Gungor

I really like this worship band's new CD, called Beautiful Things. They call themselves a "liturgical post-rock" band. Very cool stuff.

Here's an explanation of the band itself as well as an introduction to their new CD.



Here is the title song from their new CD. Enjoy!



EDIT: Here is an acoustic version of Beautiful Things. LOVE LOVE LOVE

My Daughter Runs To Grandpa's Camera

I love this video. Just found it again, so I thought I would share!

VBS Slideshow

Okay, here's the last one - it's a slideshow of last week's VBS!

VBS Slideshow from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

VBS Announcement Video

I thought this was great!

VBS Announcement Video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

VBS Recap Video

VBS week was last week, and it was so much fun! Great to see kids get excited about Jesus and grace. Here's a two and a half minute recap video.

2010 VBS Recap Video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Song List - June 20, 2010

Hour #1:

Happy Day - Tim Hughes
Rise And Sing - Steve Fee
Salvation Is Here - Hillsong United
Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle
Jesus Lord Of Heaven - Phil Wickham

Hour #2:

Rise And Sing - Steve Fee
Salvation Is Here - Hillsong United

Preschool kids sang This Little Light Of Mine and You're Powerful

Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle

Then the elementary kids joined us for:

Happy Day - Tim Hughes
Amazing Grace (Woo Hoo) - no idea


It was a lot of fun!

Song List - June 13, 2010

Rise And Sing - Steve Fee
Cannons - Phil Wickham
Mighty To Save - Hillsong United
Beautiful Jesus - Kristian Stanfill
The Stand - Hillsong United

We also did Jesusland by Ben Folds as a special music. Nathan you will be missed!

If you've never heard the song, here is the music video of the song.

2010 VBS Training Video

I did not film this video, but I did edit it. I thought it came out pretty well.

2010 MCC VBS Training Video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Lost In Translation

I thought these were awesome - some of them I had heard before, but I thought I would share.

----

Coors put its slogan, "Turn it loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer from diarrhea".

Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick", a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "manure stick".

Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.

In Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off".

The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem-Feeling Free", was translated into the Japanese market as "When smoking Salem, you will feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty".

When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the beautiful Caucasian baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the label of what's inside, since most people can't read English.

Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.

An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I saw the potato" (la papa).

In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into "Schweppes Toilet Water".

Pepsi's "Come alive with the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave", in Chinese.

We all know about GM's Chevy Nova meaning "it won't go" in Spanish markets, but did you know that Ford had a similar problem in Brazil with the Pinto? Pinto was Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals". Ford renamed the automobile Corcel, meaning "horse".

Hunt-Wesson introduced Big John products in French Canada as Gros Jos. Later they found out that in slang it means "big breasts".

Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "it takes a strong man to make a "tender chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate".

When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "it won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you". Instead, the company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant".

The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Ke-kou-ke- la", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "ko-kou-ko- le", translating into "happiness in the mouth".

Probably the most famous of all is John Kennedy's announcement to the people of Berlin, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" JFK thought he said, "I am a citizen of Berlin!" What he *really* said was, "I am a jelly doughnut!" ("Berliner" is German for "jelly doughnut".)

Some friends from England visited us a few years back. Their teenage daughter got a huge laugh from the name of an airline back then: The Trump Shuttle (Donald Trump's airline). They said in England, "Trump" translated into "fart"!

No wonder macs are the best selling computer in Japan, Microsofts Windows '95 ad slogan, translated into Japanese: "If you don't know where you want to go, we'll make sure you get taken."

June 6, 2010 Song List

Song Of Hope - Robbie Seay Band
Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster version
Glorious One - Steve Fee
God Of This City - Chris Tomlin version
Only You - David Crowder Band

Decision:

You Are My King - Billy Foote

Song List - May 30,2010

Your Grace Is Enough - Chris Tomlin
Because Of Your Love - Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown
Awakening - Chris Tomlin and Reuben Morgan
Meet Us Here - Mike Hornholz
He Knows My Name - Tommy Walker

No Words

Here's the new commercial for the Stanley Cup Finals. Awesome. Also great to see Ray Bourque in there after winning with Colorado.

New Arcade Fire single

I'm not the biggest Arcade Fire fan, but I do like them, and certainly like them more when I'm in certain moods.

Here is the new single, I really really like it! (And the spinning record thing is awesome)

Song List - May 23, 2010

O Worship The King - Chris Tomlin version
Shine In Me - Caleb Clements
Awakening - Chris Tomlin and Reuben Morgan
Everything - Tim Hughes
You Hold Me Now - Hillsong United

Teacher Appreciation Sunday

Here is the video I put together using two different videos (and some editing of words) for our Teacher Appreciation Sunday we had this past Sunday.

Teacher Appreciation Sunday Video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Swagger Wagon

I love this video - still have never owned a mini-van, but I have driven one and like them! But since we're a family of three, I don't see us ever getting one. But if we do, I'll be rapping away like this family.

How Great Is Our God done with iPhones

I thought this video was absolutely amazing. Using technology to create art is cool.

Law Enforcement Recognition Sunday videos

Here are two videos I put together for the Law Enforcement Recognition we did this past Sunday. I hope that the officers were touched by the videos, the words of appreciation and the prayer at the end for them.

Law Enforcement Recognition Sunday Video #1 from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Law Enforcement Recognition Sunday Video #2 from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Song List - May 16, 2010

Sing Sing Sing - Chris Tomlin (I got to play electric guitar, hooray!)
Love The Lord - Lincoln Brewster
You Alone - David Crowder Band
Lead Me To The Cross - Brooke Fraser

I also led the classic service, and we did:

Come Now Is The Time To Worship
Be Thou My Vision
Fairest Lord Jesus
Come Thou Fount, Come Thou King
It Is Well (new version)
Joyous Light
I Stand Amazed

2010 VBS Promo Video

It was fun putting this promo video together! (And certainly not as time-intensive as last year's video!)

