Christmas Eve

It has been a great Christmas Eve so far. Yesterday we kicked off two of our 4 Christmas Eve services well. Some highlights for me:

• Seeing a Mom come to the morning and evening services. She did this because her grown children couldn't come to the same one so she came to both in order to encourage them to be there;
• Seeing a couple sitting together who were on the brink of divorce 2 short months prior;
• Seeing someone worshiping knowing that just this week she found out her mom will need hospice care;
• Experiencing worship of our King with my Suncrest family.

Reading Challenge for 2008

Previously I mentioned that one of my goals for 2008 was to read 28 books in '08. I won't decide on all 28 books because I need to leave room for some new releases and books yet to be determined for a graduate class I will be taking. I'd love to have some more suggestions, but here's the start of my list:

Go put your strengths to work by Marcus Buckingham

Going all the way by Craig Groeschel

Prayer by Phillip Yancey

Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer

Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamont

Who moved my cheese by Ken Blanchard

Listening to beliefs of emerging churches by various authors

Vintage Jesus – Mark Driscoll

I became a Christian and all I got was this lousy t-shirt by Vince Antonucci

The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn

Glocalization by Bob Roberts

Words that Work by Frank Lutz

Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger

Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer

Elders

I just have to say that Suncrest has the best Elders! We had an Elders meeting last night so it is fresh on my mind. I have served many churches with many good men serving as Elders, but as a group of men committed to do what it takes to see God work through Suncrest, our Elders rock. We talk about their responsibilities being to guard and guide the church and they do it well.

I'm so grateful to work in an environment with such outstanding leaders.

Raising a son

This weekend's message on "Everlasting Father" was the most biographical that I have ever done. It was surprisingly less hard than many thought. I suppose this has a lot to do with the fact that I am "owning" my past. That is, I accept who I am and where I come from.

One of the biggest responses to my absence of a father is to make sure I pass onto my sons what only I can pass onto them. This is a toughy because I didn't have a dad do this for me. In the song "Father of Mine" by Everclear this line strikes at the heart of the issue:

"You would take me to a place inside
That is so hard to reach"

I believe that there is a place inside each boy that only a father can reach, only a father has the ability to connect at this level with his son. A part of my journey has been letting my Father in Heaven connect with me there in the absence of my biological dad.

As a dad though, I want to reach into my son's heart and connect with him. I want to help him transition to a man. One of the ways I am doing this is by covenanting with a group of dads to help raise our sons into men. We meet every Tuesday to share life and sharpen each other. This has been such a blessing to me.

Another element to our group is that we have designated certain ages along our boys' life to celebrate and mark with rites of passage. We have been deeply influenced by Robert Lewis on this subject. It is still a work in progress but it looks like this for us right now:

13 - retreat with all the boys, we give them a compass and talk about the definition of manhood as a compass for their life
18 - graduation from high school, probably something really cool like a sword
22 or so - college graduation
At their wedding - a family crest that we have yet to design and get made.

I'm looking forward to walking with my son through the various stages and helping him be a man.

14 years and counting

Today, Sheila and I celebrate 14 years of marriage. I have a friend who always responds this way when asked how long he has been married: "10 great years...but 17 all together." I can say that we really have been married 14 great years. We certainly have had our ups and downs. Some years were definitely harder than others. But my perspective is that all of them...the ups and the downs...has made our marriage what it is today. I know I am so blessed to have such a great woman to put up with me and still be in love with me. We celebrated last night with dinner and a little year-end review and planning for next year. I know it sounds so unromantic, but actually it was all good stuff about what we want to improve upon next year.

For any guy reading, your wife will absolutely love you to pieces if you initiate these types of conversations. One thing I have at least learned in 14 years.

I'm looking forward to so many more years with an amazing woman.

Number 1 goal

I was listening to Mark Batterson on the way in this morning and this comment has stuck with me.

"The church can get a new pastor. My kids can't replace me."

There's always this pull away from the family because they typically are not urgent. Work, the house, the car, whatever is always more urgent than my kids. I've placed some boundaries in my life that has helped, but I need to take some other steps.

One of the steps I have taken and been pretty successful at is always taking my day off. And when I do take it, no work happens. That is not only healthy for me, it's healthy my kids. My kids need at least one whole day where dad is not distracted by work.

There are some other ways though I need to take some extra steps. Specifically in my evening routine I have not done well at keeping our dinner time sacred. Furthermore, the whole evening meeting thing can get a bit out of hand during some seasons. Got to work on that.

