Revitalize Your Church

Let nothing trouble you Let nothing frighten you, Everything is fleeting, God alone is unchanging. Patience will obtain everything. The one who possess God, Wants for nothing. God alone suffices -- Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

Threee preachers, attending their monthly minister's meeting, began to share what was happening in their congregations. "Things are starting to look up for us," said the Baptist preacher, "we gained three new families last month." "We did better than that!" said the Methodist, "I think revival may be coming! We gained six new families last month!" "Well, we did even better than that!" exclaimed the Presbyterian, "Revival has come! We got rid of our nine biggest troublemakers!"

Birkebeiner | Climate Wisconsin from ECB on Vimeo .

Here's my suggestion for resolving the Wisconsin Government Worker crisis:  A Centrist Task Force. This Task Force should be composed of: 1)  a half dozen Republican Teachers. 2)  a half dozen Democrat Small Business Owners 3)  a half dozen other Wise Citizens who can understand both sides, and don't have an agenda. Put these people in a room together, give them all the information they need, let them make the decision -- and then live with it.

I was asked to guest lecture this past Thurday for an Evangelism Course at Indiana Wesleyan University.  Dr. Norm Wilson told me that the class was discussing how to reach a postmodern culture, and encouraged me to touch on that during my presentation. So, I told stories, and everybody understood.

When I am still, compulsion (the busyness that Hilary of Tours called "a blasphemous anxiety to do God's work for Him") gives way to compunction (being pricked or punctured.)  That is, God can break through the many layers with which I protect myself, so that I can hear His Word and be poised to listen. (Leighton Ford)

Over the years, I’ve seen lots of articles on how to succeed, but never one on how to be a failure. Thus, I’ve composed the following list: 40 easy ways to fail. 1. Focus on all the reasons why it won’t work. 2. Don’t bother praying. 3. Intend to begin, but don’t start. 4. Stop proceeding at the first speed bump. 5. Facing backwards, try to recreate the past. 6. Whine and complain often. 7. Fear making an investment. 8. Put in only what is required. 9. Be a self-centered pig. 10. Find someone to blame. 11. List a dozen good excuses, and use them all. 12. Absorb and reflect negativity. 13. Ignore wise counsel. 14. Hoard. 15. Manipulate people for personal gain. 16. Belittle yourself and others. 17. Fail to write down your goals and dreams. 18. Major on the minors and minor on the majors. 19. Don’t prioritize your use of time. 20. Don’t budget your money. 21. Live humorlessly. 22. Over-react when someone disappoints you. 23. Carry grudges and ...

Mark Batterson, my blogger buddy, and fellow Packer backer, is among my top three favorite authors. His newest book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny , is a masterful life-discovery book, that puts God at the center rather than self. In his creative and engaging style, Batterson uses the story of King David as a model for understanding who we are, where we come from, and where we're heading in life. The personal stories and thoughtful insights are well written and heartwarming.  Batterson has a unique way of drawing readers into the narrative, and keeps them turning pages, an unusual gift for a non-fiction author. This would be a great text for small groups, or one on one mentoring, helping people discover their special mission in life. Purchase Soulprint here (A complimentary copy of this book was provided to me for review, by WaterBrook/Multnomah Press)

102 year old George Beverly Shea To Receive Lifetime Grammy Award.

Packers and Steelers Share Testimonies

Today is a golden opportunity -- make it count for something! If your minutes were dollars, would that make a difference in how you spend them? For instance, would you spend $30 of time on the latest sitcom? Would you plunk down $120 for two hours of video games? Would it make a difference in how much time you spend just "shooting the breeze"? Actually, time is even more important than money. Every second is precious, and only here for a moment. Then, it vanishes and we never have it again. Once a schoolteacher brought three candles to her class: a tall, new, candle, a medium candle, and a very short one. "These three candles represent people," she explained, "One is the grandfather, one is the father, and one is the son. Do you know which is which?" All of the students picked the tallest candle for the grandfather and the shortest for the son. "You are wrong!", the teacher proclaimed, "for the shortest candle has already spent most o...

