Is Your Store "Christmas Friendly"?

I love this time of year. The lights, decorations, cookies, music, trees, and oh yes, the presents!!! I also love this time of year because it gives time to be with our families, share great memories, and be reminded of the birth of a baby boy that would become the savior of the world through his death on the cross.

In the past I have found myself getting upset at some of the political correctness that has surrounded the Christmas season in recent years, but I have mellowed out and most of that stuff doesn't bother me much anymore. I don't mind most of the holidays that happen around this time either, except for maybe Kwanzaa..would somebody please explain that one to me! In fact, I don't even get my underwear in a bunch when somebody wishes me "happy holidays" as opposed to "merry Christmas".

But recently I have found something that I was quite offended by. It wasn't a "holiday tree" or a "solstice festival". No, this time I found offense in a little website ran by our good friends at Focus on the Family . These self-proclaimed defenders of American evangelical Christianity has seen fit to create a website entitled "Stand For Christmas".

On the home page of this self-righteous website you can read reviews of various retailers and what they are doing to respect Christmas. If they are doing things like playing Christmas music all the time or wishing people "Merry Christmas", they receive a "friendly rating". If, on the other hand, their music selection is not 100% seasonal fare. Or they say things like "Happy Holidays" they will receive the dreaded "Offensive" rating. But, if they just don't care one way or the other, they are considered "Negligent". This website should be branded offensive.

You can also purchase various Christmas oriented and high quality products such as:

• 101 Ways to Have a Christian Christmas


• A button that reads "It's OK-Wish Me a Merry Christmas" for a mere $1.50 a piece


• Many various products from Rick Warren, just in case you didn't know the purpose of Christmas


• And, just in case you didn't know, Christmas is in need of redeeming. You can buy a FOTF radio broadcast to find out how you can redeem the holiday here

If we really wanted to take a stand for Christmas, wouldn't the best thing be to love all of these people who are working in these stores? Perhaps show them a little love with a smile and a thank you? I have worked in retail many years, and Christmas is not being drowned out be the retailers, its being suffocated by all the people that give into the commercialization and patronize these stores. All the while treating the person behind the counter as a lower class citizen. Perhaps Focus on the Family should start a website where retailers can post ratings of the consumers.

Merry Fricken Winter!

--> Read more...

Regret or Hope: How Do You Live Your Life?

Alright, now this is not going to be one of those long drawn out blog posts. In fact, it's just a simple question. But I would love to have everyones feedback on it.

I have seen people who have dreams and aspirations and yet they are never realized. Life marches and on and suddenly they find themselves at the end, never doing what they thought they wanted to do. But, the amazing thing is, they never lose that zest for life. They never let the regrets of not doing what they most desire take center stage. They don't cling to what could have been, they focus on the here and now. If you were to look into there eyes, you would see a spark that cannot be dimmed.

So, my question to you is, how do they do this? How is one able to live years and even decades with unfulfilled dreams and expectations, and yet never fall into the rut of self pity and regret? How does one take each day as if it was their last? To quote a country song how does one "Live like you were dying"?

I look forward to your responses.

--> Read more...

Have You Ever Felt Like This at Church?

This video is the bomb. Mr. Bean captures what it feels like to walk into a church and not know what to expect. I felt like this a few times when I was working at night. There were plenty of times when my wife had to nudge me because I was snoring.

--> Read more...

Can You Have Church When You Don't Go to Church?

Between 2002 and 2004 I attended Vineyard Leadership Institute. It was an intensive 2 year program designed to give people a firm foundation in the word of God as well equip them for ministry in the local body. Although the class actually originated from the Columbus Vineyard, we would watch the teachings at Boise Vineyard. Our facilitator was Chad Estes, the associate pastor of VCF Boise. During the course of the two years I attended the school, I went through many hardships personally and professionally. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for his encouragement and support, I would not have graduated.

Almost two years ago, for reasons unknown to me, Chad left the pastorate that he had been part of for years. Since then he has been on a journey to rediscover who he is in Jesus. Recently the Recycle Your Faith interviewed Chad to get his thoughts on Church since he left his. The video is below. Please check out Chad's blog as well. He is a good friend and has great insight.