'08 Challenges

I'm preparing some personal challenges for myself for 2008. I'm thinking maybe 8 different challenges fro '08. Has a nice ring to it. By 8 challenges I mean 8 BIG challenges. 1 of the challenges will be in my reading discipline. I really feel like I fell away from as much reading as I need to stay fresh in ministry. So I'm considering 28 books for '08. I know, again with the 8 thing. But that would put me at 4 more than 2 a month and would definitely be a challenge for me. I'd love to do a book a week, but that is just not realistic for my schedule. So anyway, I'd love to have some suggestions. Are there books you have read that have gripped you? I think I want to include fiction on this list as long as it is quality fiction. I have my list started, but I want to hear from others to see what they would recommend.

Deadly Viper Character Assassins

Every once and awhile a book comes along that is as much fun as it is helpful. This is one of those books. Deadly Viper Character Assassins takes on integrity issues with Kung Fu fun. Both the authors are big fans of Kung Fu movies, as am I, so they use the whole motif to describe those character issues that every single one of us face. The short pithy, proverb like wisdom filled chapters may not go deep into the issues at hand, but they describe them with Biblical wisdom that will help start the conversation with other leaders and have fun doing it. More then that they proved some great practical steps to defend yourself and prepare for an attack. The bonus for me was interviews on these subjects with the likes of Dog the Bounty Hunter, Marcus Buckingham and Craig Groeschel. Check out www.deadlyviper.org for some great extra content. In the blog section there are two posts with an audio interview with Craig Groeschel I thought were gold.

Key statement in the whole book: Radical Integrity AND Radical Grace. Many times we expect integrity from others but want Grace for ourselves. The need is to pursue radical integrity, helping others do the same AND accept radical Grace for ourselves while offering it as well. I think this means holding ourselves and other Christ followers to high standards but offering restorative Grace when others fail and seeking it for ourselves when we fail.

Sounds of the Season

I have been unseasonably in the mood to celebrate all things Christmas. This has especially been true for Christmas music. So, I thought I would throw out my top 5 Christmas albums. Now understand, they will be anything but normal Christmas fare and I am NOT a Christmas music expert. These are ones that are on heavy rotation this year though. In no particular order:


Mindy Smith's "My Holiday" was a real treat for this year. Her delicate voice over holiday standards and original material makes me glad it is Christmas. I think her style can best be described as Sarah McLachlan meets Emma Lou Harris. Sometimes Jazz, sometimes almost country. I said almost. My favorite track is "My Holiday."

Relient K's "Let it Snow Baby...Let it Reindeer" is just pure fun. These guys know harmonies AND punk. Lots of fun with the kids on this one. I'm torn on favorite track. "I Celebrate the Day" is an amazing song, but "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is my favorite version of that song. Not for the faint of heart.

Barenaked Holidays is a classic by The Barenaked Ladies. These guys aren't doing anything anymore, but they made a classic with this CD. Check out "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" for the best.

Sufjan Steven's "Hark ! Songs for Christmas" would be hard to classify. By far the least accessible. I'm not really sure I can even classify his style. I just like it. He's an amazing lyricist. "Amazing Grace" is amazing!

This compilation has more of the standard Christmas songs on it by Christan artists. Great arrangements by great vocalists. Jill Paquette's "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" blows the album away.



One of the things I do love about Christmas music is that most, not all, but certainly most is about Jesus. And so you have people singing about Jesus who don't' even follow him. I suppose some could look at that as a negative because many put out Christmas songs because it is easy to sell. However, what I see is that regardless of their motivation, Jesus is still praised.

BTW, all the artists above are Christ followers except The Barenaked Ladies.

The newest member of the family

The newest member of our family is Twyla Gamble. She is a cross between a Blue Tick Hound and a German Short hair. A local farmer's dog had a litter of 12 and was giving them all away. We have been looking for sometime for the perfect dog for our family. Twyla fits the bill. In fact, we have been promising to get a dog for about 2 years. So...maybe we weren't looking the whole time. Something about taking care of a puppy AND a baby just hasn't apealed to me. Oh well, who needs sleep. She will be great part of our family.

