A Redneck?!? Really?!?!...

Does this kid honestly need to be wearing a shirt that says "Good Ole Boy" or is it not just understood at this point? Either way, kinda cool tricks...Especially when he shoots the golf ball off the end of the shotgun. Check it out if ya' wanna' kill a couple minutes...

Memorial Day @ Wrigley Field...

This past Memorial Day weekend I got to go on an incredible trip. Last week one of the students in our youth group turned 16 and for his birthday he got to plan a trip for him, his dad, and me to go to Wrigley Field to watch a Cubs game...It was such a blessing to be able to go and be a part of an incredible trip and I am still pumped about the whole weekend.

On Sunday after church, we flew from Austin to DFW and then on to Chicago O'Hare Airport. We arrived in Chi-Town late Sunday night and went straight to the hotel (The Fairmont in dowtown Chicago - INCREDIBLE!) to hit the sack and get ready for our big day on Monday. Monday morning we got up early, grabbed some Mickey D's for breakfast, and headed out to Wrigley Field. After a brief scenic tour, we finally found out where we were going and arrived at the ballpark at about 10:30. Walking up to that site of sports history was almost breathtaking. Let me just say this for those of you who don't know - I am a Sports Fanatic. I love sports and I love the history and richness found in so many of our great sporting pasttimes, so being at Wrigley Field, which was built in 1914, was an incredible moment for me...The gates didn't open until 11:20, 2 hours before gametime, so we got to walk around the outside of the stadium for a while and take it all in. When the gates opened, we were some of the first ones into the park and took in all the sights, sounds, and experiences of batting practice. Mark and I took tons of pictures while Mike tried to catch foul balls from batting practice...He even got his hand on one, but didn't have a glove on, so he couldn't pull it in...Once it got close to game time we grabbed some hot dogs, drinks, and peanuts and headed to our seats. We were in the top section of the lower level right along third base so they were great seats. We watched the game and cheered on the Cubbies, even though they ended up falling short in the end to the Marlins. In the final inning and a half people were leaving so we got to move really close to the field right behind the Cubs dugout and the last inning was the most exciting because the Cubs almost made a comeback.

After the game was over we took some more pics and then headed to see some other sporting venues in Chicago. Mike drove us all around Chicago just so Mark and I could get pics of all the different sports venues. It was awesome. We went to the United Center, where the Chicago Bulls of the NBA play and the Chicago Blackhawks play hockey. From there, we headed to U.S. Cellular Field, home of the 2005 World Series Chicago White Sox. Then from there, we headed to take some pictures of the monstrosity that is Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears. Soldier Field was actually right down the street a little ways from our hotel. From there we heaed to ESPNZone for supper and to watch the Spurs and Jazz on a gigantic TV screen.

Tuesday we lounged around in the morning and hit up Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. From there we made a lighting fast trip up to the top of Sears Tower (we were litterally only up there for 5 minutes!) so that we could take some more pictures and then headed to Chicago O'Hare Airport to catch our 5:00 flight home...And as far as we're concerned, we made it there in plenty of time, right guys!?!?

Anyway, overall it was an incredible trip and I am so blessed to get to be a part of it...The weekend was full of tons of sports experiences and memories and Monday was definitely a dream day, watching the Cubs game at Wrigley field, seeing all the sports venues, and hanging out at the ESPNZone. The trip was also full of great fellowship...We all had a great time and I am so glad not only to get to go on the trip but to get to go with who I got to go with...Chicago...The Windy City...Chi-Town...Great time, great trip, great company, great memories...Memorial Day at Wrigley Field...Nothing beats it.

Watoto...

Me, Jaron, Andy, & Curry with Auntie Daisy & The Girls

Our new friends from Uganda - Auntie Daisy, Allen, Lovinsa, & Fiona

The girls taught the boys some of their choir dances, so the boys returned the favor and taught the girls some "dances." Here they are learning the dance from the movie "Hitch."

Tuesday night our church had the great privilege of having the Watoto Children's Choir perform. It was incredible! Watoto is a ministry in Uganda that places orphaned children in caring, loving homes and communities where they provide a mother for eight children, a school, a home for each family group, and a church. Each of the children in Watoto have lost one or both parents to the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Being on staff, I got to spend a little extra time with this group of kids and the young adults who travel with them and they were just an oustanding group of people. Johanna and I (and the college boys living with us now) were fortunate enough to have three of the girls and on the the sponsors spend the night in our home. It was just a great, life-changing, life-altering experience for us...