2010 MCC VBS Promo Video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

The Greatest Leadership Lesson

The greatest leadership lesson is not learned from a book.

It's not learned from an instructional video.

It's not learned from a peer.

It's not learned by watching TED videos.

It's not learned by sitting at John Maxwell's feet.







It's learned from a shirtless dancing doofus.

Mother's Day Videos

For Mother's Day at MCC, we showed a video that was broken down into three sections. It was neat to hear messages to moms not only from kids, but also from adults.

In case you missed them, here they are:

Mother's Day Video #1 from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Mother's Day Video #2 from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Mothers' Day Video #3 from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Song List - May 9, 2010

I Am Free - Desperation Band
All We Need - Charlie Hall
Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing) - Brenton Brown
I Will Sing - Matt Boswell
Only You - David Crowder Band

Help For Haiti

Next Saturday, Miamisburg Christian Church is hosting a Haiti Relief Tour. This is a community event to bag food for Haiti. Invite your family, your friends, neighbors to work a two-hour shift bagging nutritious meals to help hurting people. The cost per person is $40 which pays for all the food, shipping it to Haiti and a cool t-shirt!

You can register by going here. For more details, contact the church office or see our website.

Help For Haiti Video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Contemporvant

The below video is so awesome, I'm still laughing at it. Unfortunately, it's also true for a lot of churches. It reminds me of the foundation graphics that I posted in my blog a few years ago about how most churches focus on Sunday morning so much that it becomes the foundation of their church and everything that happens during the week is geared towards the Sunday morning services. If that's our focus, if that's our foundation, then the video is basically what happens. Sunday morning becomes a well-designed show that is all about having people come to church on Sunday morning.

However, if our focus is on the mission that God has called us to, then Sunday morning is important, but it's not the most important thing.

So check out the video - you'll laugh, probably painfully, because you know it's true.

(I've also included the graphics from my past post.)

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

The Prayer of St. Fursey

The arms of God be around my shoulders,
The touch of the Holy Spirit upon my head,
The sign of Christ's cross upon my forehead,
The sound of the Holy Spirit in my ears,
The fragrance of the Holy Spirit in my nostrils,
The vision of heaven's company in my eyes,
The conversation of heaven's company on my lips,
The work of God's church in my hands,
The service of God and the neighbor in my feet,
A home for God in my heart,
And to God, the father of all, my entire being.
Amen.

Song List - May 2, 2010

Song Of Hope - Robbie Seay Band
Salvation Is Here - Hillsong United
Glory To God Forever - Steve Fee
Jesus Lord Of Heaven - Phil Wickham
Only You - David Crowder Band

AWESOME.

I do not endorse the comic that inspired this short video, but I do think this video is rather hilarious.

New Love146 Video

If you want to know what I do for a living, I will tell you that I'm a worship minister.

If you want to know what my calling is, I will tell you that I'm an abolitionist and I work to free child sex slaves from their horrible lives and to help them rediscover their lives as children of God.

Love146 Overview from LOVE146 on Vimeo.

Song List - April 25th, 2010

Let It Rise - Big Daddy Weave
Love The Lord - Lincoln Brewster
Everyday - Hillsong
God Of This City - Chris Tomlin
It Is Well (new version) - Todd Fields (North Point)

Broken Is Beautiful

A new video by People Of The Second Chance has come out. I love what this video reminds us. My favorite quote: "You really can't experience happiness until you've experienced pain, because then you are able to compare the difference."

Check it out here:

BROKEN IS BEAUTIFUL from PEOPLE OF THE SECOND CHANCE on Vimeo.

Bittersweet Songs

In preparing for a memorial service that took place last night, I pulled out of my iTunes songs that I felt were appropriate to play as people were coming in and leaving. What I noticed with these songs was that they were some of my favorites. It made me realize that some of my favorite songs are what I would call "bittersweet" - honest expressions to God through despair and disappointment that ultimately point to God as our hope and the One we cling to in time of need.

Here is the playlist from last night, perhaps some of these songs resonate with you as much as they resonate with me.

The Valley Song - Jars Of Clay
This Road - Jars Of Clay
Healing Is In Your Hands - Christy Nockels (2010 Passion CD called Awakening)
Hymn - Brooke Fraser
Calmer Of The Storm - Downhere
Dear God - Grover Levy
You Hold Me Now - Hillsong United (we do this one at our church)
Still Is My Soul - Jill Phillips
Won't Back Down - Mat Kearney
The Love Of God - Rich Mullins
If I Stand - Rich Mullins
Only Hope - Switchfoot
Be Thou My Vision - Pedro The Lion version
By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North
Hold My Heart - Tenth Avenue North
O God Where Are You Now - Sufjan Stevens (David Crowder version)

Song List - April 18, 2010

I was reminded yesterday that I hadn't posted the song list from this past week (I'm glad someone still reads this blog!), so here it is:

All To You - Lincoln Brewster
Your Grace Is Enough - Matt Maher (Chris Tomlin version)
Enough - Chris Tomlin
Draw Me Close - Kelly Carpenter
It Is Well (New Version) - North Point Community Church (Todd Fields)

We also showed a great video from Dan Stevers that used the song "Broken" by Lifehouse. Here is the video:

J.R. Smith's Alley Oop Dunk

How this dunk didn't make the NBA.com's Top Ten List of the Year is beyond me, but it is certainly amazing:

Song List - April 11, 2010

Salvation Is Here - Hillsong United
Sing Sing Sing - Chris Tomlin
Glorious One - Steve Fee
You Alone - David Crowder
Here I Am To Worship - Tim Hughes

Avs Clinch A Playoff Spot!

