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The Bible in 50 Words

This morning Pastor Troy Dobbs preached a sermon on Luke 2:11 - "Today in the town of David a Savior has ben born to you; He is Christ the Lord."  He shared that verse pretty much sums it all up.  He shared that the account of Jesus is significant and simple.  One thing that he shared that he had come across in his study was the Bible or Gospel in 50 words:

God made,

Adam bit,

Noah arked,

Abraham split,

Joseph ruled,

Jacob fooled,

Bush talked,

Moses balked,

Pharaoh plagued,

People walked,

Sea divided,

Tablets guided,

Promise landed

Saul freaked,

David peeked,

Prophets warned,

JESUS born,

God walked,

Love talked,

Anger crucified,

Hope died,

Love rose,

Spirit flamed,

Word spread,

God remained.

We are One tonight

Tonight, the junior and senior high ministries at Grace Church are going to participate with other youth ministries in Eden Praire for a worship gathering called "One Big Party".  This is the third time this year that we have done this.  You might remember a previous post where the youth pastors did a dance at a concert at Grace Church last Fall. 

I absolutely enjoy doing things with other Churches.  It reminds us youth pastors that we are on the same team.  I think that it also does a great job showing students that unlike the school pride they may have, a local Church is united in its call to bring Glory to God by making Him known. 

Today we are surrounded by companies who are trying to lure us in to be loyal customers to their restaraunt or storefront.  The Church is different, there is unity in our purpose as the local Church.

Inspiration via Francis Chan

I like many others am inspired by the ministry of Francis Chan.  I am constantly giving students who need a boost spiritually his book Crazy Love.  I'm currently in a study of his book Forgotten God with one of my volunteer leaders.  One of the things that I like about Francis Chan is his high view of Scripture and God.  There is no doubt that Francis Chan understands that God is far bigger than anything that we can comprehend and that He is far more in love with us than we can know.  I am challenged when Francis Chan exhorts his audience to consider the Church or the Holy Spirit (or whatever he is talking about) in light of what ONLY Scripture tells us about it.  It's astonishing how so many other voices influence our views and convictions about these things!

Recently, I ran across this video clip and I think that it will do a better job illustrating what is inspiring, challenging and refreshing about what God is doing through Francis Chan:

Something that caught my eye at Niketown in Chi-town

A few weeks ago I was in Chicago with my boss doing a preview trip for a 9th Grade trip that we will be taking in June.  While we were walking down Michigan Avenue, we went into the impressive Niketown store.   While we were in there I saw a sign that caught my eye and I've been thinking about what it said for quite a while.

Just in case you cant read the inscription, here's what it says:

In Europe they say you can tell which city

you are in by looking at the church spires.

Here in America, it is much the same; visitors

need only to look to our stadiums - our cathedrals

of sport - to orient themselves.

This is nowhere more true than in Chicago, where

these venerable structures stand not only as

landmarks, but as stone and steel testimonies to the

power of sports.  Like those churches of Europe, each

possesses its own recognizable characteristics. And

like those churches, each is a place of worship.

Niketown Chicago is dedicated to the same

spirit of reverance that built those edifices, and

which moves us to gather together to watch

full-grown adults at play.

The truth communicated by this inscription is eery to me.  I believe that God has wired us to worship 100% of the time.  The question is what is it that we place as the object of that worship.  Unfortunately, it is easy to put other things, events, people in the pace where God deserves to be. 

There is a lot of buzz in the Twin Cities about "Target Field" the brand new outdoor stadium where the Minnesota Twins now play.  I can't help but wonder about this "place of worship".  I don't believe that sport is evil but I have been in a stadium where people are out of their minds in celebrating and cheering for their favorite sport team.  I wonder what would happen if I was as committed to drawing my family, students and self to place their worship/devotion to the only One who is deserving of it as Niketown is committed to sport.

Passion Video

I found this video today on Louie Giglio's Twitter Feed. It does a great job communicating a slice of the Christian life!

