Top Tithing Songs

Every Pastor and Sunday School teacher needs to watch this:

2008 Election -- After Action Report

An After Action Report (AAR) is filed in the military and other places after any significant battle, test, incident or the like. This is my AAR of the election.
As the final results of the election continue to trickle in I have sat in reflection and realize that I have as many, if not more questions than answers. The war is over, all that is left is the mop up of small areas.
This may be a continued post, I'm not sure how many of these will come to my mind. These are coming in no special order, just as I can get them typed.

Will Christ Followers pray for the newly elected/ reelected even if they were not who they voted for?
We have a clear Biblical mandate to do so. See Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17; 1 Tim. 2:1-2. Or did we really just vote so that we can complain and lob grenades the other direction if things didn't go the way we wanted. What about praying that the Spirit gets ahold of them before they take office and write/ pass any legislation.

How many voted for our first African-American President simply because of his skin color?
Isn't that the essence of racism? We have been told all along that this election will show if we are ready to move on as a society in race relations. They are estimating that Obama got 96% of the black vote. Did all of those voters really look at the issues instead of the color of the man's skin?

What if the Church was as energetic about being the Church and fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as they have been about the candidates?
I venture to say that if that were the case the world would truly be getting changed. We would be seeing revival, transformation, and hope all around us. The truth of the matter is that the Church (especially here in America) is truly more like the nation of Israel in the book of Haggai than the body of Christ. We continue to think that we as individuals and a nation have a better blueprint for life than the one outlined for us by God. He is allowing us to have our wish just like He did in 1 Samuel 8 when the people wanted a king to lead them rather than God. Check how well that worked for them. All of the zeal and fire I have seen in person, online, on TV, etc in the past several weeks and yet we struggle to get enough people to have effective ministry happen in our local churches. It is just this type of pathetic focus that proves how weak we are.

Will it be a good thing that the Democrats have control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives at the same time?
All I know is they surely won't be able to say that they didn't have their chance to run things and prove that their philosophy of government is right. I have my suspicions, but they will get their shot. I hope that too much damage is not done on the wrong track.

Am I doing enough/ my part in regards to the things I have noted above?
Are my actions focused on unity, especially within the Body, or on creating an air of disunity? Am I willing to let God speak to me and direct my paths? We are a stubborn, stiff necked people and I am one of them.

That is all for now. Congrats to Mr Obama and Mr Biden. Once you take that oath you are my President and I will treat you as such. America Bless God!

Is Socialism part of our mission?

I will be working on some posts coming up to the election that largely deal with the issue of Socialism. One of the candidates is, I feel, truly wanting to lead our country in that direction. I have a lot to process and put into intelligent thought. Here are some of the points/ thoughts I am working out:

• what is socialism?
• is socialism a Biblical model based on the early church?
• is socialism a good model for modern churches?
• is socialism a good model for government?
• would it really help our economy if truly implemented?

In the meantime, don't be afraid to add a thought or two on the subject if you have any.

A couple great ASBO cartoons

Here are a couple of my favorite recent cartoons from ASBO :

a couple new favorites from ASBO...

Good thinking stuff... check out these and more HERE

Cruise Ship or Battleship??

Which of these ships should the Church be most like? Which one most represents the typical local body? Is there room for both of them on the seas? I'll be discussing it in upcoming posts. Feel free to add your thoughts.

Book #11 - Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin

While traveling last week I read Samson and the Pirate Monks. It is a fairly quick read but a book that will stay with me for some time. The author is brutally honest about his struggle with an addiction to sex and how he overcame it. Through that he has been led to start the Samson Society (see link above). It is basically a 12 step AA type group centered around Christ. The book is about his testimony and how to start a Samson group if you feel led.

There are several takeaways for me from this book. As I look at my role as a Christ-follower, husband, father, friend, and leader in the church I see the value of this type of support and accountability in the lives of men. The main things that I will draw on from this book are:

• the church needs to take notice! men need and desire a place to be brutally honest about what they are dealing with in their lives without the fear of becoming the topic of "prayer requests" for the foreseeable future


• the walk of the disciple is not and has never been intended to be walked alone. Christ called his disciples in groups and sent them about the business of the Kingdom two by two. The thought that my personal walk is "just between me and God" is a lie!


• I can only imagine the power that men would have over sin if they would enter into these genuine relationships of support


• it does not matter what the struggle is with (sex, greed, drugs, alcohol, lust, money, foul language, pornography, etc., etc.) or how deeply involved we are in it (active, recovering, or just plain knowing that we have an attraction to it) addiction is in many ways addiction; period.


• Even if I do not personally start or become involved in an active Samson group, I need to find a Silas for my life


• Keeping in mind that like both Samson and David we have all failed I need to be like David and be the man God has intended and not fail in the mission I have been chosen for as Samson did.

I am sure I could list a few more. This book is definitely worth a read from the powerful testimony standpoint and will encourage you to seek out brotherhood as intended by the Lord.

Away at Conference

There may not be much activity here this week as I am away the 2007 Missionary Church General Conference in Portland, OR. I am our church's lay delegate. You can keep up on the goings on and some photos at the church blog if interested.

