I found this picture on a site frequented most by agnostics and atheists.  I’m sorry but this just embarasses me to see.  Statements like the one on the sign are nothing more than results of Christians not understanding what they believe.  What are your thoughts on this?

I have found the perfect burger.  It is the Johnsonville Brat Patty.  It’s $5.00 on Johnsonville’s Site plus shipping.  It’s about $7.00 at the store for a six-pack.  I urge you to try these out.  If you don’t like them I guarantee you your money was  spent well.  Haha you thought I was gonna refund it.

As I write this, I’m turning my head from the tv.  Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell are literally watching a woman die of AIDS.  It’s so hard to watch this stuff.  I’ve seen video after video of it, and it hurts more every time.  American Idol, as you’ve probably heard by now, is doing a huge program tonight to raise as much money as they can to help with relief efforts in the U.S. and abroad.  Now, as my pride gets the best of my mind, I find myself thinking, “Why does the world do more charity and humanitarian services than the church that is called to lead the way.”  Many of you who are honest have the same thoughts.  I’m at a point where I can shut myself up and realize it doesn’t matter right now who does it.  These people need help.  Though organizations such as Worldvision and Compassion International have made hue strides in relief work and bringing the message of hope to these people, I think the church has dropped the ball for so long that these people will never hear the message without, dare I say it, the world who is reaching out.  What is happening tonight is a great way for us to get involved.  We cannot be stuck on the fact that it is a non-Christian organization.  We must act.  Sometimes we as Christians can get so prideful in our faith that we think the church is the only avenue to reach out.  I thought this whole Idol Aid thing was corny when they kept plugging it week after week, but I’ve gotta tell you They are doing a great thing.  I’m encouraged by what Bono said at the church he launched his own relief campaign.  He said we need to stop asking God to bless our work and start doing the work he has already blessed. 

You can donate at www.americanidol.com

I would encourage as well looking into sponsoring a child through World Vision or Compassion International.

We can make a difference, so let’s do it.

Everyone and their mom go to Joe Thorn’s site.  He has a cool post about practical wallets.  Instead of killing cows, we kill trees

I was given a book, several years ago, by a friend who owned a Christian book store. She had received some copies of a yet-to-be released book called “Passed Through Fire.” Though the author, in my opinion, was off on a lot of things, his main point was right on. Many men in churches across the country are flat out bored. The women are the passionate ones in ministry. The church as a whole has become feminized in a sense. I know there are exceptions, however this is the reality of most churches. Men are taught, if taught at all, to be nice and respectful among other things. These are important, but in focusing mainly on these things, they fail to step up into the rile they were created for. The men were given the leadership role by God. Men were also made the “tough” ones. What has happened is that we fail to do exactly what Christ told us to do in Matthew 28. We are not making disciples and teaching them to observe the things he has commanded us. Paul gives a direct order to pastors in 2 timothy when he says to teach the things you have learned from me to faithful so they may teach others. This isn’t done the way it should be anymore. If an elder takes men under his wing, a lot of the time he shows them a basic outline of their faith. He teaches them how to be peaceful. He teaches them some good attributes, but they are not empowered as the leaders they are called to be. This is a passion my pastor and I share. My vision in ministry is to focus on the boys in the ministry and mentor/disciple them. To take them along side me likened to an apprentice to see and not only hear how to be a man of God. Am I the best example? No. But when you are vulnerable to those you teach, amazing things happen. They gain a respect for you that they otherwise wouldn’t have. But in doing so I open them to finding younger boys or even peers to take alongside them under my watch and direction. This way they not only learn what God has called them to be, but they live it from a young age. We should be raising young men up through the church as empowered and equipped leaders of tomorrow. Instead we raise boys who follow rules and do what they are told without question. This isn’t a follower. It’s an employee. This is my answer to my previous post of what areas the church can do a better job. We need to train, equip, and empower men from a young age so that they are what Christ sees a man to be, and not the world.

