses out because they only walk away knowing what they knew before. Fascinating stuff, don't you think?

Night of Joy, Day of Water, Weekend of Praise

We are still recovering from a full experience this past weekend. "Big Splash" was a full retreat which included 3 services, Night of Joy at Disney World, and we wrapped up the weekend with a trip to Wet and Wild water park on Sunday. Today we are back in the office and it's business as usual (whatever that means)...actually what that means is that I get to drink my coffee from my own mug. As I think back over the weekend I am pondering the whole Night of Joy experience. If I were a member of a "christian" band and I was trying to reach the lost with the gospel would I perform at an event that was marketed towards christians? I really don't know the answer to that question but it does make me curious as to the motivation of some artists to play at such an event. I don't mean that in a condescending way. After all, I have no idea what it's like to be a professional musician. My point is simply that I'm curious and should God ever set it up I would love to have a conversation with one of these artists about that topic.

Never the less, the praise team at the conference sounded awesome! Go CSWT! When you shoot for excellence and lead with heart cool things happen.

Another Blogger...exercise..."Golden Corral" churches

We have another blogger in our midst. Sam Warren has started his own blog. You can find the link in my "links" column. I look forward to reading Sam's thoughts on leadership and other issues.

On the exercise front...yesterday was tough. I had to get some push-ups, crunches, and roll outs in before bedtime. It wasn't much but I'm still on track for my 30 days of exercise. This weekend will be the big challenge during "Big Splash" but I'm still going for it.

I read an article yesterday about churches that are either Starbucks or Waffle House churches. The author was mostly comparing the different styles of services they have. My thought is as long as they are not "Golden Corral" churches then we're alright. "Golden Corral" churches are ones who in their efforts to please everyone with a vast variety of options allow the quality to go down to the point that only a few hard core patrons are the only satisfied ones. Of course that's because they may not know any different.

Tuesday morning thoughts

This was a good holiday weekend. Yesterday Allison and I took Natalie to the park and then to the pool. Natalie is growing so fast it blows my mind sometimes.

The big news this weekend...APPALACHIAN STATE 34-michigan 32!!!!!!! Just in case anyone would like to know michigan WAS ranked #5 in the nation until Saturday. Just wanted to mention that.

This weekend is "Big Splash". Everyone pray for the weekend as we minister to and with over 200 teenagers. The praise team from Suwannee will be there to lead music. Logan is bringing the Word of God. It should be a great weekend.

Don't forget to check out the new poll question.

Day #3

Ok. Yesterday I did some treadmill work and today I got some pool time in with my girls. I know some of you would not consider family time in the pool as exercise but since today is a holiday and we were pretty active I'm counting it. So that makes 3 straight days of exercise so far. Starting is always the easiest part.

Question

"What do you dream of when you dream about the church?" I found this question on a friend's blog recently and it bothers me...mostly because it is a great question. This question challenges me to step out of the comfort of laziness. As much as I try to encourage others to dream and imagine I hate it when I realize there are things that I should be dreaming of more often. Before I can answer this question I first have to ask if I'm dreaming at all.
Do I even challenge my imagination to grow and think big?
Then, am I dreaming about the church or is the church merely my job?
Do I have dreams about the church or am I too caught up in "fixing" things that I view as wrong?
Do I envision positive realities for the church or am I busy critiquing those who critique me?
Before I can begin to answer this question I have to relearn the ability to dream.
Let me try.

What do I dream about when I dream about the church?
I dream of a coffee cart rolling through the sanctuary during the service.
I dream of every person made to feel like we've been waiting for them to get there whether it's their first time or 378th time.
I dream of every child feeling special and loved.
I dream of every adult feeling special and loved.
I dream of toe tapping music that gets stuck in your head.
I dream of friends not just friendly people.
I dream of unity in the midst of diversity.
I dream of a group of people who are not afraid to say "I don't know."
I dream of a group of people who are not afraid to be wrong.
I dream of a group of people who just want to know Jesus and each other better.
I dream of worship that is from and through the heart.
I dream of realness.
I dream of forgiveness.
I dream of second chances.
I dream of vulnerability that leads to courage.
I dream of noise.
I dream of silence.
I dream of expressive praise.
I dream of muffins.
I dream of smiles.
I dream of laughter.
I dream of tears.
I dream of board meetings that are filled with testimony of what God is doing in, around, and through lives.
I dream of love.
I dream of hard core love.
I dream of "no matter what" love.
I dream of God's love.
Maybe I am learning to dream again.
thanks Megan