GO HERE

Book #10 - Breakout Churches by Thom Rainer

Seems like forever since I actually finished a book so I could post about it. This time of the year is always slow reading for me. I have little extra time and it seems that I start more books at the same time. Seems like the busier schedule kicks ADD into gear. I am confident that I can still reach my goal of 30 books in 2007. Just finishing my currently started ones will help put a major dent in my deficit.
I am wrapping up Thom Rainer's book, BREAKOUT CHURCHES . I think that this book should be added to the required reading list of every church staff member as well as every ministry student in school today. It is not a "magic formula" for a great church but the lessons provided could save many heart and head aches for it's readers.
The book is based on Jim Collins' GOOD TO GREAT (another book on my "to read" pile). It breaks down how 13 churches that Rainer's team compare to other churches that show basic similarities to them have achieved their breakout status. Stringent filtering guidelines were put into place to find these churches. The truths provided will keep me thinking about this book for some time I believe. It may well serve as a resource book as well. I am sure that I will be returning to selected chapters as the need arises.
I was surprised to understand how relevant this book is to where my church is at this time. I can easily see how we could go down the path to being a breakout church as well as how easily we could become distracted from what we have been called to do in our community and become a mediocre congregation. This book combine the principle of being an easy read along with a depth of information that is rare.

The Friendly Atheist -- Christians who hurt Christianity

I just found this blog. One thing I wonder is why someone who is convinced that there is no God would spend so much time talking about Him. I have other questions as well... anywhoo. He has a well written blog entry called "Christians Hurting Christianity" that is a good read. We need to understand how others perceive us. The comment about the person who started with "how can I explain this to a secular person..." makes me cringe. I look forward to reading more of his thoughts in the future.

The power of Porn

Tim Stevens from GCC posted on his blog the following statistics regarding internet porn. The numbers are scary and should serve to remind us that we should be involved in people's lives and help to lead the way out of bondage. What can be done?

- 12 percent of all Web sites are porn.
- 25 percent of all search engine requests are for porn.
- 35 percent of all Internet downloads are pornographic.
- Every second, 28,258 Internet users are viewing porn.
- 89 percent of porn is created in the U.S.
- $2.84 billion in revenue was generated from U.S. porn sites in 2006.
- 70 percent of the Internet porn traffic occurs during the nine to five workday.
- 260 new porn sites go online daily.

Even in our weakness

Been mulling this for a couple days now. We often are told how great it is that God has chosen to use us to work out His will and plan. Which is true and which is cool. But I wonder how often it is that God works His plan in spite of us. When He does, it's pretty amazing to watch. Sunday's services were an example, at least from my perspective. Crunch time comes often as schedules fill up; this weekend was major league in that area. This led to a middle of the night session to complete the graphics for worship accompanied by attempts to download some software to assist burning a DVD file. This led into a harried start to a worship team practice that never seemed to quite click. After having previewed about 10 minutes of the DVD I burned and deeming it good I showed it in SS only to have it crash with about 10 minutes left. But God showed up! I finished the lesson from the notes and we had more time than planned for discussion which was definitely needed. I actually had to shut things down because worship was about to begin. If only people would engage in SS that well every week. We went to the sanctuary where the bulk of the service just never seemed to flow. Then Bud preached and God showed up again in a powerful challenge for us to get out of our comfort zones and seek out what it is that God wants us to be doing. You can read about that HERE. My point is that even through distraction, unpreparedness, Satan's opposition, and just a messed up day; God does His thing. That's why I'm glad that I get to be a part. I know that my job is faithfulness and at least putting forth an effort (see the Parable of the Talents for what happens to the servant who does nothing) and God will accomplish His will.

The Church You Know

I found this site by chance. They take a creative spin on the NBC "The More You Know" PSA spots in order to garner some discussion about issues in the church. Well worth a few minutes of your time to check them out.

Cultural Relevance -- Has the Church gone too far?

I guess what I'm looking for here is some thoughts and discussion on the topic. I realize how important relevance is. The "all things to all people to reach some" idea is clear. But what about the "in the world and not of it" concept. ? A few questions to throw out:

• Is this just a case of the pedulum swinging too far in the direction of relevance?
• Is the idea of relevance just a convnient excuse for the church to attept to have it both ways by spiritualizing the things of the world?
• how else do we reach our culture if not through relevance?
• Does the attempt to be relevant in some cases overshadow the message?

What happened to the Holy Spirit?

There is a great post over at Cerulean Sanctum about the loss of the Holy Spirit in the conversations and teaching of the church. It has me thinking about the practicalities involved. Good stuff for the mind. But like everything else, if there is no application there is no real usefulness. I need to ask myself if I am truly living in His presence and under the direction of the Spirit. Read the original post HERE

New CRMC blogs

There are two new blogs dedicated to the ministries at California Road MIssionary Church (CRMC). I am hosting one and our youth pastor, Matt Maloney, is hosting one just for the youth ministry. I am excited about the possibilities of these blogs for communicating with current, potential, and future attenders. Here are the Links.

CRMC Youth Blog

CRMC Campfire

Holy Water in a bottle

In some ways this is just funny. In others it is sad. The fact that bottled water is being blessed and marketed as holy. Make up your own mind. You can see the slideshow here.

Sometimes you have to ask tough questions

Craig Groeschel posted this last week on his blog. The jist being the three questions:

1. If you weren’t on staff at your church, would you worship there?
2. If you didn’t know ANYTHING about Jesus, what would you know about him after a normal weekend at your church?
3. If you had a loved one who didn’t know Christ, and they had one week left to live, would you take them to your church or another?

I have challenegd myself with these questions and I think that we all would be wise to do so. Are you happy with the answers that you give? Make you feel uncomfortable? My main thought is that if we are unhappy with any of these we should not just sit on our hand and complain about it. It is time for action. We need to have an active role in our local body becoming the kind of church it should. My 2 cents...

Jesus' Tomb - the documentary aftermath

The guys from Pulpit Magazine have posted a great compliation of responses to the documentary and the "discovery" in general. A great read. HERE