I think women do a better job when Paul tells the older women to teach the younger. I think they have surpassed the men in the area of discipleship. They still have a long way to go as well. The older women in the church need to step up and show by example, in a non-judging and non-condemning

way, what a godly woman should be. This goes to modesty, purity, respect, etc. The women have stepped up, but pick and choose who they want to teach and the others are left to watch. We must choose who to teach, but if we are the only ones stepping up, there’s a problem.

Thoughts?????

So yesterday was my 26th birthday.  My gift started with Isaias, a guy I work with, treating me to Mexican food for lunch.  It was very good.  If you like sweetened tea, then you need to go to the store and get a bottle of “Jarritos” Tamarindo.  It is the best drink I have ever had.  Anyway, then I bought some shoes with a JC Penney gift card I got for my birthday.  I reutrned home to a cake with one of the corners missing and a card from Kaitlyn that was intended for someone’s niece.  It was funny.  She wanted to get me a pink card, so that was what she gave me.  I got the book, “Wild at Heart” by John Eldrige from Beth along with a new shirt.  We went to OCB and then to the movies.  We saw “Fracture” with Anthony Hopkins.  Toward the end the F word got thrown around a bit.  Up until then, it was a very clean movie compared to the majority of what comes out.  All in all it was one of the best done movies I’ve ever seen.  Though, I figured out what had happened halfway through, I didn’t figure everything out which impressed me a lot.  Anyway, it was a good day. 

If you haven’t seen it yet, there is a vodpod in the sidebar.  It’s a set of videos I’ve found that I enjoy.  The one on tope is of Josh McDowell.  He is one of my all-time favorite authors and speakers.  His life story and testimony makes me cry every time I hear it.  Few men gain a passion for younger people more as they grow older.  Josh, however, has grown the biggest heart I’ve ever seen for kids.  He wants to see kids grasp TRUTH as early as possible.  Please go to www.josh.organd learn more about him and his ministry.

I want a lot of feedback on this one please.  I have a couple questions that I would like help with.  It would help me a lot in some things I am planning in ministry.  Please be honest and open.  If you’re uncomfortable with people knowing your name please put a fake name but a real email address.  I’m the only one who sees the email. 

1. Have you ever felt “left out” by the church?  In what way(s)?

2. Do you ever find yourself feeling inferior(for lack a better word) to other Christians in their knowledge of the Bible or biblical principles?

3. If you don’t go to church, what are the top three reasons why?

4. If one thing could change about your growing up in the church(if you did), what would it be?

5. In what way(s) has the church “failed” you in your Christian walk or search for answers/truth?

6. What makes the difference between a successful church and an unsuccessful one?

Well, apparently, it’s National Poetry Month. So I thought I’d share a poem I wrote about 8 years ago.  Being a runner, it really solidifies what Paul talks about when he says in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.”

The Runner’s Heart

The gun shouts, “GO!” You leap with all might.

Yet you quickly realize there’s no end in sight.

All that you see is the back of your foe.

Quickly, your legs fail to breathe, and you begin to slow.

Next your eyes start to squint as your sweat burns them dry.

Your lungs feel collapsed, and your minds asks you, “Why?”

“Why do you run? What is the gain?

When it’s all said and done, there’s just too much pain.”

But, then it all changes as you discretely hear

your coach yelling softly, “Press on. The end is near.”

You look up to see him, but all is a blur.

Yet you press on still harder after what you’ve just heard.

Your legs have stopped running. Your lungs won’t fill up.

But, a teammate is cheering, “Don’t you give up!”

With all you can gather and all that you can’t,

you take one more stride and gasp one more pant.

You cross the finish, and finally you’re done.

You don’t even place, but, the real race you’ve won.

See, you never gave up right from the start.

For the real race is run in the runner’s heart.

-Dan Barnett

Here is a video of Kaitlyn singing her version of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Yes, she could go on for 10 minutes if you let her.