The children sang songs of hope and peace and the love of God found in Jesus. One of the most moving moments of the night for me was to hear and see these orphaned children dance and sing the song, "I am not forgotten, I am not forgotten, I am not forgotten, God knows my name!" I sat in the pew and begin to cry for a couple of reasons: First of all, I too am not forgotten because God does know my name...How incredible is that. But, secondly, here is a group of orphaned children who, by the worlds standards have every reason to be down and out, depressed and crushed. They've been orphaned and left behind to fend for themselves as children - 6, 7, 8, 10 year old children. But the came Christ, through the ministry of Watoto and told them, while the world may have forgotten you I have not! Here are these children singing songs of HOPE with all of their soul and heart and might and with the biggest smiles that you've ever seen...That is only a HOPE that comes from Jesus.



This event, like several in the past, has really got me considering my own life. It has me examining what I am doing with my life and what impact I am making. It has me examining my own choices of how I spend my money and my treasures. It has me doing some evaluation of what it is that God desires from me for my days, my bank account, my choices, my LIFE. For me, this was one of those type of experiences.



Words cannot express what God has taught me and is teaching me through seeing once abandoned and orphaned children sing of HOPE and LOVE and GRACE and PEACE. And sing it with such conviction and joy that they really do know that they are not forgotten and that God does know their names. If you get a chance and they are in your neck of the woods, I don't care what you have scheduled...Drop it and go hear the Watoto choir perform. This group is only in the states for a couple more months and then they head back to Uganda. Check it out at www.watoto.com.



Also, this has got me again thinking about my/our role in the AIDS epidemic in Africa and I am planning on sharing some sights that can help you make a difference in showing people in this fight the love of Christ. Please check back in the next day or two for that post. Until then...

The Weekend Update...

It was a busy weekend for us again...Seems like as the summer gets closer and my really busy time of the year is approaching, it is only getting more and more crazy. Johanna spent the weekend in D.C. with her family. She flew out on Friday to watch her brother graduate from the Naval Academy with his MD on Saturday. Me and the guys headed to my hometown for the weekend to see my grandparents and parents. It had been a while since I had been home, so it was great to be at home and to spend the weekend with family, especially since it was my grandfathers birthday.

Sunday was "Senior Sunday" at our church. We honored our seniors and presented them with gifts and a luncheon in their honor...I preached at both of our morning services and talked about leaving a legacy that lasts. I challenged our students to not just live for success, but for significance and to leave a legacy that lasts beyond their lifetimes by living for the glory of God and the good of others. It was a busy weekend, but a good one.

Lindsey Kane Live...

Tonight at the Attic we were blessed to have an incredible singer, song-writer, lead worshipper Lindsey Kane perform a concert for our students. Lindsey has led worship for us at an event before and will be leading worship at our high school camp this summer. She is an incredibly gifted artist, but the most impressive thing in my opinion is her genuine-ness and authenticity. She is always willing to work with our budget so that even if we're not a "big bucks" church our students receive "big bucks" experiences and such a great quality of ministry. Basically, she does what she does to serve and bring glory to the Father and unfortunately, that is rare in so many worship leaders and Christian artists these days. Our students and our ministry has been blessed by Lindsey and I know if you check out her music you will be too. Check it out at www.lindseykane.com.

A New Kind of Missionary...

A couple years ago I read the book The Emerging Church by Dan Kimball. Kimball is the pastor at Graceland in Santa Cruz and is a leading voice among those seeking to reach the emerging and postmodern generations that the church seems to be missing in today's society. I was looking back over it today when I came across this section that I highlighted:

"Our (the United States) unchurched population is the largest mission field in the English-speaking world and the fifth largest globally...As we approach ministry to the emerging culture - a post-Christian mission field - we need to use the same approach we would employ entering a foreign culture. We cannot go on seeing ourselves simply as pastors and teachers; we need to see ourselves as a new kind of missionary. And we must train people in our churches to do the same. We must dream missionary dreams. We must bleed missionary blood. We must pray missionary prayers."