--> Read more...

How to Worship in a Modern Church

Okay, I was checking out Jason Boyett's blogpost on his annoyances with "worship". If you have never checked out his website, I strongly encourage you to do so. He has some great stuff on there.
Anywho, He had a video posted that explains the correct way to "worship" in a church service. If you have ever been to a modern church service (especially one with a pentecostal slant), you will find this video extremely informative....and extremely funny. Enjoy!

--> Read more...

Has Church Gone to the Dogs?

So I have had discussions in the past on whether or not our little fuzzy friends have souls. This church decides to at least entertain the thought. This article was written by Gillian Flaccus of the Associated Press. Let me know your thoughts on whether pets have souls or whether or not we should have church service for doggies.


"LOS ANGELES — When the Rev. Tom Eggebeen took over as interim pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church three years ago, he looked around and knew it needed a jump start.
Most of his worshippers, though devoted, were in their 60s, attendance had bottomed out and the once-vibrant church was fading as a community touchstone in its bustling neighborhood.

So Eggebeen came up with a hair-raising idea: He would turn God's house into a doghouse by offering a 30-minute service complete with individual doggie beds, canine prayers and an offering of dog treats. He hopes it will reinvigorate the church's connection with the community, provide solace to elderly members and, possibly, attract new worshippers who are as crazy about God as they are about their four-legged friends.
Before the first Canines at Covenant service last Sunday, Eggebeen said many Christians love their pets as much as human family members and grieve just as deeply when they suffer — but churches have been slow to recognize that love as the work of God.

"The Bible says of God only two things in terms of an 'is': That God is light and God is love. And wherever there's love, there's God in some fashion," said Eggebeen, himself a dog lover. "And when we love a dog and a dog loves us, that's a part of God and God is a part of that. So we honor that."
The weekly dog service at Covenant Presbyterian is part of a growing trend among churches nationwide to address the spirituality of pets and the deeply felt bonds that owners form with their animals.

Traditionally, conventional Christians believe that only humans have redeemable souls, said Laura Hobgood-Oster, a religion professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

But a growing number of congregations from Massachusetts to Texas to California are challenging that assertion with regular pet blessings and, increasingly, pet-centric services, said Hobgood-Oster, who studies the role of animals in Christian tradition.
She recently did a survey that found more than 500 blessings for animals at churches nationwide and has heard of a half-dozen congregations holding worship services like Eggebeen's, including one in a Boston suburb called Woof 'n Worship.

"It's the changing family structure, where pets are really central and religious communities are starting to recognize that people need various kinds of rituals that include their pets," she said. "More and more people in mainline Christianity are considering them to have some kind of soul."

The pooches who showed up at Covenant Presbyterian on Sunday didn't seem very interested in dogma.

Animals big and small, from pit bulls to miniature Dachshunds to bichon frises, piled into the church's chapel to worship in an area specially outfitted for canine comfort with doggie beds, water bowls and a pile of irresistible biscuits in an offering bowl. There were a lot of humans too — about 30 — and three-quarters of them were new faces.

The service started amid a riot of tail-sniffing, barking, whining and playful roughhousing.

But as Eggebeen stepped to the front and the piano struck up the hymn "GoD and DoG," one by one the pooches lay down, chins on paws, and listened. Eggebeen took prayer requests for Mr. Boobie (healing of the knees) and Hunter (had a stroke) and then called out the names of beloved pets past and present (Quiche, Tiger, Timmy, Baby Angel and Spunky) before launching into the Lord's Prayer.
At the offering, ushers stepped over tangled leashes and yawning canines to collect donations and hand out doggie treats shaped like miniature bones in a rainbow of colors.

Donna Lee Merz, a Presbyterian pastor at another Southern California church, stopped in with Gracie, her 14-month-old long-haired miniature Dachshund. The puppy with ears soft as silk was overcome by the other dogs and wriggled across the floor on her belly, quivering with excitement. She finally calmed down when Merz held her in her lap.

"She knew it was a safe place and a good place to be, a place to be loved," Merz said, gently petting Gracie after the service. "I'll be back."

Emma Sczesniak came to Covenant for the first time, lured by the promise that she could worship with her black Lab, Midnight, and her wire-haired Dachshund-terrier mix, Marley.