Song List - Easter (April 4, 2010)

We had a great Easter - lots of people, lots of craziness! We added another service to the mix, which was a bridge between contemporary and traditional (it was called Celebration)

Celebration Service:

My Redeemer Lives - Hillsong
I Am Free - Jon Egan
Come Thou Fount Come Thou King - Gateway
Mighty To Save - Hillsong
It Is Well (new version) - Todd Fields

Contemporary Service:

Happy Day - Tim Hughes (Fee version)
Song Of Hope - Robbie Seay Band
Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle
Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfill

We also did I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin as a special in all three services.

The Choice

I'm not much of a traditionalist by any means, but there is one tradition during the weeks leading up to Easter that I try and follow each year: reading through the book Reliving The Passion by Walt Wangerin Jr. He's the guy who wrote the short story Ragman, and I recommend pretty much all of his books. But especially his devotional book about the Passion of Jesus. Each chapter is a day of Lent, and he does an incredible job of putting different thoughts and words together concerning the last week of Jesus.

I'm behind in my readings, so I'm trying to catch up, and one chapter I read last night really hit me for some reason, so I thought I would share.

---
The Twenty-Third Day
Monday

Mark 15:6-11
Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he was wont to do for them. And he answered them, Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.

Behold the people! Though they think themselves the force of the morning, in charge of things (by virtue of their numbers and their noise), they are in fact being put to a test which shall reveal the truth beneath their words, the reality beneath their self-assumptions and all their pretense.

Behold the nature of the breed!

A crowd has gathered at the Praetorium, a rabble, an obstreperous delegation of Judeans whose presence complicates Pilate's inclination to release Jesus. These crowds are volatile. Instead of a simple release, then, a choice is offered the people. Let the people feel in charge; let the people decide. The Governor will, according to a traditional Passover amnesty, free one prisoner. Which will it be -

Jesus of Nazareth? - whom they have falsely accused of treason against the Empire?
Or Barabbas? - treasonous in fact, one who committed murder for the cause?

If they choose the latter, their loyalties to the Empire (which Jesus is supposed to have offended) are revealed a vile sham, and these are no more than temporizing hypocrites, pretending any virtue to satisfy a private end.

But the Governor will release only one prisoner. Which will it be?

Jesus - who is the Son of the Father, who is the Kingdom of God come near unto them?
Or Barabbas - whose name means "the son of a (human) father," flesh itself, the fleshly pretensions to god-like, personal power in the kingdoms of the world?

This, precisely, is the timeless choice of humankind.

If they choose the latter, they choose humanity over divinity. They choose one who will harm them over one who would heal them.

If they choose Barabbas, they choose the popular revolutionary hero, the swashbuckler, the pirate, merry Robin Hood, the blood-lusty rake, the law-flout, violence glorified, appetites satisfied, James Bond, Billy Jack, Clint Eastwood, Rambo, the celebrated predator, the one who "turns them on," over one who asks them to "deny themselves and die." They choose (voluntarily!) entertainment over worship, self-satisfaction over sacrificial love, getting things over giving things, being served over serving, "feeling good about myself" and having it all and gaining the whole world and rubbing elbows with the rich rather than rubbing the wounds of the poor -

The choice is before them. And they think the choice is external, this man or that man. In fact, the choice is terribly internal: this nature or that one, good folks or people essentially selfish and evil, therefore. It's an accurate test of their character. How they choose is who they are.

Behold a people in desperate need of forgiveness.

---

Wake Up - Arcade Fire

I've heard this song before. Many times. And I don't know if it's because it's in the trailer for Where The Wild Things Are, or if it's played every day at the end of the Dan Patrick Show, but for some reason, now...just now...it's becoming my favorite song.

The first minute needs to be my ringtone, gotta make that happen.

Set List - March 21, 2010

Salvation Is Here - Hillsong United
Glory To God Forever - Steve Fee
Everything - Tim Hughes
You Hold Me Now - Hillsong United
God Of This City - Chris Tomlin

Announcement Video - March 21, 2010

If you've never been to a Bass Pro Shop, you need to check it out! We were treated so well there as we filmed our announcement video, it was great!

032110 announcement video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Set List - March 14, 2010

Salvation Is Here (A) - Hillsong United
Everlasting God (Bb) - Lincoln Brewster
God Of Wonders (Bb) - City On A Hill
Wonderful Maker (C) - Chris Tomlin
Hungry (C) - Kathryn Scott

St. Patrick As Told By Veggietales

I don't think this is exactly how it happened, but Veggie Tales does a good job of explaining the life story of St. Patrick, as told through a puppet with an Indian voice...



Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I've been attacked by Glenn Beck!

First, Beck railed this week against churches who preach "social justice." Now he's attacking individual church leaders, including me!

March 7, 2010 Message Bumper

March 7 2010 Message Bumper from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Song List - March 7, 2010

The asterisked songs were only done during the first hour, since we had Girl Scout Sunday and two baptisms second hour.

Sing Sing Sing - Chris Tomlin
* Not To Us - Chris Tomlin
Mighty To Save - Hillsong
* Lead Me To The Cross - Hillsong United
Jesus Paid It All - Kristian Stanfill

My Daughter and Other Girl Scouts Do The Announcements.

How awesome is this video? Very awesome.

March 7 Announcement Video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Earthquake In Chile Affects A Brother In Christ

Raul Concha is a chaplain at Sycamore Hospital, only a mile away from my church. We see Raul almost every month at our Miamisburg Ministerial Association meeting, except for the past month, because he was on vacation in his home country of Chile. Yes, that same country that was just devastated by an earthquake. Thankfully, Raul left the day before the earthquake hit, and his family is okay as well, but we need to continue to pray for his family, that they can get water and other necessities, as well as the people of Chile who are now beginning to rebuild their homes and lives after this massive earthquake.

Here is a local news story on Raul and his family.

My Favorite YouTube Videos

After I clicked on a link that brought me to another really funny YouTube video, it made me think, what are my favorites of all times from the YouTube world? Well, here's what I came up with:

- Russian Man "Sings"

This is the one that was sent to me today.