Window Shopping

My wife and I are planning on taking our tax refund this year to replace all of the windows in our home this spring.  Unfortunately our current windows have broken seals and are extremely drafty and subsequently not energy efficient at all.  Neither of us have ever been down the road of replacing windows so we have a LOT to learn.  We are finding out that window replacement isn't like replacing a microwave or a toaster there are far more variables involved.  This past Saturday, we had a representative from Home Depot come to our home to give us an estimate and tell us what we didn't know about windows.  Needless to say we were less than pleased with how little this worker did to help us.  He assumed we knew more than we did and didn't take us very serious as potential customers who were genuinely interested in purchasing windows.  While the thought behind this blog post is a little underdeveloped, I can't help but wonder how similar learning about windows is for a pre-Christian  to "shop" Christianity. 

Here are a few observations:

Insider Language There are lots of different terms that are used to define the different parts of a window.  As a person who doesn't sell or install windows, I found myself scratching my head to all of the terms that were thrown at me.  I wonder if nonbelievers scratch their heads at how Christians talk.  Do we use language that they understand?  

Maintenance I've learned that all windows, no matter how expensive or durable they are, need some sort of maintenance.  They need to be cleaned.  The condensation needs to be wiped off.  I never noticed this (could be one of the contributors to why we need to replace our windows).  How many people view Christianity simply as a membership that is maintenance free.   How many preChristians watch other Christians live their life that way?  Rather it is obvious through Scripture that discipleship is crucial to the Christian faith

The Internet can be a good thing or a bad thing  As I am prone to do, I have gone online to research which window is the best for the price.  I have found through a variety of forums and reviews terrible testimonies to every type of window out there.  I have also found conflicting praises of these same windows.  I'm not sure how these windows could be the best that money can buy AND the biggest waste!  I wonder how the variety of views and opinions prohibit a seeking person to be enlightened to the Truth.

The power of testimony  Because there is so much conflicting information, and cut-throat consumerism surrounding windows we have found that the thing we trust the most is the testimony of friends and people we know who have been down this road before.  We can feel our trust and confidence grow as we talk to someone we know who has learned from mistakes or good decisions that they have made in having their windows replaced.  Because of this, we have a contractor or two that we plan on using.  The same must be true for people checking Christianity out.  There is probably nothing more important than relationship and testimony.

Unmixed, Mixed and Remixed

A few weeks ago I heard a sermon delivered by Pastor Clark Crebar, Young Adults Pastor at Grace Church.  I recommend that you listen for yourself.  It gives an excellent exposition of how we are to pray for one another.  There were a number of great things about his sermon.  One thing that he said, that wasn't at all the main point was when he defined the word 'pure'.  In simple form he said that the original word means to be 'unmixed'.  Ever since this sermon, I have been thinking about what being 'unmixed' means for me personally and how I look at ministry.

There are a number of ways that unmixed could be applied to life.  Or, maybe I should say that there a number of ways that I find myself mixed.  My diet, iTunes collection, television watching, family leadership, the weed content of my yard (when its alive), my preference for PC's or Macs...  When I take a hard took at my physical, emotional, spiritual, mental and social balance, I see things being mixed.

I think a great tension that I deal with is how to teach and model to students how to be unmixed in some situations and mixed in others.  There are areas where students (and adults for that matter) should strive to be unmixed with the things of this world (sexual immorality, idolatry, gossip, slander...).  And then I feel that there are areas where we should be mixed or to borrow Eugene Peterson's word 'remixed'.  In order to be salt and light, it is of ultimate importance for us to engage in the people and culture of this world.  I think that youthworkers need to teach and model the tension between areas of life that need to be unmixed and areas where a mixture is necessary.  We tend to go to far one way or the other!  This gets us into the whole "being in the world but not of it" discussion.  Jesus' words shed some light:

14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. - John 17:14,15 (NIV)

I currently find myself reading two books talking about this very thing.  The first is Pop Goes the Church: Should the Church Engage Pop Culture and The Fine Line: Reinvisioning the Gap Between Christ and Culture. I haven't finished either book, and I plan on having a 'part 2' to this posting once I do.