Drink Coffee and do good

If you know me very well at all, you know I'm a coffee addict, I mean affectionado. It's become quite a joke around Suncrest. I even had a guy harassing me after church the other day about it saying he couldn't believe I would be at Starbucks drinking "foo foo" drinks. I didn't tell him that I actually drink regular coffee there. I let him have his laugh.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this company last month called Land of a Thousand Hills. They are a coffee bean supplier that is ministry oriented. Essentially they roast beans only from Rwanda and every pound you buy between $2.62 and $3.00 goes back to Rwanda to help finance the coffee growers businesses.

Now you may ask why that is a big deal. Here's why. Rwanda is a country ravaged by genocide. The vast majority of women living there have been raped and left husbandless. In the wake of this tragedy, Land of a Thousand Hills is helping these widows support themselves by financing coffee growing businesses. You can read more about it here.

When I first heard about this I knew I had to at least try their coffee. This morning I'm sipping my first cup and it is excellent. And it wasn't anymore than what I was spending on coffee anyway. It's a win win situation in my mind. Initiatives like this are exactly what is needed in our day. A ministry like this is implementing the timeless principle of don't just give a man a fish, but teach him how to fish. And it's exactly what I believe God would have Christ followers doing.

Now back to my coffee...

Hypocritical - Unchristian trait #1

In David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyon's book "UnChristian" one of the top perceptions of Christians is that they are hypocritical. For decades I have heard (I can't believe I can even use that phrase) from non-followers of Christ that they don't want to go to church because there are too many hypocrites. This new research among 16-29 year olds shows that this perception is still true.

Now the question that begs answering is, "Is it true?"

Being a hypocrite basically means you profess to believe one thing and actually believe another. More to the point, you say you act one way but you really act another. One caveat I have to give is that as a teacher for me to teach against a certain action and actually struggle with it myself is not being a hypocrite. It's being human. But if I say I don't struggle with it when in reality I do, then I'm being hypocritical.

My own personal observations on hypocrisy among Christians is that the perception IS based on truth. Many Christians tend to preach and rail against certain behaviors while they may actually participate in the behavior. A prominent example:

• Christians preach against divorce and yet the divorce rate among Christians is actually slightly higher than the national average.

So what's the answer? Not preach and teach what the Bible has to say about sin...not at all. The answer is really quite simple. Be human and admit that you struggle. I have found this to be one of the biggest ways to help people "uncross their arms." What I mean by that is, when I am honest about who I am and where I struggle, people tend to drop their guard which gives me the chance to speak truth into their life.

Essentially it is not trying to appear perfect. When I look at Jesus, I won't see Him admitting that he struggles because He actually was perfect. You probably wouldn't have to hang around Jesus very long at all before you would see this. But he didn't waste his time worrying about what the Religious leaders of his day thought. The thought that you had to appear perfect was the teaching of the religious leaders of Jesus day. Jesus didn't bother trying to appear perfect, he just was perfect and acted himself.

A modern example to me is Craig Groeschel in his book "Confessions of a Pastor" where he essentially lays it all out there and admits openly what he struggles with. I love the book and love the effort to essentially say not all Christ followers are hypocrites.

I think we live in a good time when more and more Christ followers are holding up this value of authenticity and shunning the facade of perfection. We are embracing 1 John 1:8:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

A little visitor

We had a visitor yesterday. A scared little squirrel somehow found his way into our basement. How he managed to get in is still a mystery. Even though I pulled out all my interrogation techniques, he wouldn't crack. From what Sheila told me it was a scene right out of Christmas Vacation. You know the one...where the squirrel comes flying out of the Christmas tree scaring everyone to death. It so started her and my youngest daughter, Grace, that they went flying upstairs. I had to come to their rescue. I'd like to say it had a happy ending for the squirrel, but...I'll leave the details so as not to tick off the animal lovers. I have heard they make good eatin' but I'd rather not find out.

UnChristian

Perception is reality. Whether we like it or not, what others think about Christians, for them, is reality. This book based on extensive research by the Barna Group reveals what many Christians already know, Christians have a negative perception in culture.

The research behind the book studied the perception of 16-29 year olds and revealed that the majority of this age bracket believe that Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind.

This book confirmed statistically what I have heard and sensed for some time. We can have one of two responses:
1. We can grow defensive and refuse to listen to a generations' views claiming that they just don't understand because they are not Christians.
2. Or we can listen and seek to understand so we can meet people where they are at in their beliefs.

This does not mean we compromise our beliefs or morals but it does mean we seek to actually follow Jesus and his pattern of loving people right where they are at.