- John Daker



- Omazing Grace



- O Holy Night



- Praise Brothers



- Kid Hits His Head On Counter



- Reporter Gets Hit By Snow Tube



- News Anchors Laugh At Model Falling Down



I'm sure there are more, but that's a good start.

02/28/10 Relationslips Bumper #4

One more to go...

Relationslips Message Bumper #4 - 02/28/10 from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Miamisburg Christian Church 2009 Recap Video

I like how this turned out. It was a lot of effort, but fun to do!

Miamisburg Christian Church 2009 Recap Video from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Song List - February 21, 2010

Glorious One - Steve Fee
Famous One - Chris Tomlin
I Will Sing - Matt Boswell
We Crown You - Steve Fee
How Great Is Our God - Chris Tomlin

Message Bumper - February 21, 2010

February 21 2010 Message Bumper from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Song List - February 14, 2010

I have decided to get rid of the blog that I have for church, and just have it link to this one. It's hard enough to keep track of one blog, let alone three (I have another blog about human trafficking here.)

Of course, on my "work" blog, I really only posted what we did the Sunday before, because I had some people at church ask what the songs were after we did them. So, this will now be an addition to this blog as well.

02/14/10

Cannons - Phil Wickham
Everyday - Hillsong
Holy Is The Lord - Chris Tomlin
Everything - Tim Hughes
How He Loves - David Crowder Band version (special music)

Message Bumper - February 14, 2010

We're in this message series called "Relationslips" and I thought it would be fun to put together four bumper videos to coincide with each week's theme. This last week's one was much better than the week before (although I didn't have much time to do it, being in Savannah and all). I'm already starting to think about what next week's is going to look like.

February 14 2010 Message Bumper from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

Letting Go Of "The Dream Job"

I was talking with one of my fellow staff members here at MCC, and somehow the subject of our dream jobs, i.e. dream ministry positions came up. We both had good stories.

For him, in the early 90's he had the opportunity to be the student minister at a church in Huntington Beach, CA - which would have been a great ministry, I know the church and the town well - but he and his wife decided that since they had young kids, the beach wasn't the best place for their kids to grow up.

My dream opportunity happened when I was in Dallas as a student minister there. My wife and I knew that although we liked the church a lot and had some great times there, it just wasn't a good fit for us (or for them, really), and so I started putting out some feelers to see what was out there. And then I found it: an open youth ministry position at a church in Steamboat Springs, CO. This church had an incredible retreat facility that my home church, when I was youth minister there, took great advantage of. (the above picture is of a fall retreat at that retreat center) If you know me, you also know that growing up I wanted to become a ski instructor and as a matter of fact was able to do so for a couple of years before going to college.

This youth ministry position had everything I wanted: (1) it was in a ski town. (2) it had an incredible facility. (3) I would have hung out with ski bums like myself.

I applied for the position, went out there to interview, and waited (im)patiently for them to call me and tell me I was hired. The call came, but it was to tell me that I was #2, and they had hired the #1 guy. I was extremely upset, to say the least.

In my conversations with fellow ministers, I've noticed that it seems like most of us don't settle down in one place for long. Back in the day, a minister would stay at a church for a lifetime. Of course, back in the day as well, our fathers would stay at their job for forty years. It isn't that way any more. Even if we're happy at our position, we have an eye open for the next big opportunity, the next happening church, the "dream job".

I'm done with that. Experience has taught me well, and it hasn't been an easy lesson to take. God is calling His workers to grow roots and thrive where He has planted them. I love my church, and although I haven't been there long, I've decided that my dream job is where God has me now. I get to work with some incredible men and women of God, both on staff, and those who volunteer. Our eldership takes care of its staff and has our backs. I'm ready to develop roots and grow where God has planted me.

Blake's Story

Well, here is my first post of the new year. I thought I would start posting more often, but it's actually been less often. Oops!

Here is a testimony by a pastor named Blake. I don't personally know Blake, but we do have a couple of things in common:

1) I was the youth pastor at my home church for six and a half years. Blake was the youth pastor at my home church a few years after me.

2) I was deeply hurt by some things that took place at my home church. Blake was also deeply hurt by the church as well.

I have heard things have gotten better, but this church is known for eating up youth ministers and spitting them back out alive, but barely. In fact, in the ten years since I've been there, that church has gone through I think seven youth ministers.

Blake's testimony hit home with me. I'm sure that everyone can find some similarities with their own stories.

God's Restoration in Ministry Burnout from Anne Jackson on Vimeo.

Albums I Enjoyed In 2009

Well, here comes all the year-end best of lists. I've decided this year not to rank my favorites of 2009, but just list them out. Here are the albums I enjoyed the most in 2009:

U2 - No Line On The Horizon

Sherwood - Qu

David Crowder Band - Church Music

Silversun Pickups - Swoon

Phil Danyew - Danyew EP

Jars Of Clay - Long Fall Back To Earth

Paper Route - Absence

Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane

Owl City - Ocean Eyes

Weezer - Raditude

Phil Wickham - Heaven and Earth

Kristian Stanfill - Attention

I Fought The Law...

So every once in awhile in my life I've been kind of hounded by law enforcement. Sometimes it's my fault, sometimes it isn't. I guess it's time for it to happen again, because I received a ticket on my car for "expired plates." The interesting thing is that the tags say they expire Dec-09 which to me means they're good until the end of December. But oh no, not in the state of Ohio. It means they're good until your birthday, which in my case is December 3rd. I of course didn't know this because I don't know anyone in law enforcement, and the government did not send me anything letting me know that this new law had taken effect.

It reminds me of my last run-in, when I lived in Dallas and I received a letter saying my license was going to be suspended because of something that happened in Arizona. So I called Arizona and after several tries, I finally found out that I had a ticket in Mississippi that I never paid for, so they were suspending a license I never had in Arizona which meant that Texas was going to suspend my Texas license.

