Being Found
As Christians we often talk about our days when we were ‘lost’ or talk about the people we know that are ‘lost’. Then, we or they get ’saved’ and we talk about the days gone by when we were ‘lost’. We talk about how we found God and how we found Jesus and how God came into our lives, but, I wonder if many of us (Christians) have ever been found.
Personally, I love the scriptures about God pursuing us and searching for us. It says something about God that is vital to our existence. As much as we should be pursuing Him, he’s actually pursuing us. That blows my mind.
After Adam and Even ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil God came looking for them. They were suddenly lost in who they were, but God came searching and then God found them. He found them, though, after he called out to them. They were hiding and God was finding.
I feel like being found is so much harder than finding. When we find God it’s often on our terms. We repent of what we want to and thank God for saving us from our sins and then we tell God what we’re going to do tomorrow and ask Him to bless it. Being found has much different implications. When we’re found we expose ourselves to God in all of our faults and failures. That’s scary. Even Adam said that it was scary, “And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid…’ It takes us out of the terms and puts our fate squarely in God’s hands. Now, He’s in control of tomorrow, not us. We can find God all we want, but, it’s not until we’re found that we can truly begin walking as God wanted us to.
Sometimes I wonder if it’s not so much that we were/are lost as much as just hiding. Then God’s presence enters the garden and we say that we found Him. Then we have to take a step of faith, though, and actually be found.
In case you missed it…
… you can go and watch Shaun White’s gold medal runs (both of them) in the half-pipe here.
If you did miss it, do yourself a favor and go watch it… NOW! It’s some serious ridiculousness…
Student Debt
I’ve been seeing this around a lot of posts lately, but, I’m one of those people that would’ve loved some financial education upon entering college, so, I’m posting it as well. Jess and I have been paying off debt as much as we can since we got married and have been blessed to pay off more than we should’ve been able to. But, the fact remains, that a lot of our debt could’ve been avoided with a little bit of knowledge (especially mine). Personally, I can’t wait to have kids and raise them into a proper understanding of debt and how they can live in victory over their finances. I could rant for a while on this, but, just watch the video…
iPad vs. iOpinion
So, I’ve been an apple fanboy for a while. I was one of those that put apple’s infallibility right up there with God and Jesus. My personal stock in apple has been dwindling for a while now and the iPad sent it crashing into a personal apple great depression. Now that I’ve had a little time to reflect on my disappointment I offer my oh so important opinions below. It may not be for the reasons you think…
Yes, I was disappointed with the product, the hype didn’t match the product, which, is honestly different for apple. Usually, they either go beyond the hype or in such a different direction that the hype didn’t matter. I agree, though, that if the hype hadn’t been there apple may not be taking the flack they’re taking now. But, alas, the hype was there and the iPad (which hasn’t even gone on sale yet) has been dismissed by a lot of popular tech blogs and news agencies as a disappointment at best. That’s the talk of the town right now. I have other beef with apple…
This whole thing, in my opinion, exposes a different problem with apple that’s been bothering me for a bit. When the iPod came out, apple was excited, but, there focus was still on computing. There computers (laptops, desktops, etc…) continued to get most of their attention. Then came the iPhone. Ever since the iPhone came out it seemed that apple’s focus became the iPhone. Computing was still important, but, what they talk about and hype the most is their phone. There computing technology suffered as they’ve produced laptops that are overheating and iMacs that showed up DOA. That just doesn’t seem like the apple I used to appreciate.
Then comes the iPad which signifies a whole new direction with apple and Jobs vision. A friend of mine on facebook said it best so I’ll quote him here. “…the true problem is that it’s the first device that signals computer usage has become consumption-oriented instead of production-oriented. You can’t CREATE anything with the iPad. Apple has always been about enhancing creativity, and they really missed the ball on the iPad. There’s no creativity involved in consuming the internet.” (by Dave Harris)
That’s the deal breaker for me, that’s what bothers me so much about this product. Stevie J said that this was “Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device…” While that statement may be argued about in itself, it doesn’t change the fact that they put their most advanced stuff into a device that doesn’t really do much. I would’ve MUCH rather them put the energy and innovation into an even better laptop.
This is only my opinion and I know lots of people are really excited about this product. Sound off below and let me hear your thoughts…
Serious Prayer Request
Update #2 (Good News!): I heard from Tyler again earlier this evening. It turns out that things aren’t as bleak as they seemed earlier. It turns out that the doctors do not want to do surgery because Tyler has had too many surgery’s in recent years. Another surgery right now could do immediate and irreparable damage. So, they’ve decided to wait and try chemo/radiation first and see if they can get the tumors to shrink or go away or at the very least stop growing. If it doesn’t stop growing then they’ll have to reassess and probably do a very risky surgery. As for now though, that is very good news. Please continue to keep Tyler and his family in your prayers!!! Let’s see God do something amazing here!
