Snowboard w Joe from Pinnacle

Snowbowl!

Desi and Carson helping with childcare at YoungLives

Sean Coaching JV Basketball

Here's Sean coaching his first game of the
season at Pinnacle. Go Pioneers! :)

Talk 2 and 3

Today was a full day. In the morning I shared about my parents divorce and the ongoing pain it caused as an example of how sin can ruin life. I could see many heads nodding with me as I described this and several follow up conversations were similar.

To illustrate sin I cut off a small tree from its base. This was to illustrate that we are cut off from a relationship with God, that death is our punishment and we are stuck - unable to fix it ourselves.

I left them hanging...

Then talk 3 tonight. I shared about the cross of Christ and how he took every consequence that our sin deserves. I showed a clip from the passion of Christ and gave them 15 minutes of silence under the stars to think about Christ's work and how they want to respond. It is quite a sight to see 400 students staring at the stars, for many their first "quiet time" ever.

I haven't heard much feedback tonight about how kids responded, but I was happy about what I was able to say.

Tomorrow I will be speaking about the resurrection of Jesus and what a relationship with Christ looks lilke. Gotta go to bed now...

Talk 1...

Wow. I didn't know Erin was going to post the pic and the prayer request, but I'm glad she did! I know lots of people have been praying for me.

The first talk went well. Some buses broke down and some things ran late so I began speaking at 11:56PM. But energy wasn't a problem for me and especially the audience. They were rowdy! In a good way.

I spoke about Luke 5:1-11 where Jesus has Simon put his nets out again even through he had just spent all night without catching one fish. I asked them to be "curious" about Jesus and to really be open to what He might do in their lives.

Tomorrow morning is an important talk. It is about sin and its consequences. The talk basically ends with "sin ruins life on earth and forever... you are going to hell... so have a great afternoon to think about it!" OK not in those exact words but we leave them in sin, without the answer of the cross. So pray for the conviction of the Holy Spirit (which is His job, not mine thankfully).

OK I'm going to bed. Tomorrow is a full day.

Pray for Sean speaking at camp this weekend!

Sean is speaking at a Young Life outreach camp this weekend, sharing the Gospel with about 400 high school kids, for many of whom this is the first time they will hear the Gospel in a meaningful way and have a chance to really process it. Please pray for him as he speaks and for the hearts of the kids who are here. Thanks! We'll be excited to share what God has done at the end of the weekend!

Nerd bowling

American Church History Questions

In my reading for American Church History, we had to respond with class discussion questions. There were mine for the summary of current trends in American Christianity... what are your answers?:

Discussion Questions:

1. When America has a Catholic majority (projected in the early twenty-first century), with a strong Hispanic influence, what differences might you expect in our schools, communities, local Protestant churches, government? We are certain to be on the cutting-edge of this in Arizona – do we see any of this yet?
2. Do you think it is right to have "separate" ministries for Spanish speakers or ESL Americans? Should we hold on to the dream of integrated services? What if these are not successful?
3. Do you look forward to strong growing influence in the Christian community from the Third World (where 60% of Christians in the world are found)? Generally speaking, what do you think will be their view of American Christianity?

Posters

These posters caught my attention. Humor has been defined as truth plus pain...

You can find more at: http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/posters.htm

Civil War Ministry

A note from my reading on Civil War Ministry...

I was happy to read that Christians and Christian organizations during the Civil War emphasized spiritual issues over ideological ones. Preaching focused on the spiritual needs of individuals and less on winning the war. It is encouraging to hear such a level-headed tactic in such a horrendous time. I would encourage American Christians to take a lesson from our past and put our focus on spiritual growth over ideological issues that seem to be the priority of so many well-known church leaders today (or at least those who end up on TV).

Christians viewed like Rent-A-Cops?

WARNING: This by no means is intended to belittle those who take their job as a rent-a-cop seriously and are doing the best that they can. It is just an analogy that plays on what I have found a common perception.

At a nearby mall around nearly every corner is a man who takes his job very seriously. His name is Mr. RAC (Rent-a-cop, or security guards for hire or something like that).


(This is a picture of a rent-a-cop threatening my friend)

I realized that there are several similarities between Rent-a-cops and the stereotypical view of Christians in our society (which is sadly true of many)

Rent-a-cops...

• Have uniforms... so do many Christians (i.e. their "pray hard" t-shirts and faith based "live strong bracelets")
• Are easy to make fun of... My friend took a cell phone picture of one and the rent-a-cop angrily responded, "I don't think it is funny to be invading people's privacy at the mall!" Just turn on the TV and you will see that Christians are very easy to make fun of (Ned Flanders?)
  
