So I've decided to rename the weekly update. I didn't like the title and I'm not completely sold on this one. Maybe my 4 readers, which could be an overstatement, can come up with something better.
The week that was:
Just what I needed. Slow. Relaxed. Nothing too big on the plate. The biggest thing that happened is that I drove to TN on Sunday after our middle school program. I left at 10AM (EST) and arrived at 10PM (CST). 13 hours baby! But I can't tell you how awesome it was to sleep next to my wife for the first time in a couple of weeks.
The week that is:
Not much going on down here in TN. I have some reading to do for class, some hanging out with family, Christmas, seeing old friends, etc.
What I'm listening to:
Wow, a 13 hr car ride gives you a ton of time to listen to things. The main things that I listened to were a new Dave Matthews Band CD, some praise and worship song that were generated by the genius feature on my iPod and the audio-book of "Jesus Wants to Save Christians." I'll post more about the book later this week.
What I'm reading:
Same old, same old. Stuff for class and I picked up the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I'm thinking this may be our required read for the mission trip this summer.
What I'm keeping my eye on:
The weather appears to be fluctuating quite a bit this week so that should be interesting. The Titans secured the #1 seed in the playoffs. The Tar Heels are looking really good this year in basketball.
Also, Holly, her mom, dad, sister and I saw our baby via ultrasound today. I just wanted to watch her move around and yawn and blink her eyes. I'm pretty sure that I will spend a lot of time just watching her when she finally arrives.
Lastly, I have quite a few random posts to put up this week thanks to the 13 hr car ride and much time to think. So stay tuned in!
Showing posts with label francis chan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label francis chan. Show all posts
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Weekly update for 12/15
The week that was:
In a word, crazy. I learned a musical that I sang in on Friday night and Sunday morning for our church. I was asked to sing in the Praise Team and do a couple of solos. It went really well, but I started to lose my voice as the week progressed and I now think that I am about a day from being fully sick. On top of that our students put on a coffeehouse to raise awareness and money for the situation in Darfur. Our youth band played two sets that were awesome and one of our students, Joel, made this incredible video that I'll try to post on here. There was also an art auction of pieces and crafts made by some of our students. All total they raised $1055! I'm so proud of them as Doug and I had nothing to do with the event other than to secure the coffee and run sound and lights. In addition I also preached for 2nd service yesterday. It went really well and I've heard some great feedback on how people were challenged. I rewrote things from what I posted online so you'll have to find the podcast if you want the final version.
The week that is:
In a word...chill. I do not have alot going on at the church so I'm going to focus on the class that I'm teaching in Jan. I've fallen behind in some of the reading and research that I want to do for the class. I'm also preparing to go back to TN on Sunday and be down there until Jan 1. I cannot tell you how much I want to see my wife. I hate being this alone. I do not know how people that travel can stand it. I'd have to find a new job. But the main goal this week is to rest and relax compared to the past couple of weeks.
What I'm listening to:
There's a band that I found through the Emergent Village podcast called "The Cobalt Season." They've got a great chill sound and I'm digging them right now. I've also been listening to Starfield's lastest album, "I Will Go." There are a couple of songs on there that I want to use with our youth group.
What I'm reading:
Still books for class. They are systematic works as well as a few books on the Holy Spirit since that is our first subject in class. I'm also wanting to start Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love. I've heard some good things about that one.
What I'm keeping an eye on:
Did you see the guy who threw 2 shoes at President Bush? That was pretty hilarious. Bush had two great ducks because the first one would have clocked him in the face had he not moved. I also keeping an eye on the weather as I leave out on Sunday. I hope that the road stay clear from here to TN. The last thing that I want is to be delayed by bad weather. There is also a conversation around the word missional going on in the blogosphere that I've flagged to read now that I have a little bit of free time.
In a word, crazy. I learned a musical that I sang in on Friday night and Sunday morning for our church. I was asked to sing in the Praise Team and do a couple of solos. It went really well, but I started to lose my voice as the week progressed and I now think that I am about a day from being fully sick. On top of that our students put on a coffeehouse to raise awareness and money for the situation in Darfur. Our youth band played two sets that were awesome and one of our students, Joel, made this incredible video that I'll try to post on here. There was also an art auction of pieces and crafts made by some of our students. All total they raised $1055! I'm so proud of them as Doug and I had nothing to do with the event other than to secure the coffee and run sound and lights. In addition I also preached for 2nd service yesterday. It went really well and I've heard some great feedback on how people were challenged. I rewrote things from what I posted online so you'll have to find the podcast if you want the final version.
The week that is:
In a word...chill. I do not have alot going on at the church so I'm going to focus on the class that I'm teaching in Jan. I've fallen behind in some of the reading and research that I want to do for the class. I'm also preparing to go back to TN on Sunday and be down there until Jan 1. I cannot tell you how much I want to see my wife. I hate being this alone. I do not know how people that travel can stand it. I'd have to find a new job. But the main goal this week is to rest and relax compared to the past couple of weeks.
What I'm listening to:
There's a band that I found through the Emergent Village podcast called "The Cobalt Season." They've got a great chill sound and I'm digging them right now. I've also been listening to Starfield's lastest album, "I Will Go." There are a couple of songs on there that I want to use with our youth group.
What I'm reading:
Still books for class. They are systematic works as well as a few books on the Holy Spirit since that is our first subject in class. I'm also wanting to start Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love. I've heard some good things about that one.