That makes me think of the words of Jesus:
The harvest is PLENTIFUL but the workers are FEW. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. - Matthew 9:37-38

A Great Thought...

"If Jesus is the Son of God, we should be terrified of what He will do when He gets his hands on our lives; if the Bible is the Word of God, we should be quaking every time we read its soulpiercing words; if the church is the body of Christ, our culture should be threatened by our intimidating presence. But our culture is not threatened by our presence, it's not terrified of the Jesus in our lives, and it's not quaking at the Word of God. Why? Because we have familiarized the gospel, sanitized it, flattened it, taken the sting and terror out of it. We've been intimidated by those who claim to be familiar with Jesus...At first glance these people seem to know God extremely well. They know the "Key To God's Will" or "How To Live A Happy Life" or "Six Steps to Maturity." These people have reduced the gospel to a set of principles, Bible verses, moral absolutes, and theorems - as though God were some kind of mathematical problem that needed to be solved. What is implied (but never said) is that once we understand the formula, once we have determined "God's principles," then we can be comfortable because we know how God works. Which makes great sense...unless they are wrong."
- Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli

What Are You Doing With Your Tuna Fish...

Last night in our guys small group I led a discussion on John 6, specifically the first 15 verses where Jesus feeds several thousand people. As we talked and discussed and as I read the passage, a few thoughts occured to me. When Jesus confronts Phillip he doesn't ask whether or not they will be able to feed the crowd. He doesn't ask if it is possible or if they can afford it or if they are capable. He just asks how. It's not a matter of capability with Jesus. Immediately, though, that is Phillip's concern. He replies that eight months wages wouldn't even give everyone in the crowd one tiny nibble of food...Then as the disciples begin to brainstorm and problem-solve (or more likely talk about how Jesus once again could possibly be going insane), a little boy comes up and offers his five pieces of bread and two fish. I can see him trying to leave home with the crowd earlier in the day, eager to see what was going on and to watch what Jesus would do next, and his mother yelling at him as he ran out the door, "Don't forget your sack lunch!" Luckily, he didn't and here he offers all he has, albeit nto a whole lot...He hears the disciples discussing the perceived problem and Andrew sees him walk by and the boy offers up his two tuna-fish sandwiches...It wasn't much and sure wouldn't feed the crowd in his hands, but it was all he had.
The disciples then go to Jesus, almost ashamed of the little that they are able to come up with and offer. They even say, "Well, here's what we found Jesus, but it's not gonna' help." But they forgot something. They forgot that the tuna-fish sandwiches were no longer in the boys hands. They were no longer in the disciples hands. They were in Jesus' hands. And in Jesus' hands two tuna-fish sandwiches can feed THOUSANDS. And so Jesus blesses the food and they eat - They ALL eat - and the Bible says they eat until they are all so full that they cannot eat another bite! Wow! This story amazes me at what Jesus can do when we put what we have in his hands!
And then at the end of the story he instructs the disciples to go and gather the leftovers...And you know what? There were exactly 12 baskets of food left. Twelve "take home" boxes and twelve disciples. Coincidence? I don't think so. I think Jesus told them to pick up the leftovers becuase he knew exactly how much was left. He knew that each disciple would have enough left to take with them and eat on for a few days to come...And he knew that when they looked at that basket and ate of those leftovers that they would realize and remember the power of the One they were following. Each time they took a bite they would remember that when they saw the situation as impossible and they thought that they were not capable or couldn't do it, that Jesus just asked them how, not if. Jesus never asks if they can feed the hungry crowd, only how. He had the power to do it, he was just seeing if his disciples had come to the realization that with Jesus it is not a matter of if but how.
So what about you and I? What are our "tuna-fish sandwiches?" A little boy saw a huge dilemna and didn't say, "Well, this is all I've got...Too bad it won't help." No, he saw a need and he gave of what he had. And that is all God asks of us...He has gifted us with talents and abilties, and personalities, and possessions, and he says to us, "Will you put it back in my hands to be used to feed thousands?" We may look at our talent and see it as insignificant. We may look at our possessions and wealth and see it as small. We may look at what we can contribute with our hands and see it as too little to make a difference...But when we place those things in his hands, a couple tuna-fish sandwiches can feed the world. So what are you doing with your tuna-fish? In whose hands is it in?