I have never been to Mississippi. I wonder if it was the Owl City guy back then? Because now I get confused with him, so maybe he messed my life up back then. Of course he would have only been like thirteen or fourteen or something like that. But it could have happened.

After paying a fine for something I didn't do, my license was reinstated and it was all good.

The time before that, I was interning in Arizona and couldn't get back to Colorado to renew my license because I was having brain surgery. Guess what happened when I got back to Colorado? The police had set up one of those drunk driving stops where they pull everyone to the side of the road to make sure no one is drunk. I wasn't drunk, but I did have an expired license. So I had to call my grandparents to come and get me, because my explanation, even showing the officer my shaved head and my scar, didn't get me anywhere.

So I wonder what will happen when I go to court to fight this ticket? The law will win, and I will be out 150 bucks. Merry Christmas to me.

Is Social Media A Fad?

Thanks to Kem Meyer's blog, I found a very interesting video on social media. I'm thinking about the possible ramifications social media has on the church and how we do things and "market" ourselves, but for now, here's just the video.

REVIEW:The Search For God And Guinness

So I'm part of this cool "we'll give you a free book if you post a review in your blog" dealy-o with Thomas Nelson Publishers. The first book I picked was something that immediately piqued my interest - a book about the Guinness brewery. It has been a dream of mine for some time to take a trip to Ireland, and one of the places I would definitely visit is the place where Guinness is brewed. I don't drink very often - and at my latest position, I had to sign something that stated I wouldn't - but I've always liked the way Guinness tasted and have had a few of them in my life.

It's interesting because a few months ago I was having a "conversation" online on a message board about a story I had heard concerning Guinness - that the founder of Guinness looked around his Dublin neighborhoods and saw fathers who were drinking away their money rather than spending it on their families, so he decided to create a drink that would be good for them, be filling so that they only spent a little on alcohol and that they would support their families. The problem in this conversation was determining the validity of this story: googling it produced nothing, so we assumed that since we couldn't find any sources denying it, that it must be true.

It's not. That's one of the first things you discover reading The Search For God And Guinness. Which for me was kind of disappointing; after all, we all love good stories, especially those heart-warming stories about incredible people (not to mention it's always a good thing when you can find some justification for drinking a beer: "Hey, I'm drinking Guinness because it will fill me up and I won't spend as much money on beer.")

However, The Search For God And Guinness is a fascinating tale of the Guinness brewery and the family who founded it: starting with Arthur Guinness, who was quite the man. Although generations of the Guinness family grew the company to what it is today (a beer empire), it was Arthur Guinness' vision that started the whole ball rolling.

To me, one of the most fascinating aspects of Guinness was the way from the beginning the company took care of its employees. These days (well, maybe not so much "these days", since a lot of companies are cutting health care benefits and other things because of the economy, so let's say "in recent times"), we take it for granted that a company would want to take care of those who work for it, but back in the early days of Guinness, that was a rarity. Arthur Guinness understood that if he wanted his employees to work hard and be loyal to his company, he had to provide them with benefits that would keep them happy and their families taken care of.

Guinness also not only cared for its own employees, but also for the community around the brewery. Arthur Guinness started the first Sunday School program for kids in Dublin, which showed how religion played an important part in his life. Several of the Guinness family throughout the ages have decided to forgo the brewery business to enter in the ministry, and church was a staple in most of the Guinness families' lives.

Another fascinating part of this book was the description of the life of Dr. John Lumsden, who was brought on board as the chief medical officer. Lumsden was a man of deep conviction and compassion and helped improved not only the lives of the Guinness worker and family, but also the lives of the underprivileged and poor of Dublin. He was the one who urged the Guinness brewery to champion the cause of the poor and needy. The amazing thing was not only the compassion of this man, but also that the leaders of Guinness decided to do it! From the book:

It is a tribute to the enduring benevolence of the Guinness firm that the board that convened in 1901 was eager to follow Dr. Lumsden's suggestions. It might have been otherwise...They might have felt themselves bullied and manipulated by this upstart, this fresh-faced young doctor with his novel ideas of corporate duties to the poor...instead, they threw themselves into the vision Lumsden had set.

Lumsden offered nine suggestions for improving workers' lives:

1. Technical education for the younger generation
2. Popular lectures of educational value
3. A program of athletics and exercise
4. Literature encouraging hygiene and the prevention of disease
5. Courses in cooking for mothers and young women
6. Education regarding the feeding of infants
7. Recreational opportunities in the form of concerts or social
8. Opportunities for management and laborers to meet and socialize
9. Housing

Like most biography type books, there were certain sections that I felt were a little too detailed, but for the most part The Search For God And Guinness kept me intrigued throughout the book. Here were two issues that I think resonated with me the most:

1. Corporate Responsibility

In today's age, with all of the corporate scandals and greed, and the ever-increasing gap between the CEO and the workers under that CEO, it's refreshing to read about a company who cared for the well-being and development of its workers over making money. We all understand that a company's main focus is to make money, no one is debating that. But to make money at the "expense" of the workers who are making it happen is a travesty. Now, I know that there are many "secular" companies who are doing good things for their workers, and good things for the community and such - however, we mostly only read about the "bad stories", after all bad sells (Enron-World Com-nameyourmessedupcompanyhere). However, I believe a generation is being raised up right now of people who are demanding that companies exist for more than just the bottom line: the almight dollar. And they aren't just demanding it, they are using their buying power to make changes. I think we will see this movement grow throughout the next decade, and it would be beneficial for corporations to look in the past and see what the Guinness brewery did and emulate their corporate responsibility code.