Marley sat on her lap during the service, while Midnight checked out the other big dogs and sat patiently waiting for his biscuit. Sczesniak said the dog-friendly service came at the perfect time for her: she's been thinking about getting back to church, but wasn't sure how or where to go.
"I don't have any kids, so my pets have always been my children, so it does mean a lot," she said of the dog-inclusive service. "I haven't been to church in a long time and this may push me into it. I'm getting older and I've been thinking about those things again."

But Midnight, Marley, Gracie and the other pups probably had something more important on their minds as Eggebeen intoned his benediction and the service drew to a close: Just where could they find more of those delicious treats?
For Eggebeen, the night was a spiritual success — and the rest is out of his hands.
"It's important for a church like us just to do good things. The results, we'll just have to see," he said. "Ultimately, that belongs to God." "

--> Read more...

The One Person I Can't Forgive

Forgiveness comes fairly easy for me. I have had some tremendous hurts done to me over the years and in almost all of the circumstances have found it in my heart to forgive and move on. But, of all the people that have hurt me the most, the one that I'm the closest to, I can't seem to forgive. I really don't see this person much. In fact I only see him a few times a day. But he is always present; ready to stick his nose in when it doesn't belong.

This person has a habit of kicking me when I am already down. He continually reminds me of all the times I have failed, of all the times I have screwed up. He tells me what a horrible job I am doing with my kids. He is quick to point out all of my faults when I am dealing with my wife. He lets me know what a disrespectful child I was to my mom. He even likes to tell me what I failure I am professionally.

I try not to listen to him. I try not to let him have the run of the conversation, but he always seems to win. I have asked Jesus what he thinks of the situation and why I can't seem to forgive him. But when Jesus starts talking, I can barely hear him. The person I can't forgive starts screaming at me, telling me that I could never be good enough to have a conversation with the savior.

So today, I stand face to face with this man; the man in the mirror. I forgive him for all of the hurtful things he has said to me. I forgive him for feeding me lies. I forgive him for intruding on my peace. I forgive him for leading me astray. From this day forward I declare freedom from this man. I declare freedom from myself.

--> Read more...

Do I Need To Love Them?

Recently the country has been captivated with the story of a young girl who was kidnapped back in 1991. She recently was reunited with her parents at the age of 29. Her story is one of horrific tragedy that we, looking from the outside, can never truly understand or comprehend.

The human side of me thinks this man should be put through every single torture device that the human mind has ever invented. There is nothing that could be done to this individual that would ever be enough to make up for the evil things that he did to this child and the emotional trauma that she suffered over the years and, consequently, will have to wrestle with for the rest of her life.

Now, I believe that this country is founded on a sense of justice. And because of this, we have laws in place to at least administer some sort of justice. Our system may not be perfect, but it's the best we have and it is as fair as any system in the world.

What concerns me is our response as Christians to this story. I have heard many comments that disturb me deeply. We place ourselves in the shoes of the victims which we should rightly do. But, then we completely dehumanize the criminal. We act as judge jury and executioner. We make comments about how this person does not deserve fairness, mercy, grace, love etc.

The message of the Gospel is that love transcends all evil. It lifts us out of the muck and the mire that we swim and relish in. For us to begin to put weight on different kinds of sin is a dangerous slippery slope. What this man did to this poor innocent little girl is no different than Hitler's murdering of millions of Jews and others. What both of these man have done is no different than my sin. When it is boiled down to brass tacks, we are all sinners and we are all separated from the love of God. I deserve death as much as Hitler or this pathetic man. The only difference between me and these other men is I have trusted in the one who gives grace and gives it abundantly. Because of which I should be more willing than others to extend that same grace and mercy to people such as this.

If we think that this man does not deserve mercy. If we think he does not deserve a voice, then lets look at some of the people in the bible that we look up to so fervently.

Apostle Paul-Murderer
Peter-selfish liar
King David-Adulterer, Murderer, Polygamist, liar
Moses-Murderer
Abraham-War Monger, Liar

This, of course, is just a short list of the people we look up to and the awful things they did. In fact if we were to judge everyone who wrote the scriptures we so dearly love, all we would be left with would be the red letters. When all is said and done, maybe that's enough. Because the message would still stand; love unconditionally, love God, love your neighbor.