The Weekend Update...

The weekend started a little early on Thursday with a dinner party for Johanna's work. She works for a CPA office and they were having a dinner to celebrate the end of tax season. Great food and good times on Thursday evening. I got up early Friday morning, which is my day off, and headed to Lake Bastrop. I was planning on spending the morning and early afternoon fishing...After about three hours at two different park locations and not even getting a nibble from a small perch, I decided to give it up and head to the house. Friday evening Johanna and I met up with some friends for a birthday celebration. It was Daniel's 20th birthday so we met him, his parents, and friends Jaron and Jenna at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. After the dinner, we hung out with Jenna, Jaron, and Foster at Dominican Joe's and shared old stories and lots of laughs. Saturday was a relaxing day around the house which happened to include some seafood and crawfish boil in the afternoon...Tasty stuff. Sunday involved church in the morning and evening and in the meantime, hanging out with Jaron and Jenna in the afternoon. Jaron and Foster are both former students of mine and Jenna and Jaron are now dating. Johanna and I both knew Jenna before this weekend but had never really gotten to spend a whole lot of time really getting to know her. As Andy had already told me "She's definitely out of Jaron's league. She's a lot cooler than he is."...So this weekend was great for spending time with old friends and making new ones...Until next time.

A Few Pics...

Us on The Kohootz Boat on the Dolphin Encounter Cruise

Us @ The Rockport Beach

A Dolphin Jumping In The Wake of A Ship - We saw tons of them on the dolphin cruise.

The view out our door at the Inn @ Fulton Harbor

My Sand Artwork on St. Jo Island

2nd Anniversary Trip...

Last weekend Johanna and I were fortunate enough to get to take a great trip to the coast for our 2nd anniversary. We were married two years on April 30th. So to celebrate, we thought a little trip was in order. We headed down to the Rockport-Fulton and Port Aransas area and spent Thursday evening through Monday afternoon just relaxing and taking in life at the beach. Here's a brief rundown of the trip, with some pics coming soon.

Thursday - We left Lockhart around 4 and headed down to The Inn @ Fulton Harbor. Johanna found this place on the internet and it looked really nice so we decided to give it a shot, even though we had never seen it in person. What a great choice! I highly recommend this place if you are ever staying in the Rockport-Fulton, Port Aransas area. The place is only a couple years old and it is incredible. It is small and family owned and they have done a great job maintaining the place and providing a great place for people to get away and relax....And it's right across from the Fulton Harbor and Marina, so the scenery is great! Once we got checked in we hit the restaurant across the street, Charlotte Plummers, for some tasty seafood.

Friday - Friday we headed to Port A to mess around and head out to St. Jo Island. St Jo is a privately owned island and is only accessible through one ferry. We had heard about it from friends and decided to check it out. Because it is privately owned no one is responsible for picking up trash and maintaining the island. That means that lots of trash washes up on shore from the gulf and that there are absolutely no facilities, electricity, shelters, or anything of the sort on the island. While we wished things were a little cleaner, we found a nice spot and spent most of the day playing in the waves and on the beach. There were several people on the island fishing but we were the only ones taking advantage of swimming in the waves...I think they thought we were crazy! We ended the day by hittin' up Snoopy's seafood restaurant, which we had been to before and loved...It was delicious.

Saturday - About 7 or 8 PM on Friday night we realized that Saturday would be a day to do not much at all...That was because we had waited to apply our "spray on" sunscreen until we got out to the island on Friday and due to the crazy wind, we cooked in spots so we were both dealing with major sunburn, but only in spots and blotches...However, we had already decided to have a more down, relaxing day so it was perfect. We took a tour of Fulton Mansion, a really old home in Fulton, during the morning and just swam at the hotel pool and hit the Rockport beach the rest of the day...We tried kite flying in the early evening at the Rockport beach and while the wind was strong, it did not cooperate by blowing with any sort of consistency so we had no luck with the kites...We finished the night with a GREAT meal of cajun seafood at The Boiling Pot.