2. The Divide Between "Secular" and "Sacred"

Guinness helped break down the wall between secular and sacred by showing that a person didn't have to be a minister or a missionary to make a difference spiritually in the lives of people. Good things can happen outside of the walls of a church, it can even happen inside a brewery (gasp!). Stephen Mansfield, the author, showed his distaste of other biographies on Guinness, because too often they branched the Guinness family into three groups: the brewery Guinness family, the banking Guinness family, and the God-following Guinness family. To do so, argues Mansfield, is to lessen the impact that the other branches (brewery and banking) had spiritually as well. This type of thinking is one of the reasons why we as ministers feel like we have to do everything in a church: because our people don't recognize (either because we've told them or because that's their expectation) that no matter what they do as a career, it can be used for God.

I really enjoyed this book and it gave me new appreciation for the lasting impact a company, even a brewery, can have on the world. My hope and prayer is that we will see more companies take the example of Guinness and show more corporate responsibility towards its employees and the community around it.

Three Halloweens.

I have to admit, I haven't really even thought about my blog in more than a month. It's been hard finding time to write down thoughts, let alone think them! Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time here in the next few weeks as 2009 winds down. I'm sure at least one new post will be a reflection on this past year and how crazy it has been. On Halloween, I thought about the last three October 31sts and how different each one was:

10/31/07 - On the very day of Halloween, I had sent out my resignation letter to the elders and staff of the church I was working at in Springboro to let them know that I had accepted an opportunity to plant a church in my home state of Colorado. I remember I was a little nervous about going trick or treating in a certain neighborhood because I wasn't sure if I was going to run into one of the staff or elders and didn't know if they received the letter or not. I didn't really want to have one of those awkward conversations while my daughter was wanting to get more candy from other houses. Thankfully it didn't happen. I remember being very excited about the chance to return "home," if you will. I had regretted leaving Colorado when we did in 2000, and I thought this was a chance to stay in Colorado for the rest of my life. Little did I know that on...

10/31/08 - I was planning on moving back to Ohio. 2008 was even wackier than this year was. We moved back to Colorado and the entire year we were there, we never felt any stability or reassurance that we were supposed to be there. By the time Halloween had rolled around, we had decided to move back. Our house had never sold, my position at the church plant had been reduced to part time, and to be honest we were discouraged because we wrongly assumed that we would be welcomed back to Colorado with open arms. We wrongly assumed that the people whose lives we had touched and impacted over the years we served at my home church in Colorado would be interested in us being back and would want to help support us - if not financially, at least by encouraging us. That did not happen for the most part. And yes, I am still bitter and trying to let that go. The night of Halloween I was with my brother because my family was already back in Ohio, so we ended up going to a U2 tribute band concert, which took my mind off what I had been struggling with during the time (besides the bitterness I just mentioned). I was moving back without knowing what I was going to be doing. I was getting burned out on ministry and churches, so I wasn't sure if that's what I wanted to continue doing. I was angry and confused.

10/31/09 - A year later, I can look back and see God's plan, at least part of it. I still don't fully understand why we moved away from Ohio, but we have seen God bring us through this year with much blessing and we are thankful to be back where we are supposed to be, in Ohio. We got to move back into the house we love. Our family got to be back together again (we were apart for 5 months in late 2007/2008). We found a great church to do ministry in again. We were able to reconnect with many of our friends we had developed relationships with in Ohio. Through generous people here in Ohio, as well as a family member, we survived not having a job for four months relatively unscathed (although we are still feeling the financial effects of paying for most of our ministry expenses in Colorado with our own credit card and then only getting reimbursed for a fourth of it, which was not what was promised).

Three Halloweens. Three entirely different situations. We have learned our lesson and are growing roots where God has planted us - here in Ohio. We look forward to another year of stability and growth.

Advent Conspiracy

I love the above graphic - it illustrates how we have turned a special day to honor the birth of Jesus into a marketing tool to buy a lot of crap we don't need.

For more information on Advent Conspiracy, go here.

Forgotten God

I cannot wait...

to see this movie. I loved the book as a kid. I love Spike Jonze. I can't wait.

Climate Change Is Real. What Are The Implications For Christians?

"Too often my environmentally concerned friends are right. But as so many species slide closer to extinction, the rare species known variously as Christianus environmentalis or Disciplos verde is making a comeback. As songwriter Bruce Cockburn said, 'May their gene pool increase.' I don't doubt that this love for creation will be a hallmark of the emerging generous orthodoxy. My friend Melanie Griffin, national program director of the Sierra Club, says it like this: 'In the past few years, we've seen a big increase in the number of Christians involved in actively protecting creation. They are leading stream cleanups, giving sermons about creation care, and jumping into the public policy arena. Christians bring a special energy and spirit to environmental work.'"

- Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy

Let's be frank. Climate change is real.

I've heard all the arguments against there being an increasing dangerous level of climate change. (And if I hear one more joke about global warming on cold days in church, I might go insane. People, global warming is a dead phrase.) The fact is, we as humans are disrupting our environment. We humans through "progress" are polluting our world, destroying our forests, killing our animal species, and more.

More and more reports are coming out of scientific communities concerning climate change. You can read about the latest report here.

So, it's not really debatable. So stop arguing against the facts, and start thinking about what you can do!

And what is the Christian response? Can we as Christians look past the political ramifications of deciding to do something about climate change?

If you believe - as I do - that one of the responsibilities God has given to humans - going all the way back to Genesis - is to take care of the earth and what's on the earth - shouldn't our response be to fight climate change? Shouldn't it be to do our best to reduce our carbon footprint in the world, to choose carefully what we drive or purchase, to lead the charge to care for creation? After all, we are the ones who believe God is the one who created everything. Let's stop arguing whether or not climate change is happening, and let's start doing something about it.

To learn more how you can help take care of creation, go to the Creation Care website.

-------

I'm glad I heard that the blogging world is blogging about this today.

The Advent Conspiracy

This sounds really really good. Doing something different than the usual consumer stuff.