What I like best about the book is that it doesn't just present the problem, it also presents some solutions. I would like to take several posts and comment on the issues raised.

The big idea that I think we have to hear is this: To be liked is not the point. To accurately represent Jesus and love like He did is THE point. It always has been the point and always will be the point. Sometimes we just forget that and get too focused on ourselves choosing to create a safe club where we feel loved and are comfortable instead of reaching out and stretching ourselves so that the Gospel can be heard and seen in our lives.

More to come...

New name!

I have a friend...I know that is surprising, but my friend felt like I needed my own domain name, so he bought me one! What a great guy! So now you are on the official "digdoug" blog. Now I just need a cool subtitle. Something like "digging into the realities of doug" or digging beneath the surface." If you think of something, let me know! For now I'm getting a kick at having my own domain.

A Thanksgiving to remember

In light of the message at Suncrest yesterday (complaining) I don't want to complain, but Thanksgiving was one we will remember for a long time. In the middle of the night before Thanksgiving 4 of the Gambles got horribly sick. I'm talking coming out both ends. It was not pretty in that little Oklahoma hotel room. We got up that morning and decided we didn't want to infect Sheila's family or my family so we headed home. We made it two hours to Joplin, MO and I decided I couldn't do it any longer. So we got a room and celebrated Thanksgiving in bed. On the bright side I was able to catch up on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Hanna Montana episodes that was playing in the background as I drifted in and out of consciousness.

On the other side of that viral episode I did recognize:
1) I really should have left a tip for the person who cleaned our hotel room;
2)Nothing feels as good as feeling good.

The week wasn't a total bust though. Because we got home early we were able to get our tree up and watch Elf to officially kick off the Gamble Christmas season.

Thankful

2 days until I stuff myself crazy...all in the name of "Thanksgiving." It's what our founding fathers would have wanted. It does seem rather funny when you think about the tradition of Thanksgiving. In the words of Jim Gaffigan, "It's like we didn't even try on this holiday. Let's overeat. We do that everyday!"

I am thankful...
...we made it to Oklahoma safely...
...for Starbucks on a nearby corner...
...for my church...
...for my kids...
...for my wife...
...for Jesus...
...for the ability to pay for food and a house.

So many things to be thankful for. Scripture says to count your blessings. I'm doing a bit more of that this year. The older I get the more things I even see as blessings.

I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Is there room for skepticism?

Doing a little reflection on this weekend's message...

The big idea of how true faith leaves room for questions and doubt has me thinking. One aspect that certainly plays into this is personality. Some of us are more prone to skepticism than others. Even very analytical thinkers can drive down the road of doubt often. I'm wondering how much personality plays into this. I believe for faith to develop there has to be some amount of restlessness and wrestling with issues of trust. They are not all intellectual questions but many times just matters of control.

I lean by nature to be more of a skeptic. I have friends who don't ever question and some who question everything. I am probably more in the middle. I so appreciate the child-like trust of my friends who just believe. And I appreciate the honesty and curiosity of my friends who question. Both approaches shape me.

There has to be room for both in faith. Skepticism definitely can play a part. It pushes us to search for more...more than we are experiencing...more faith...more trust...more honesty...more and better answers. I am thankful that a few who lean this way expressed that the message was helpful. Many times those who approach life from this angle suffer because they feel like they are a failure at faith. Far from it...I believe it is from God.

Child-like trust reminds us that faith is ultimately a decision to trust when we don't see clearly...to step out and trust that your father in heaven does want what's best. I admit I wanted to poke a little at those who fall into this camp. We can grow too comfortable with our faith and become too plastic in the way we approach the hard questions of faith.

There's room for both approaches in our faith. And there's room for both kinds of people...and everyone in between, in the Church.

Btw a great book for skeptics is Philip Yancey's Reaching for the Invisible God.

No easy answers

This Sunday I will be tackling a theme drawn from the song "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" by U2. The theme I will draw from this is that it is okay to doubt, struggle with unbelief and NOT have all the answers AND still following Jesus. It has me thinking about the questions I have in my life that I really don't have all figured out and what others' may be. So if you can, take a moment and share one of your BIG questions. Thanks.