Sunday - Sunday included another trip back to Port A. We rented an electric cart (Bevo was its name - UT orange with Longhorns painted all over it!) and took it all over the beach and all over town in Port A...It was a lot of fun and a great way to tour the place...After that, we had scheduled an afternoon Dolphin Encounter cruise. We went out on a boat and saw tons of Dolphins and got a tour of the sites from the water. After heading back to Rockport we hit the beach for a swim (and almost got attacked by some jumping fish!) and then hit a little Italian restaraunt that Johanna had saw and wanted to try out.

Monday - Monday morning we took advantage of sleeping in...Then it was time to pack up, load up, and hit the seafood markets to stock the ice-chest before we left...Overall, we had a fantastic weekend and are so blessed to be able to do something like that. What a great way to celebrate 2 years of an incredible marriage!

Unfortunately this rings to close to home...

Headin' To The Beach...

Tonight at our midweek youth worship gathering we had another great night in our new, temporary meeting place. It is kinda' crazy because while we are going through a lot of changes ministry wise with workers and volunteers, God continues to send us new students. And I thought I was busy before all this craziness started! Anyway, God is faithful and he will provide workers and resources because He loves and cares for the students of Lockhart, TX more than anyone...And it's so good to see students beginning to understand that love.

On a completely different note, Johanna and I are headin' to Port A tomorrow! On Monday, the 30th, we will celebrate 2 years of marriage. Wow! It goes by so fast. I love my wife immensely and am blessed to be serving with a woman who is called to ministry. I have seen so many friends and acquaintances whose spouse hinders them in ministry. It is such a blessing to have a true help-mate. So we are celebrating our anniversary by going to the beach for the weekend. We are actually staying in Fulton and we are so excited! I probably won't blog until we get back on Monday evening, but be expecting pictures of the beach...It is gonna' be awesome just to get away for a while...Until then, hope your weekend is great!

Educated Beyond Our Obedience...

I got to preach at both of our morning worship services yesterday. Teaching is nothing new to me as I get to teach our students every week, but it is always great to have the opportunity to teach the entire congregation. Our Senior Pastor was gone all week, so the teaching duties for the Sunday services fell to me. It's something I love to do and something that I feel God's passion in me when I am doing, so I was thrilled about the opportunity. As I studied up for my sermon, "Examining Our Spiritual Fatness," I ran across two quotes. I preached from 1 John 2:3-6 and talked about how John challenges us not just to know the faith, but to DO what Christ commands, which is to walk as He did, loving others and bearing witness to him. Here are the two quotes I came across, both from authors whose books I have read and thouroughly enjoyed:

"We (Christians and the church) are educated beyond our obedience." - Neil Cole

"Most of us (referring to believers) are educated way beyond our level of obedience. We don't need more information. We need more transformation." - Mark Batterson

Christianity has never had the level of education and resources than we do in America today. Our churches have never been so equipped with resources and classes and studies to educate us about our faith. We have never had access to so many schools and seminaries for theological training. But at the time when we have all this educational opportunity for growing in what it means to follow Jesus and live like Him, we see a huge void of genuine, authentic Christ followers. Many of the members of our churches look no different than the world. In the workplace and at schools, people who claim to follow Jesus live just like those who don't claim to be believers. In our business dealings, its sometimes hard to tell whether the person you are dealing with is a believer or not. On the weekends and in our social lives, so many people who claim to be Christ-followers live no different than anyone else. We have all the education, but we have no transformation. Our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, our families, and our communities don't need us to be better educated in the faith. They need us to live out the faith that we already know. They need us to model and show and live out the love and grace of Jesus. They need us to really believe what we say we know about Jesus, so that we are people who are transformed into Christ-followers who love our neighbors and our world like Jesus did.

Opening Night At The Attic...