Update:Just heard from Tyler with bad news. There will be no surgery. The doctors just informed him that they can’t operate on the tumors and gave him 5 months to live. Please please please continue to pray. I believe that God can do something amazing here!!! Please keep him and his family in your prayers!!!
In the fall of 2008 I met Tyler at Georgia Tech. He was finishing up chemo from a very rare form of cancer and was about a year behind everyone else from his high school class because of his cancer and treatment. In January of 2009 he was supposed to come over for the National Championship game but no one could get ahold of him. We received a call from his dad that he had almost died the night before when a tumor in his brain caused an aneurism. He barely made it the hospital in time and they performed emergency surgery to save his life. He had to withdraw from GT for the semester so that he could rehab. Tyler’s a fighter if I’ve ever known one.
This past week Tyler sent a message that he was having pain in his head again and that he had a bad feeling about it. He was going in for an MRI and would let us know. After the MRI we learned that he has another tumor in his brain that they’ll operating on today at 11am. From what I’ve understood, this is a much more serious issue than before and the doctors have let them know that.
In addition, the past few January’s (between the 1st and 10th specifically) have been downright terrible for him. In 08 he began chemo for his first bought with cancer and then on the 7th of last year received his second blow. Obviously this last one came this past week as well.
Please pray with us today for Tyler. Pray for his complete healing and that when they do the pre-op MRI that they’ll find that God has completely healed him! There was a girl in our church here in NYC last year who was given just a few months to live and was prayed for and was healed. I believe that God can heal Tyler! Let’s pray for that!!! I’ll post an update when I hear something later.
Please pass this along as well and lets get a lot of people praying for Tyler this morning. And feel free to leave a comment here with a message for Tyler if you want and I will pass it along. Thanks everyone…
Book Review: Primal (by: Mark Batterson)
When I heard that Mark was putting out a new book I got excited. So far, every book that he’s written has inspired and challenged me to go deeper in my faith and pursue God with a new reckless abandon. His new book, Primal, was no different.
From the onset of the book Mark peals back the layers of Christianity and cuts through the theological disputes that have gripped us in later days and puts our focus back where it needs to be. And, by the end of the first chapter he had gripped my heart with his biblical truth. The message of this book was very timely, getting back to my first love, the things that made my heart burn that had been forgotten in the ‘business’ of Christianity and ministry through the years. This book takes us to the heart of the matter, the ‘primal’ nature of Christianity and explains it in simple, experiential ways that are easy to understand and apply to your life. I also loved the way Mark challenges you throughout the book. I stopped several times to evaluate my heart and respond to what God was speaking to my heart.
I would definitely recommend picking up this book soon and allowing God to speak to you, challenge you, and take you deeper in your relationship with Him. Mark definitely has a grace for that that we can all receive from.
You can purchase the book here…
Below you can read the publishers summary of the book as well as a bio of Mark Batterson.
Be Astonished Again
We have a tendency to complicate Christianity. Jesus simplified it: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we are to live out the essence of Christianity, we must commit to being great at this Great Commandment.
In Primal, Mark Batterson explores the four elements of Great Commandment Christianity: compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power. Along the way, he calls you to be a part of God’s reformation, starting in your own life.
As Mark writes, “Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you? A place where your heart broke for the things that break the heart of God? Maybe it was a sermon that became more than a sermon. Maybe it was a mission trip or retreat. Maybe it was a vow you made at an altar. In that moment, God birthed something supernatural in your spirit. You knew you’d never be the same again. My prayer is that this book would take you back to that burning bush—and reignite a primal faith.”
Primal will help you live in light of what matters most and discover what it means to love God. It will help you become great at the Great Commandment.
Author Bio:
The author of Wild Goose Chase and In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. One church with nine services in five locations, NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations and meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the D.C. area. Mark has two Masters degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago. He and his wife, Lora, live on Capitol Hill with their three children. www.markbatterson.com
disclaimer: This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.
Advent Conspiracy
This is one of my favorite causes at Christmas time. Spend Less, Give More…
Small Groups and White People
I’m copying an interesting article below (or you can read it here) with some of my own questions following. Would love to hear your thoughts as well…
“Are Small Groups Just For White People?
Why don’t more ethnic churches have a small groups ministry?
by Sam O’Neal
I came across an interesting interview in the recent issue of Leadership Journal. The subjects of the interview were from River City Community Church—a multi-ethnic ministry located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. Leadership talked with Daniel Hill, who founded the ministry, along with several key leaders of the church.