National community church, D.C

Sitting in a coffee shop right now owned by National Community church in D.C. Southwest had a whopper of a deal on tickets, $30, so i grabbed the chance to come check out a church I have admired from a distance. They meet in Union Station in a theater. Great experience. Now to do a little sight seeing.

doug

First day of the beanie

Today marks the official beginning of "beanie" wearing season. It is now cold enough that I cannot walk around free and unhindered by anything on my bald scalp. With the temperatures dropping I face the cold, cruel reality that most heat escapes through my head. One positive in this is that guys who have hair (and care) try never to put anything on their head because it might mess up their carefully sculpted follicle creation. Not me! I wear away because no hair will be messed.

Multi-site practicum at Community Christian

Sitting at Community Christian in Naperville at their Multi-site Practicum. 1 church in multiple locations is the concept behind the multi-site movement that is taking place across the country. What an amazing tool that most of just stumbled upon to help reach people for Christ. I've mentioned before that Faith Church in Dyer recently opened a campus in Cedar Lake. I'm learning so much from them as well. Surprising to me is that the leadership team from Granger Community Church is here. They are a huge church outside of South Bend that is going to implement this model.

Jon Ferguson is leading a session on "5 Lessons to save you 5 years" so I had better listen.

Can't wait to see how God can use Suncrest in more than one location.

The Villiage Christian Church

Had the privilege of attending the management team meeting last night for The Village Christian Church in Minooka, IL. This church is about 3 years old and Suncrest helped start it. They are beginning the process of transitioning from outside leadership support to internal leadership support and looking at their first year without outside support. These are no small matters. It's like a child learning to walk for the first time and a teenager graduating and moving out. I don't have the stats in front of me but I know that a ton of new churches don't make it to their 2nd anniversary, so to see a church hit year 3 is a huge success. Nate Ferguson, lead pastor, is doing a great job. I'm so impressed with his mindset that he's doing it all for the mission.

What a great thing to see God working and moving through new churches!

Welcome back, Dan Thompson

I wanted to take some space to welcome back to the area, Dan Thompson. Dan is the associate minister for Arundel Christian Church, former Suncrester, blogger, fellow coffee aficionado and good friend. Dan and his wife, Lara, were one of the first persons to make Sheila and I feel welcome at Suncrest. We were in fact a apart of his community group and traveled to Israel together. We had a great late night discussion after group last night. Coffee in hand we talked in depth about ministry things that would bore most people to tears yet spurred great discussion with us. Check out Dan's blog when you get a chance.

Ollie Horne

It was great to have Ollie with us on Sunday. I love what God is doing through him and his family. Ollie is brother in law to Suzy Black of Suncrest. They are here in the states until December preparing to go back to Ukraine and establish a new church in February. You can check him out at www.lifepointkiev.com. You can also read a little bit more about Ollie in Starving Jesus by Craig Gross and J.R. Mahon. Ollie wrote me after he got back to tell me the following story about his trip to O'hare. How real this is:

I decided that for my trip back to O’Hare, I would take the Metra train from University Park and the blue line of the subway to O’Hare because it should cost about $7 instead $23 for the bus…plus I’d get a little walk through downtown Chicago…

When I went to the subway, I couldn’t find a cashier—just the “vending machine” deal. From what I could understand, the cost was $1.75 and I only had a couple $10 bill…so I put the $10 in to the machine and it gave me the little card with the magnetic strip…and NO CHANGE! I couldn’t believe I had just spent $10 for a subway ride to O’Hare!!

I went through the turnstile pulling my rolling carry-on behind me. I wasn’t paying attention and the bar of the turnstile got caught between the upright bars of the handle. I couldn’t get it loose, so I had to slide the magnetic card again to move the turnstile!!! (I’m SO glad no one was around!!!)

So I get on the subway with my card and its $6.50 balance. I start thinking about the fact that GOD knew I was going to spend the $10 bucks…he knew I was going to get my carry-on stuck in the turnstile and he’d provide a way for me to get it UNstuck…

I was wearing short sleeves and looked down at my “Starving Jesus” tattoo… I decided I HAD to give the $6.50 card to someone on the train who could use it…I was thinking about Jesus saying “I needed a ride on the subway, and you didn’t provide for my ride.”

So I was trying to think of how I could give the ticket to someone…without freaking them out for talking to them on the subway. Also everyone around me was wearing an ipod so I would literally have to tap them on the shoulder to get their attention, which I thought would add to the “freaking-out factor.”

I thought about leaving the ticket on the seat next to me, in hopes someone would find it and use it, but I was afraid it would just get thrown away…

A couple stops before O’Hare, this guy, who was obviously a construction worker, got on the subway and sat across the aisle from me. He was the only person besides me not wearing an ipod. As we approached O’Hare I started getting really nervous about speaking to him. We weren’t of the same race and I didn’t know how he’d react to me talking to him.