"Mubarek resigns. We're nervous though. He could pull a Favre and end up the president of the Minnesota Vikings." -- Jarrett Stevens

"Most Bibles in the homes of Christians never get read." -- Thom Rainer, When the Bible is Read

"God loves you too much to allow you to settle for self." --  Dave Harvey (HT Wayne Schmidt)

If you weren't the pastor of this church, would you attend it?

How much "having" does a person need? “How much money would it take to make you happy?” someone reputedly asked business tycoon, John D. Rockefeller, how much money it would take to make him happy.” The business magnate replied, “Just a little bit more!” But then, again. . . maybe not. Contentment, after all, isn’t having what you want. It’s wanting what you have. Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian author, told of Parkham, a poor peasant who dreamed of having a "break" in life. Much to his good fortune, he heard about a tremendous opportunity in a distant place. The government said that he could have all of the land he could encircle by foot in a day. Excited about this wonderful possibility, Parkham sold all of his possessions and journeyed to the place where he could pursue his dream of becoming a landowner. At the first crack of dawn, Parkham took off to claim his land! He ran at top speed all day long. Nothing was going to deter him! He wanted to cover ...

"The Lord's had a hand in my life since I was a young kid.  I thank Him for the opportunity.  I don't think he cares who wins or loses, -- as long as He's getting the glory." --  Aaron Rodgers in Post Game News Conference View Here. (at around the 3:00 minute mark)

Sportswriter Robert S. Lyons wrote a wonderful Philadelphia Inquirer article about how the Green Bay Packer franchise was saved by Bert Bell:  The Man who Saved the Packers. As NFL commissioner, Bell was pressured by a number of team owners to either "straighten out" the failing Packers or "throw them out" of the league.  It would have been easier to put the Packers out of their misery by sending them the way of the Duluth Eskimos and Canton Bulldogs. I'm glad Bell believed in the Packers enough to choose the "straighten them out" approach. Lambeau Field stands today as a tribute to the man who cared enough to step into a messy situation and help them find a redemptive path. Makes me think of church ministry.  Isn't it better to straighten them out than kick them out?.

The Steelers Have Already Lost

Super Bowl XLV and the Kingdom of Light

• God wants his Church to grow up in maturity (not just in numbers). It is clear from the Bible as a whole that God is not pleased with shallowness and immaturity. The Apostle Paul, who was of course a great missionary and church-planter, was not content merely to multiply churches. His greatest aim, he said, was to present everyone mature in Christ (Col. 1:28-29). • The church grows through God’s Word. The Bible is the primary means by which God nourishes his people. The Bible teaches and guides them in what they are to believe and how they are to live. It is the Word of God that grows the people of God. We live not by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4, referring to Deut. 8:3). Churches that are regularly fed by the Scriptures show healthy growth in maturity and witness. • The Word of God comes to people primarily through preaching. Of course, people can read the Bible for themselves — if they are literate, if the Bible exists in thei...

Dear Readers, I apologize for the "I'm a Mormon" Youtube promotion that ended up on my blog today.  I had tried a new application for people to share my posts on other social network sites (i.e. facebook and twitter) -- and that bridge apparently goes both direction. I've deleted Mr. Mormon, and will see if I can make the application without unintended consequences.

"Lots of other sins will come trotting meekly in the wake of inertia." -- Charles Foster in The Sacred Journey , PP. 92-93.

Why Rich Parents Don't Matter: A fascinating Wall Street Journal Article on the stunning inequalities between impoverished children, and those raised in wealthy homes.

This morning, I was supposed to speak at the Indiana Wesleyan University chapel , with my son Ryan leading worship-- but the great midwest blizzard changed the plan. Somewhat disappointed, I find myself back home in Hayward -- the land of lesser snow, for a change! IWU classes are cancelled today -- but Ryan told me they're still going to hold chapel for the students who can get there. I believe something extra-special is going to happen there today.  "The Lord has his way in the whirlwind" (Nahum 1:3) -- and I believe He is going to have His way -- and pour out His beautiful presence upon the students who brave the winter storm and show up. God often uses great extremity to reveal the greatness of His glory.

"Use detail, drama and dialogue, and people will listen to your story." --  Marcus Buckingham