• Are experts in rules... they know the code of the mall. They keep a keen eye open for any infraction. They are particularly hard on younger people. Christians are rule keepers par excellence! Instead of loving (1 Jn 3:23) , Christians tend to like keeping track of failure, especially in young people.
  
• Aren't really that helpful... I'm not sure the last time I've seen a rent-a-cop hold the door open for a lady, carry out bags to someone's car, cleaned up a spill in the food court, etc. What if a mall was known for the amazing security people who were always helping everyone? I think sales would go up. Similarly, Christians do run to the scene in crisis (Hurricane Katrina for instance), but for everyday life few think, "I wish there were more Christians, they are so helpful!"
  
• Typically pretend to be experts in things they are not... In my experience Rent-a-cops are cop or FBI wannabes. I know that is harsh, but that is what I perceive. But you would never know it. I cannot count how many times I have seen a rent-a-cop lecturing a teenager in everything from the state law, to the First Amendment, to "what kids are like these days". Many Christians pose as experts in science, world religions and philosophy when they should really be a little wiser (James 1:19).
  

Thats it for now. There are certainly more. Rent-a-cops and Christians were stereotyped in this rant. I don't like stereotyping but I know there is something I need to learn from this.

Prayer Garden

The Prayer Garden is a good place.

Good questions and a problem with Pascal

In church Sunday, our pastor suggested asking a couple key questions when you want to dig deeper - especially when talking to people about religious issues.

#1 Ask: "What do you mean by that?" As-in... "I think reincarnation is true". Then respond, "What do you mean by that?"

#2 Ask: "How do you know that is true?" As-in... "I think that the Secret's message of the Law of Attraction is how everything really works." Then respond, "How do you know that is true?"

#3 Ask: "What difference does that make in your life?" As-in... "I think all religions all lead to the same end". Then respond, "What difference does that make in your life?"

#4 Ask: "What if you are wrong, what do you stand to lose?" (similar to Pascal's Wager)

I really like #1 and #2. They help us understand what people really mean without "correcting" or "preaching" at people.

I don't really like #3 or #4.

#3 Can be great, but runs the risk of placing experience over everything else. Then anything the makes a difference in your life (i.e. having a car, having a cell phone, going to Sedona) can be a legitimate basis for religious convictions.

#4 I really don't like at all because to agree with it, no faith is required (Rom 3:28, Eph 2:8-9, Mk 1:15, Acts 20:21). The Wikipedia article lists even more objections to Pascal's Wager. When I accepted Christ a person in my group suggested I should accept Christ because it is a "win-win", my leader (Dick Mason) said this is not faith at all. When he said that, it felt like the missing piece to the puzzle (faith) that I needed in my life. I needed faith, not a wager.

Here is a brief I response I wrote about George Whitefield, a minister in the 18th century...

During this reading, George Whitefield impressed me so much. His influence and sheer quantity of work is almost unbelievable, not to mention the impact it made in the 18^th century. Whitefield directed the message of salvation to common people neglected by the established churches. This description seems to picture him as a missionary to the unchurched in churched-America.

In the Fall of 1740, Whitefield addressed crowds of up to 8,000 people nearly every day for over a month. Even in today’s mega-rallies and uber-media opportunities, this would be unheard of. This might be able to be sustained for a couple days, maybe a week, but for over a month!

Whitefield was not a good organizer, as one might expect for a person that was the center of what we now call conferences. He is known as a person who how to address plain people in plain language. He did this by appealing to the heart. One way that he appealed to the heart was by not using notes. Many ministers of his century simply read their sermons. Not only did he refrain from reading, he refrained from referring to notes! Imagine the stark difference from listening to a long paper being read to a powerful plain-language revivalist looking into your eyes as he challenged you to submit to Christ. This delivery style is much more than a style. Whitefield must have had a passion and preparation that was vastly different from the traditional written style sermon writers.

The most overwhelming aspect of Whitefield’s ministry is the sheer quantity that he delivered. It is estimated that he preached 15,000 times during his 33 year career. This averages out to over 454 times per year, every year for 33 years! Certainly, this must have included instances where he preached the same message twice in a row, but the sheer number of sermons is still hard to imagine. In addition, like many ministers in the 18^th and 19^th century, he had a considerable amount of journals he left behind.

George Whitefield was known for his sermons. They were directed at the heart. They were in simple language. They were aimed at those who were neglected by the established church. They were extemporaneous, not from notes or a written sermon. Moreover, he did this often – very often. Could you preach 8 sermons this week? How about 40 this month? What about 400 this year? There must be something we can learn about communicating truth from George Whitefield. What kind of relationship with God would you need to have to be able to give a sermon today?