I finally leaned over and asked if he lived in Chicago and he did. I told him the card had a credit of $6.50 and I would probably not be able to use it before it expired…and offered it to him.

He got this huge smile and said, “Really? Wow! Thanks man.” He took the card and put it in his pocket.

A couple seconds later he looked at me and said, “Ya know, I wasn’t going to be able to buy lunch today, because I had to have money to get back home…you just paid for my lunch!”

Way to go Ollie! Please pray for Ollie and his family as they share God's love in Ukraine. I'm so blessed to rub shoulders (okay not shoulders because he is so stinkin' tall) with those stepping out in risky faith.

Mix Tape

I'm so excited about our MixTape series that starts this weekend. 5 songs that will be fun to hear our bands perform and 5 songs that will be great catalysts for teaching. Here they are:

10.21 - Life is a Highway
10.28 - It's the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)
11.4 - Unwritten
11.18 - Jesus, Take the Wheel
11.19 - I still haven't found what I'm looking for

I'm even more excited about how many people actually took one of the invitation tapes to hand out. I know many were wondering about the whole tape thing. Many asked, "why tapes?" The whole concept behind handing out a tape was for it to be strictly an invitation tool. A tape for a series called "mixtape" seemed to make sense. The message series and dates are listed on the front and it makes an easy something to hand to someone and say, "You're invited." We put something on the tape purely as a bonus for someone who might still have a tape player and decide to listen. Unfortunately many of the tapes went out without anything because they were defective. The tool still works though just to pass out.

In case you were someone who got one without something, here is the audio from it. The best way to describe the audio is basically the conversation you would capture if you recorded us and we didn't know it.

If you didn't get one of the tapes or if you want another to pass out, we still have more! They're good until the end of the series.

Staff Retreat '07

Got back today from an incredible staff retreat. We typically get away for 2-3 days a year just to be together as a team and focus on leadership stuff. Most of these retreats have consisted extensively of long range planning. Coming on the heels of the 4c/Puzzled stuff we decided instead to focus on growth for our team. Great discussions...great teaching on utilizing strengths from Marcus Buckingham...and lots of laughter. Here's my highlighrts:

• Relentless harassment of Bobby's sweater vest he wore on Sunday.

• When Bobby ordered blackberry Tea, again we harassed him but the moment was sweetened when our waiter asked, "Is your name Chandler as well?" Oh man, we lost it.
• Of course, the short jokes abounded with fervor. Btw, the target of our laughter did move to each one of us. That's what I love about this staff. We know how to have fun, and no one takes it personally.
  
• Highlighting for each other the things we loved about each other and some things we each need to work on. That was not a comfortable experience, but man it was so helpful for us.
• Eating at an incredible restaurant on the lake in Syracuse, IN. Don't remember the name though.
• Worshiping together - we actually did this several times, incredible God encounters.
  

Sunday

I can't tell you how glad I did NOT run the Chicago Marathon today. It had to have been miserable for the some 35,000 participants. They even cut it short. When I watched a little of the live coverage it did make me miss the experience. 2008 maybe???

There was a photo finish for the men and a surprise for the women's finalists. You can watch both here. The women's finish reminds me to never "count your eggs until they've hatched...or something like that." Adriena Pirtea of Romania thought the women's victory was her's as she jogged down the final stretch. Not looking back, she did not realize that Berhane Adere of Ethiopia was sprinting the last 600 meters. She managed to catch up to Pirtea and cross the finish line before Pirtea even realized what was happening. What a finish.

I did get to visit Faith church's 2nd site. They launched a second site in Cedar Lake last month. It was a great service. They are doing a fantastic job of reaching people for Christ!

I also got to slip down into our Student Life Worship that went to 2 services today. I gotta say...they know how to rock down there!!!

Good day.

Incredible group

Had our 2nd meeting with our new group. It's a great group that God has brought together. Our topic of cultivation led to a time of prayer for one couple who's son has a serious illness. I always love it when people "connect" with others in a real way. Our discussion was quite lively. It's cool to see the varied opinions and view points and yet every single one desiring to serve the same God.