What I'm keeping an eye on:
Did you see the guy who threw 2 shoes at President Bush? That was pretty hilarious. Bush had two great ducks because the first one would have clocked him in the face had he not moved. I also keeping an eye on the weather as I leave out on Sunday. I hope that the road stay clear from here to TN. The last thing that I want is to be delayed by bad weather. There is also a conversation around the word missional going on in the blogosphere that I've flagged to read now that I have a little bit of free time.
Friday, December 5, 2008
How big is your pile?
That is the question that Francis Chan asked us at the youth specialties convention. But before you tune me out, let me give you a big of context for the question. Chan has been a very successful pastor in California in terms of building a mega church that started as a church plant. He shared with us that God had been dealing with him about what success was in the Kingdom of God and how he started to rethink his priorities in ministry.
Chan then went on to talk a little about discipleship and how Jesus did discipleship. He talked about how Jesus ministered differently to his disciples than to those in the crowds. He then talked about the parables and Chan seemed to say that Jesus spoke in them to confuse those that didn't really care about what Jesus had to say. I don't really know what I think about this but I see what he was trying to say. He pointed to the fact that the disciples would come up to Jesus after a parable and then ask what the meaning was, this according to Chan is what Jesus means by the good soil. (Matt 13:1-17) My problem with this is I don't know if I can say that Jesus essentially didn't care about those in the crowds at that time. I understand that Jesus was concerned with teaching the disciples as much as possible since they were going to carry on what Jesus started. But I'm a little uncomfortable in saying that Jesus didn't care about those in the crowd with whom he was teaching. Maybe I'm wrong about this and would be willing to discuss it the comments of this post. Or maybe I misunderstood what Chan was trying to say.
Anyways, Chan then began to talk about salt (Matt 5:13) in terms of "success" in ministry. He then did something that has stuck with me the past few weeks and I am still thinking about. He pulled out a little salt packet, opened it up and poured it on the top of his Bible and said that this represented those in his church who were truly living into the mission of God. These were the people that he wanted to pour his life into and see how they would begin to flavor the world around them. He then poured a big salt shaker that you would get at Denny's and dumped it on top of the smaller pile and said that this salt represented those that were just around for entertainment, prestige or any other reason that does not correspond with living into the mission of God. He said when we get caught up in our "success" that we begin to walk around asking the question, "how big is your pile?" I had to chuckle a little bit because not only have I been asked that question before, but in some cases I've asked that question.
If you do not know me, I must tell you that I am a co-youth pastor of a large youth ministry. I do not say this to brag, but to let you in on my current situation. We have a lot of kids that come through our doors, but Chan has me thinking about what kind of salt our students are. Are they living into the mission of God or are they there to be entertained or to be seen? More than anything this has me thinking about the discipleship process that we hope happens organically and I am wondering how intentional we should be about this. I am also thinking about how a student should enter into a discipleship process. Should they be invited? Should they take the initiative? Should it be forced upon them? What do you think?
I hope that I have done Chan justice in how I have remembered his message that evening. If not, please correct me as I do not want to misrepresent what he said. I will say that I totally admire the changes that he talked about that he and his church are making in an effort to live into the mission of God. I pray that they will continue to allow God to lead them as they shift the way in which they "do" church.
Chan then went on to talk a little about discipleship and how Jesus did discipleship. He talked about how Jesus ministered differently to his disciples than to those in the crowds. He then talked about the parables and Chan seemed to say that Jesus spoke in them to confuse those that didn't really care about what Jesus had to say. I don't really know what I think about this but I see what he was trying to say. He pointed to the fact that the disciples would come up to Jesus after a parable and then ask what the meaning was, this according to Chan is what Jesus means by the good soil. (Matt 13:1-17) My problem with this is I don't know if I can say that Jesus essentially didn't care about those in the crowds at that time. I understand that Jesus was concerned with teaching the disciples as much as possible since they were going to carry on what Jesus started. But I'm a little uncomfortable in saying that Jesus didn't care about those in the crowd with whom he was teaching. Maybe I'm wrong about this and would be willing to discuss it the comments of this post. Or maybe I misunderstood what Chan was trying to say.
Anyways, Chan then began to talk about salt (Matt 5:13) in terms of "success" in ministry. He then did something that has stuck with me the past few weeks and I am still thinking about. He pulled out a little salt packet, opened it up and poured it on the top of his Bible and said that this represented those in his church who were truly living into the mission of God. These were the people that he wanted to pour his life into and see how they would begin to flavor the world around them. He then poured a big salt shaker that you would get at Denny's and dumped it on top of the smaller pile and said that this salt represented those that were just around for entertainment, prestige or any other reason that does not correspond with living into the mission of God. He said when we get caught up in our "success" that we begin to walk around asking the question, "how big is your pile?" I had to chuckle a little bit because not only have I been asked that question before, but in some cases I've asked that question.
If you do not know me, I must tell you that I am a co-youth pastor of a large youth ministry. I do not say this to brag, but to let you in on my current situation. We have a lot of kids that come through our doors, but Chan has me thinking about what kind of salt our students are. Are they living into the mission of God or are they there to be entertained or to be seen? More than anything this has me thinking about the discipleship process that we hope happens organically and I am wondering how intentional we should be about this. I am also thinking about how a student should enter into a discipleship process. Should they be invited? Should they take the initiative? Should it be forced upon them? What do you think?
I hope that I have done Chan justice in how I have remembered his message that evening. If not, please correct me as I do not want to misrepresent what he said. I will say that I totally admire the changes that he talked about that he and his church are making in an effort to live into the mission of God. I pray that they will continue to allow God to lead them as they shift the way in which they "do" church.
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