Last night was an incredible night. One of the reasons I have been a little quiet in blogger land lately is because of the amount of work and the long hours I have been putting in at our new youth space for our student ministry. Now, when I say new, understand that it is a very old building and we are renting the upstairs portion...but it is new to us. Tonight was the "Grand Opening" even though we are having a big kick-off event in about a month. It was incredible to see what just a little money and a lot of hard work can do. We spent a little less than $300 and got a ton of stuff donated. I have dreamed of a youth space for student ministry for a long time, going back several years and even at another church. And while we are hoping and praying that this space is just temporary and that are church moves forward with purchasing a much bigger youth space in the next few weeks we are here for at least a few months and it is great.
Our space has a lot of stuff. It is over 3000 square feet and it has gaming systems, tvs, pool tables, air hockey, dart boards, and foosball. There are couches and bean bags to lounge around on and their is even a snack bar/cafe that we have set up for food and drinks. But the coolest thing that our new space has is smiles...One of our youth workers said to me tonight, "There is a smile on every face in here!" And it was true. Not because of any pool tables or games or even pizza, but because our students have a place that is theirs. And its because a few individuals in our church who love students and want to see God work in their lives have chosen to give generously to make this happen.
I am totally stoked about the tool that this building and even our future building are going to be. When people feel like they have a place where they are comfortable and that is their's they are more likely to want their friends there with them. We already saw that tonight as we had several students bring friends that have never been to our midweek worship service at the church before. God has taught me some cool lessons from this whole thing. He has taught me about his faithfulness in providing, he has taught me patience, and he has taught me not to give up on visions that HE GIVES...even if they take years and moves to happen. Tonight was incredible and the biggest lesson of all was probably a reminder about the smiles of students. Those smiles communicate that our students feel cared for, they feel loved, they feel safe, and most of all, through their joy they are seeing people who by their time, giving, ministry, and lives are saying to students that God loves them and has an incredible plan for their lives. The Attic, and any building like it is just a tool, but what a "Wow Tool" it is!

Another Great Yac Quote...

We're attempting to convince the world how good Jesus is by how great we are. This is precisely how Madison Avenue sells toothpaste, automobiles, and underwear. People don't need any more images of success, wealth, and power; they're surrounded already. What they need are their sins forgiven. What they need is healing. What they need is love. - Mike Yaconelli

The Ocean...

I spent the first couple days this week on the road. Myself and a few guys from FBC Pflugerville left Monday to head down to South Padre Island for a youth camp preview trip. We are doing camp together at a condo on the beach this summer and we went down to scope it out. One interesting thing that we found out (because we let Stan drive!) is that when you get to Corpus Christi, and you take the exit that says Padre Island, you go to Padre Island and Port Aransas. And there is nothing that connects Padre Island and South Padre Island. Contrary to geographical logic, South Padre Island is not just the "south" end of Padre Island. It is a whole nother island...three hours away! Anyway, after our detour we made it safe and sound, had some great seafood, and got to check out the place for camp. I took a couple pics, as you can tell, and they're not really the ocean, but the Gulf of Mexico, but the principle is the same. I couldn't help but look out at the vastness of the water and watch the waves come crashing in on Tuesday morning and not think of Chris Tomlin's song "Indescribable." If you've never heard it, it is a song that declares the greatness and bigness of God. And while we try to use words to wrap our minds around who God is and how powerful and great and awesome (and whatever other word we throw in here...) He is, in the end God is indescribable and any of our earthly attempts to do so simply fall short. Tomlin puts it this way:

from the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
creation's revealing your majesty
from the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
every creature unique in the song that it sings
all exclaiming

indescribable, uncontainable,
you placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name.
you are amazing god
all powerful, untameable,
awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
you are amazing god

who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
none can fathom

indescribable, uncontainable,
you placed the stars in the sky and you know them by name
you are amazing god
all powerful, untameable,
awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
you are amazing god
you are amazing god

Irresistible Revolution...

Thursday night myself, Johanna, and a few friends went to hear Shane Claiborne speak at Texas State at the Price Lectures. I was really excited to hear what Shane would say because I have heard a lot about him in ministry and missions circles. He lives in a faith community that has done amazing things in Philly. He also spoke at the National Youth Workers Convention in Anaheim last year and cashed his entire honorarium for the event into one dollar bills and then gave them away to all the youth ministers at the convention to go and use to make a difference in someone's life...Needless to say, this guy is the real deal. He has studied theology and sociology and Eastern where Tony Campolo teaches. He knows his stuff, but is so humble and real. He talked about how so many times we as Christians live like we really don't believe that Jesus meant what he said because if we really believed he meant the things he said, we would look and live different. We would be involved in life with the poor, we would work for peace, we would give our money to the needy, we would value each and every person regardless of what the did or didn't have because that is what Jesus would do.

A couple quotes to share from his lecture last night:

Talking about how Jesus was homeless, he said "We worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday."