Prayer

I started digging into "Prayer" by Philip Yancey last night. Actually I picked it up again after starting it but not getting very far into it. Great stuff, especially in light of our emphasis on cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus this week. Here's what he said:

"How often do I come to God not with consumer requests but simply a desire to spend time with God, to discern what God wants from me and not vice versa? Prayer that focuses on God, meditative prayer, can serve as a kind of self-forgetfulness. Some have called it a useless act because we do it not for the sake of getting something out of it, but spontaneously, as uselessly as a child at play.

Though my needs may drive me to prayer, there I come face-to-face with my greatest need: an encounter with God's own self.

Prayer that is based on relationship and not transaction may be the most freedom-enhancing way of connecting to a God whose vantage point we can never achieve and can hardly imagine (55)."

To be honest prayer has always been the hardest spiritual habit for me. I'm not talking about the kind of popcorn prayers that we say as we go through our day. Those are good. But I'm talking about an extended "conversation" with God where the focus really is on Him and not on my needs and wants. It's hard for me to quiet my soul and focus...yet it may be my greatest need.

Some things that have helped me do this have been taking a walk or even a jog...for me sitting makes it impossible but when I'm moving...even driving, it comes more naturally.

Pastoral Mystique

I am struggling here this morning with tiredness. Thought I got plenty of sleep last night but it seems something is not quite right...so I thought I would post about something that I've been thinking about while I drink a Mountain Dew. Craig Groeschel,l lead pastor of Lifechurch.tv, was taught in college that pastors should maintain what a professor called the "pastoral mystique." This is when a pastor maintains a distance from the congregation and basically doesn't have friends. He keeps a safe distance so that he will be respected and admired from a distance. Indirectly I suppose I was taught this as well. I think it is a load of baloney.

I'm a pastor because God has called me to that. That doesn't make me better than a plumber or lawyer...it just makes me have a different career. Yes, my career is more focused on "God things" but it doesn't make me better nor need to maintain some kind of distance from others. This is so completely the opposite of what Jesus did. He was with people. He had friends. He had a family who didn't even believe him...that's how real he was.

As a pastor I have always had this tension when meeting new people outside of the church. A conversation can be going great until I drop the bomb that I am a pastor. Sometimes this ends the conversation. Other times it means I have to work all the harder to build a friendship with them. Either way it plainly stinks that there is this awkwardness with people. Recently we were over at some neighbor's house and the man of the house was basically falling over himself to please me. I just wanted to tell him to relax. I just want to hang out...not be served.

I guess it is one of the things that goes with the territory, but I refuse to maintain a distance...I refuse to try to put up some facade that I should be treated differently...that I can't have friends who really know me...inside and out and still have the ability to pastor them.

Some may wish I was a little less open at times. :)

Blogging advice

I thought this advice on blogging from an Innovate Conference (Granger CC) breakout session was blogworthy. Good stuff if you have a blog or are thinking about blogging. Things I would strongly echo are:

• Be yourself - blogs where the author is always trying to "teach" you something don't hold my attention.
• Blog when you can and don't apologize when you can't.

I would add one:

• Be positive - I want to know what someone is for, not just what they are against.

And then the ultimate blogging resource: The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey
And then one I haven't read but understand to be THE book on blogging for businesses:
Naked Conversations by Robert Scoble

Whose line is it anyway?

Here's some highlights from when we did Whose Line is it anyway?: World's Worst at Suncrest, all three services.

Suncrest is a teenager

It didn't occur to me yesterday when I posted about Suncrest turning 13 but that does make us a teenager. That is one age I don't want to return to if given the choice. What a tumultuous time! There are some good things about being a teenager though...
...it feels like your whole life is before you...
...you can do anything you want with our life...
...you are in a state of rapid change...
...you adapt to new things easily and quickly.

Fortunately for us, being a teenager as a church does not necessarily make it tumultuous for us but there are many good things for us too.
-We haven't done everything God wants us to do. There are many great things ahead.
-We are changing...and that's a good thing! Constantly adapting methods to deliver the changeless message.
-I think we still relatively easily adapt and change to new things. Our recent service time change proved that to me. In the last 2 years we have introduced podcasting, 2 of us on staff have started blogs, we are creating our own videos more and more, and we have produced a total church experience (Puzzled?). Technology is a great tool to spread God's message and we are adopting it well.

While I wouldn't want to go back to my teenage years I'm so glad Suncrest is in them and look forward to what God is going to do with us.

Suncrest is 13

Suncrest celebrates 13 years today! I didn't know it until John Wasem, our founding pastor, pointed it out. Very cool. Can't wait to see what God does with another 13.