--> Read more...

To Scripture or not to Scripture

I find it interesting that there are two camps in the Jesus/theology department right now. One takes an extreme as far as making it almost impossible to get into heaven. The other takes the other extreme with an "inclusive" gospel. Jesus himself, would seem to contradict both sides depending on what scripture is read.

I don't have it all figured out. There are many things that I will never figure out. But, I do believe there are things in the bible that make it perfectly clear what is needed to follow Jesus and be on the "narrow road". But are we too afraid to find out? Are we too afraid to look at the scriptures and read them? Are we too afraid that they have been mistranslated over the years?

It is clear to me that Jesus wasn't afraid of the scriptures. Every time some argument was presented to him, he used (when necessary) scripture to combat his attackers. Perhaps we could take a lesson from Jesus and not be so afraid that we don't know what the bible is talking about and give a little study now and then.

Don't get me wrong, I am not advocating "bible worship" above "Jesus worship". But I am advocating a healthy dose of knowing what the bible says and living out our love of Jesus on a day to day basis. I really don't believe one is possible without the other.

--> Read more...

Men=War?

Recently I have been reading the book by John Eldredge entitled "Wild at Heart". Although I don't believe in a lot of things that Eldredge espouses in his book, the premise of the church losing it's masculine identity, I can definitely agree with. We as a church have let the popular culture make our saviour( and hence our men) weak and frail. Meek and mild, is not weak and frail. We as men need to stand up and reclaim our house, and our church and become men that are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what is morally right.

Having said that, I have been subscribing to a blog published by the "Council of Biblical Womanhood and Manhood". Many of the articles I receive on a daily basis are well written and have a very valid message. But one recent blog made me rather upset. The title of the blog was "A Man's Summer Reading List..." When I first saw the title, I thought that this could be interesting and was excited to see what books were out there that might be a good read for a hot summer. When I began to read the blog, I was stunned by what I saw. Every single book that was recommended for "manly" reading was based around military generals, war, battles, or murders. One of the war books even tried to use Isaiah in its title to invoke some sort of "God's service" in the battle.

Now I like a good war book, and have read many. I even like learning about 1920's mafia and the like. But I take offense that this is the type of subject matter that has to be in books to make them a "manly" read. How about books talking about humility and servant hood. Or, if you want adventure, even a good story about some missionary?

The church needs to figure out what true biblical manhood really is. But in doing so we need to make sure we don't fall into the same trap as everyone else. In stereotyping genders, we are causing just as much harm as we would if we are trying to homogenize the genders.

If you would like to read the blog for yourself, here is the link.

http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/A-Man-s-Summer-Reading-List-Completely-Portable-Pleasure-Part-1

--> Read more...

Yet Another Road Diverging

After three years of trying to sell real estate, I have finally decided to call it quits. I am at peace when it comes to leaving the business, but it hurts to admit what some would call failure. I have spent a lot of money to try to stay in the game, but it hasn't paid off. I have had to admit to myself that when it comes to this type of selling, I am no good. I have no idea what the future holds or where I will be next year. I just have to learn to take that little foot shuffle of faith and rely on Jesus. Pride gets in the way of that. It's a struggle that I deal with daily.

--> Read more...

How Far Would You Go For Love

A New England Pastor has taken in an convicted child killer that has recently been released from prison after serving more than 30 years in prison. People have threatened to burn his house down. The neighbors have set up a tent across the street to monitor the convict's movements, and the cops have an hourly drive-by of the residence.

Is this what Jesus called us to do? Is this over the top. Is this showing love to somebody who doesn't deserve it? follow the think, read the article, and watch the video. Please leave a comment. I am curious as to what you think!

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=7102901

--> Read more...

Trying to be Authentic

I really am trying to be more like Jesus this year. Not in a snobby, go to church every week, say the right things and read the bible every day sort of way. But more in how I think and how I respond.

My question to you is, how do I become more authentic? What steps do you think I need to take to achieve the freedom that comes from Christ. Feel free to respond...

Blessings

--> Read more...