He also shared a conversation that he had with an Iraqi Christian pastor in Baghdad when he went over to Iraq during the Shock & Awe campaign. Shane was telling the pastor how surprised he was to see so many Christians in Iraq and the pastor replied, "You didn't invent Christianity in America. You just domesticated it."

"It's very fashionable for us as Christians to talk about the poor, but not too the poor. If we really care about poor people, we know the names of poor people."

Needless to say, it was very challenging to hear what Shane had to say. I am extremely blessed. And it really challenged me to examine how I live my life and how I spend the resources that God has blessed me with. I am still digesting and milling over so much of what he said.

Check out Shane's book "Irresistible Revolution" or his website, www.simpleway.org.

As You Go...

Last night at our mid-week youth worship service we talked about the big "E" word - Evangelism. One of the things that I have tried to do since graduating from seminary is to rid myself of church language and and keep from speaking "Christianese" - You know, the language that only church people understand. One important part of communication is that unless the people whom your talking to understand you, then communication hasn't taken place. You may have talked about something and even thought you commuincated something, but unless you are understood by a recipient of the message communication hasn't occurred...That's another tangent altogether though...

Whenever I talk about evangelism, or telling people who don't personally know Jesus that he loves them and wants to have a relationship with them, it usually ends in a time where I get frustrated with the biblical text that we have. Not that the text is wrong or inadequate...It's just that it is in English. You see, I had the opportunity to take about 24 hours of biblical Greek language in college and so many times what the writers say in Greek just doesn't translate well into English. The words fit, but the meaning is lost...I think that that's the case in one of our "most cherished" passages on sharing our faith. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives us the Great Commission. Most translations of the Bible begin this text with the words "Therefore, go and make disciples..." or "Go and make disciples..." However, there is a lost meaning from the original text that I think Jesus was communicating to us and we ought not to lose. If you literally translate the Greek tense of the word it would read something like this: "As you go, make disciples..." or "As you are going, make disciples..."

All that to say that I think Jesus meant for evangelism to be something that we do "as we go." It breaks my heart that churches have to have evangelism weekends, evangelistic revivals, outreach weekends, and other "special calendared times" where we do evangelism. It's a shame that the vast majority of evangelical churches in the United States have an outreach, visitation, or evangelism "night" each week or month. Not that these things are bad at all, but shouldn't we be sharing our faith in Jesus and his love for people every single day, in the places he's planted us, around the people he has given us influence with...as we go. Sharing the love and truth of Jesus and his desire to have a relationship with every individual is not something that should be contained to visitation night or our evangelistic revival week each spring. Sharing our faith should come out of a fruitful life. Telling people who don't yet know it that Jesus loves them, wants to have a relationship with them, and wants to give them purpose in life should be a part of who we are and what we are about "as we go." Evangelism is not something only done by professionals. It is the call of every person who follows Christ. It is the mandate of every believer. Maybe the reason that churches all across our country are dying left and right is because somewhere along the way we forgot that simple principle...Maybe the reason most churches don't see significant growth is because they are full of people who leave sharing the faith up to the "paid professionals"...What a shame that we have taken the last commandment of Christ and simplified it into a "visitation night" on the second Thursday of each month...Somehow, I think we are missing the mark.

So, for you and I, let's share "as we go." Let's use the influence that God has given us by placing people in our paths - at work, school, and in the community - to build authentic relationships that share and model the love of Jesus. Let's be people who live out and speak out the love of Christ "as we go" in life. Then, maybe, just maybe, our church won't have to schedule that "special" spring evangelistic roundup next year.

Mike Yaconelli...

In honor of my friend Brett, who posted a comment about a Mike Yaconelli quote I am going to post a few quotes from Yac from time to time. If you don't know who he is, Mike Yaconelli was pretty much the father of modern youth ministry. I cannot begin to describe who he was in such a short time or what his impact on the church and youth ministry was. I will just put it this way: He died just a couple years ago and when I heard the news I wept. And to be honest, that doesn't happen very often. There was probably never a greater champion and supported of youth workers and youth ministry tha Yac...So, thanks Brett for the link to some of his greatest quotes...Here is one I really like:

When people look at the Church and see only impostors, they conclude that Jesus is an impostor. But when they see followers of Jesus who are real, they see a Jesus who is real. - Mike Yaconelli