Here’s a brief excerpt of their conversation:
What kind of person is attracted to River City?
Hill: Most of our new people are white. But there’s a revolving door with the white community here. They have a romantic notion of being part of a multi-ethnic church, so many of them get frustrated and leave when they realize how difficult it is to erase their assumptions about the way church is supposed to be.What assumptions do white people carry into the church?
Arloa Sutter (pastor of community life): When I came I said, “Let’s just start small groups! Everyone wants to be in a group, right?” The fact is small groups aren’t as important to other ethnicities as they are to white people.Small groups are a white church thing?
Hill: White people rely on small groups to connect. Other ethnicities form community more organically, more relationally. Immigrant communities find fellowship within extended families. In the city a lot of community happens on the front porch or sidewalk. So non-whites aren’t as eager to set up structures and systems like small groups.Carlos Ruiz (coordinator of community groups): I think whites really value efficiency.
Antoine Taylor (director of Sunday morning ministries): And releasing that value is really hard for a lot of them. They perceive other ways of operating as inefficient or disorganized.
Jennifer Idoma-Motzko (elder): They say it’s not the right way to do church. And I respond bluntly by saying, “You mean it’s not the white way to do church.”
Obviously, there are some pretty strong statements there, and they raise several important questions:
1. Are small groups primarily a “white” way to do church?
2. If we assume that non-white ethnicities connect more easily and organically than whites, does that mean small groups have no use in those communities? Or can they be a supplement to those organic connections?
3. Are small groups really about efficiency? Is that the appeal they bring to churches, whether white or otherwise?
I’ve got some thoughts on these questions, but I would really like to hear what all of you think before I let loose.
You can read the full interview with the leaders of River City Community Church in Aug/Sep issue of our digizine, Catalyst Leadership.”
So, I have a few questions as well…
1. I definitely agree that other ethnicities often develop community more naturally than white people do. Is this a fault of white people/communities? Why or why not? And, if so, how do we change?
2. Pertaining to ’small groups’ that form naturally in other ethnicities and are Christian: Are these naturally occurring groups Christ centered, as in, are they hanging out for the sake of hanging out, or is there a bigger purpose behind them? Are they discussing how to grow closer to God and how to reach people around them or are they primarily just for community/hanging out?
I’ll hold off on any more questions for a bit. Your thoughts???
The Prosperity Gospel
I’ve had interesting experiences with the prosperity gospel. I’ve met some very generous people who loved Jesus more than anything and also believed in the prosperity message of the Bible. My concern comes from a lot of the radical prosperity teachings that occur. The prosperity gospel has a pretty good following in the ATL and I met a lot of people that attended those kinds of church. I was always frustrated, angry, and grieved after meeting with most of those people though. There emphasis was clearly on money and not Jesus. They measured there worth in dollars and cents and not an identity in Christ. Many of them, then, based how much God loved them on how much He blessed them. If they were having hard times, they must be living in sin, if it was good times, they must be doing well. Many of these people also weren’t dealing with mindsets. Still living in poverty and expecting God to bless them with wealth while not growing in principles of stewardship, etc…
I’ve then watched as the pastors of these congregations take up lofty offerings to accomplish lofty goals from their impoverished congregations while if they would just sell 1 of there 5+ $100,000+ automobiles could accomplish these goals immediately. It just seems to me like there’s a huge disparity between these teachings and the way that Jesus lived here on the earth.
Anyway, take a gander at these videos below and then let me hear your thoughts…
P.S. – more blogs to come. We haven’t had internet for a bit and I’ve had a lot swirling around in my head as well as fun NYC experiences that we’ve had so far. BUT, yesterday, we finally got internet, so, it’s good to be back in the real virtual world!
The Great Hunt of 2009
So, we searched for 1 week and 2 days to find our new apartment in NYC. It was a much more daunting task than we realized that had it’s high highs and low lows. We had heard it was a difficult process, and, we believed people. Then we went through it. It really dealt with a lot of our trust issues with God. Seriously… it was a pretty difficult and stressful process. BUT…
We got the call from our realtor yesterday that we were approved for our first choice of apartments. THANK YOU JESUS! God was faithful, even when we struggled to trust Him. Wow…
It’s a bit smaller than our place in Atlanta and about 2 times the rent. That’s not bad considering when we first looked in December/January of last year we were expecting 3 or 4 times our Atlanta rent and a much smaller place than we got.
I put together a silly little video of our apartment to the tune of U2’s ‘New York’ which you can view below. Welcome to New York!