My prayer life stinks.

Pete Wilson, a pastor at Crosspoint Church in TN, has a great blog post about how his prayer life stinks.

I think most churchgoers would assume that pastors spend hours a day praying. For the most part, probably not true.

I know I don't. I pray, I have devotional time most days - but I certainly don't pray like I depend on God for His strength and guidance throughout the day. I wonder if I prayed more, would I be more proactive and less reactive throughout the day? Would I be more focused on Kingdom issues and less focused on what's coming up on Sunday morning? Would I get more accomplished by doing less?

Who knows. I do know that I need to pray more.

A Million Miles

Here are the first 30 pages of Donald Miller's new book. Enjoy!

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller

An Ocean Of Grief

Be forewarned...this post is probably going to be pretty raw and unfiltered. So FYI.

--

A 93 year old man and a 7 month old girl died this past week.

The 93 year old man was named Norman. He was a faithful attender at the church I work at. His first wife died of cancer in 1992 I believe, and he re-married in 2001. From what I was told, his last eight years of his life were his best.

The 7 month old girl was named Caitlyn. Her mother was a student in my first youth ministry at my home church in Colorado. I can not even begin to describe the amount of time that I have spent with her over the years - face-to-face, emails, letters, etc. She was one of those students who always had problems and situations in her life. When I left for Dallas, she was still in high school and went off the deep end for awhile and her life was a mess. She started getting her life back together when her first daughter was born, and last year when I was in Colorado I had the opportunity to spend time with her and with her husband and attempt to help them through the difficulties in their marriage. When she found out she was pregnant, she was extremely excited, but I remember wondering if that was so great of a thing because I wasn't sure she was ready to face being a mother of two children.

I never got to meet Caitlyn, but I know she was a joy to be with. Her mother's facebook updates and messages to me were filled with statements of how wonderful she was.

She died Friday night in a tragic crib accident staying with her grandparents on her dad's side. The funeral is this Wednesday.

Even though I didn't know her, the tragedy of her death and the addition of one more thing in her mother's already hard life reminded me of my own mom's hard life and this floodgate of emotion opened up in me last night and this morning. I don't know if you have ever felt like your heart was literally breaking in two, but that's what it felt like to me. I'm writing this post because I'm afraid that if I don't talk about it now, that I'll repress it all back in again and something else will happen and the flood will begin again.

I think I have these huge cracks in my heart that I've attempted to fix myself with glue that doesn't last. I remember in college, my mother's death hit me all of a sudden in the middle of my junior year (three years after she died), and I thought I would never recover. Unfortunately, at a Christian college you're supposed to act like you have it all together, so I just shoved the pain back in and bandaged up the wound and put on a fake smile and kept on moving.

This morning, as I sat in Starbucks drinking coffee and waiting to film one of our church members doing their job at Kroger, I penned these words in my journal:

And I'm stranded on this island in an ocean of grief
So won't You be the one to rescue me?
Will you be the one to rescue me?

And I'm hanging by this thread of my own insecurity
So won't You be the one to rescue me?
Will you be the one to rescue me?

I haven't written a song in ten years, but those words are starting to sound like one.

When I filmed the church member this morning, I almost lost it again. This particular church member is mentally challenged and it opened up some questions in my mind that I've wrestled with for a long time. Questions like

I understand that disease and disabilities and the like are the result of the Fall, but why are those things seemingly so random?

If my heart feels like it's breaking with the weight of my grief and my unanswered questions and situations from my life, how can You God deal with the weight of the entire world's grief? (this is a proof that I use in the evidence against God when I have my doubts.)

I've had my own near-death experiences (brain tumor), and I've experienced the pain of seeing someone you love almost die (my daughter when she fractured her skull) and succumb to death (my mom), and as I grow older nothing is easier and nothing is dealt with and I'm afraid that one day something will happen and I will become so numb from it all that I'll have a nervous breakdown and give up.

But for now, I still have faith.

The Office Intro

Wow, so I never post in here anymore. I'm extremely busy at work and home...well, let's just say I have a ton of things to do at home as well.

Here is a video that we showed this past Sunday. We are doing a message series called The Office, and we wanted to do a fun intro like the beginning of the T.V. show, but show our own church people working at their jobs. I thought it turned out really well, so here is the first one, with more to follow.

Office Intro 082309 (without names) from Miamisburg Christian Church on Vimeo.

God On Mute Quotes

The revelation of God's love - the tears in His eyes - may not solve any of our intellectual questions about why He leaves a particular prayer unanswered. (In many ways, the sight of those tears makes His unresponsiveness even harder to comprehend.) But it does touch an emotional need within us that is perhaps even deeper than the intellectual one: the need to know that what we are going through and the way that we are feeling matters; the need to know that our requests have been heard; the need to know that God - in whom we have placed all our hope - is near and He truly cares.

When my deep prayers don't work, I easily default to despair, anger or doubt. Although I believe that God can handle my hang-ups, the truth is that there is only temporary comfort in anger and no hope whatsoever in doubt.

God's voice can so easily be muted by our hurt, our self-hatred or our crazy preconceptions about Who he really is, how He speaks and what we think He will say.

Mark's gospel account of the Garden of Gethsemane event tells us that Jesus used the word Abba to talk to His Father. This is the only time in which Jesus addresses Yahweh as "Abba" (Daddy), and He is doing it at the time of His greatest vulnerability.

first there is
prayer
and where there is prayer there may be
miracles
but where miracles may not be there are
questions
and where there are questions there may be
silence
but silence may be more than
absence silence may be
presence muted
silence may not be
nothing
but something to
explore
defy
accuse
engage
and this is
prayer
and where there is prayer there may yet be
miracles...

Alice In Wonderland Trailer

I Became A Christian And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt

So I'm reading the above-titled book because we are going to do a message series based on the book at the church I work at.

It's pretty good so far - humorous, insightful and pretty powerful. I liked this quote the best so far:

Perhaps you've had an alias. You've been given other names besides your real one. Could it be that those names have shaped you? Maybe they've left you feeling unlovable, unable to understand how you could possibly be the one Jesus loves.

Well, other people may have told you that you're not worthy much, but the truth is that God wouldn't trade you for anything. In fact, when he set the price tag on you, it was His Son.

And you may be torn and broken. You may still bear the marks of deep wounds. But God is a master at reconstructive surgery.

And perhaps, because of all this, you have difficulty connecting with God. You feel like your prayers bounce back at you off the ceiling. At church other people sing out the worship songs, but you struggle to, not necessarily because you have a bad voice but because the words come from a bad heart. And so you're sure that to God, it's bad music. But no, when God hears you, he moves in tight.

You know why? Because you are his. Because since the beginning of your life, you have belonged to him. He shaped you in your mother's womb and his finger marks are permanently embedded in you.

You are the one Jesus loves.

One Of My Favorite Songs of U2's New Album...

is now in video form. (Unfortunately, the embedding option is not available.)

The Hole In The Gospel

I just bought the book "The Hole In The Gospel" by Richard Stearns, who is the president of World Vision U.S. It's really good so far, this "paraphrase" of that famous Matthew 25 passage has hit me the hardest so far:

"For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved."

Super Joe Retires.

I was hoping for at least one more year out of my favorite player, but Super Joe is making the announcement this week that he's retiring after 20 years of playing in the NHL.

Here are a few facts that make Joe Sakic stand out from the rest:

1) He played for the same team (Quebec-Colorado) for twenty years, his entire career - which is something not a lot of players can say they've done.

2) He owns the record for most playoff overtime goals (eight), which says a lot about his calmness during pressure packed games.

3) He never complained about anything, was always kind and courteous to the fans, and although wasn't the vocal leader some wanted him to be, was definitely the leader out on the ice.

4) It's Super Joe, not Burnaby Joe - as most of those who aren't from Colorado and who are writing accolades and praises of Joe Sakic are calling him.

If you want to see more opinions on the retirement of Super Joe Sakic, you can find them here.

From The Weird Music and Video Files...

I have a penchant for enjoying strange music. I don't listen to strange music all the time; it's just that every once in a while an artist will come around, like Regina Spektor or Joanna Newsome that intrigues me and so I'll go on a weird music marathon.

Enter this month's weird music: Dirty Projectors. Their new album Bitte Orca is amazing. All kinds of weird instruments, weird singing, fuzzy guitars...awesome.

And of course, weird musicians usually think of weird videos. So, here is Dirty Projector's weird video for their weird musical number called "Stillness Is The Move." No, I don't know what the llama is all about, either.

Questions That Heal

This is from Pete Greig's amazing book "God On Mute". If you've ever struggled with unanswered prayer and the feeling that God is distant, you need to read this book.

Questions That Heal

It's interesting to note how many times after his resurrection Jesus introduced Himself to people by asking them questions. Good Friday had left a mess, and Jesus was systematically dealing with the consequences of chaos in the lives of His friends by provoking them to respond to His presence.

Jesus' question for Mary Magdalene, "Why are you crying?" (John 20:13) targeted her pain. His question for the two men on the road to Emmaus, "What are you discussing...Don't you understand?" (Luke 24:17-25) targeted their confusion. His question to the disciples, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?" (Luke 24:38) targeted their crisis of faith. And then He cooked breakfast for Peter and asked him a question that targeted his guilt: "Do you truly love me?" (John 21:15).

The journey through Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday will create a mess in your life as well. But Jesus loves you too much to leave you for long in pain, confusion, doubt or a state of unbelief. He wants to help you deal with your disappointments. Perhaps your experiences of unanswered prayer have left you hurting and disorientated like Mary Magdalene. If so, He asks you the question He asked her: "Why are you crying?" So, tell Him! Lament. Rant, if you need to. And when you are done, stop and hear the way He speaks your name.

Maybe your disappointments in prayer have left you confused like those earnest men on the road to Emmaus. If this is the case, don't run away from the questions. Allow Jesus to explain the Scriptures to you by His Spirit. He wants to help you make sense of what you're going through. Study and think. Discuss these matters with friends. Perhaps, as you talk, there will be moments when you realize that Jesus has joined the conversation, just as He did on the road to Emmaus...

Maybe unanswered prayer has created a quiet crisis of faith in your life. Like the disciples, who could hardly believe it when Jesus appeared in their midst, your old confidence in God has been eroded. You are older and wiser, which is good, but you are also suspicious and weary. Imagine Jesus stepping through the locked doors of your heart and asking, "Why are you troubled, and why do you doubt?" Tell Him! You would not be the first, of course, to tell Jesus, "I do believe, help me in my unbelief!"

Or maybe in your journey through disappointment you have occasionally given in to the temptation to sin. Like Peter, you have been scared and said things you should not have said and held your tongue when you should have spoken up. Perhaps you too have sometimes felt like giving up and sinned anonymously with servant girls and strangers. Jesus may seek you out in the things you love to do. After all, that is how He sought Peter - on the beach after a long night of fishing - helping him to confess His love again, once for each denial.

When we suffer, Jesus comes with questions to refine and enhance our humanity. He of all people understands that this process of dealing with the mess created by our disappointments in prayer can hurt terribly. He knows that without His help, we will become bitter not better, and that we will lick our wounds like a dog or curl up in a ball of self-protection like a hedgehog. But if, like Mary, we will continue to worship, even at the grave of everything we ever believed in, our grief will turn to gold. The greatest miracle in the world - greater than any healing or any revelation - is the grace unleashed by a life refined through suffering. It is a grace that was first released when Jesus endured abandonment and death so that Mary Magdalene, and millions since, might receive a living hope that can no longer die.