Yeah God

Another yeah God happened yesterday. I was talking with some former neighbors of mine and they were recounting about their first experiences with Suncrest. The first time they came was at a comedy show we put on almost a year ago and basically the husband did not want to come. He did not want to come to a church. He did not want to be in a church. He wanted nothing to do with it. But our kids had become good friends and we had got to know them a little AND we payed for the event so they came....and loved it!! In fact, the husband saw someone he knew from High School (that stuff happens all the time here). And now a year later they are coming every week and are jumping into a community group. Yeah God!

Vacation

Meant to do this earlier. Here's some pictures from vacation for those that are interested. We had a great time and it was very restful and relaxing. Click here for those.

Scripture reflection

Just wanted to share what I read today.

"In quietness and confidence is your strength."

Isaiah 30:15

What a great verse. While most of us try to do more and more to get more done...while we try to act a certain way to appear like we are something...while we look to all kinds of things to make us feel strong, God says that a quiet and confident faith is our strength. I needed that today.

Puzzled DVD Outtakes

These DVD's haven't even hit the streets and we're bringing you the outtakes. They are just too funny to not pass along. The creator, Brennan Wilkins did a tremendous job. Here's a hint if you look for them on the DVD: the link is hidden in the menu screen. This DVD will be used as a discussion aid in community groups. Over 400 are signed up so we have some good groups starting and restarting.

A bunch of stuff

Here's a conglomeration of stuff that I found interesting, helpful or otherwise amusing the past two days:

1. Interview with Don Miller of Blue Like Jazz fame.

2. What we can learn from Microsoft. Helpful stuff for church or business.

3. A new article about my friend, Jolee Mohr and the cause of her death. Her husband is in D.C. testifying about the whole case.

4. Just for laughs. A classic Youtube video. Worth watching the whole thing.

Back from vacation

Back in the saddle again. Will hopefully be posting pictures tonight from vacation. Had a great time.

Until then here's a quote that really struck me this morning:

"Gotta kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight."

-Barenaked Ladies in the song "Lovers in a Dangerous Time"

On Vacation

Leaving today for vacation. Going to be in the middle of nowhere Missouri. Just some time to relax, visit some landmarks and cool stuff for kids.

This past Friday and Saturday, me and a group guys had our first Father/Son retreat. This retreat was born out of a desire to help grow our sons into men. Inspired by the book "Raising a Modern Day Knight" we celebrated one of the boys in our group's entry into teenage years. We talked with the boys about what it means to be a man and prayed over Conlin, who turned 13 last year. All but one of the guys on the retreat had participated in Men's Fraternity at Suncrest and was inspired by the definition of a man that he gave. Here it is:

A man is one who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously and expects a greater reward.

It was a great weekend. We plan on doing these retreats every year and celebrating the different stages of a boy's growth into a man.

Too funny

Criticism is always hard to hear, even when you are in the habit of hearing it. I say that because every Tuesday several of us sit down to critique the worship service. We try to pick out the highs and lows, basically looking for what we could improve upon. Sometimes we get a little picky, but most of the time it is very helpful to help us keep reaching for excellence. One critique I did get, which amused me, was that my message had too much comedy and not enough content. Personally, I don't think you can ever have too much comedy. I do see where they were coming from, but I did not intend the message to be an indepth exploration of the nature of God...just something that would cause us to step back and consider how big God is and how deserving of our worship He is.

Still thought it was funny that I was too funny. I did love doing the song "If I had a little white box."

Pale Blue Dot

This weekend I'm using the classic Voyager photo called "the Pale Blue Dot." Looking at this photo makes me see how small we really are compared to the universe. And then to consider the size of the universe with the size of God. Incredible! Tends to make my problems, house or otherwise, seem pretty small.

Home ownership

I know our story is among many with the recent heavy rainfall, but last night when I got home around 8:45, I worked until after 11 cleaning up and temporarily fixing a problem in our basement. I'm not a plumber but it has something to do with the drain of our washer. I'm guessing some previous owners didn't fix it exactly right. Whatever it is the washer drained onto our basement floor. This after a separate problem of water in the basement on Monday.

Anyway, as I was sloshing around in water I was reminded of how much fun home ownership is NOT sometimes. I was also reminded of how I HATE not knowing how to fix something. I can't begin to describe the feeling of staring at a problem and not knowing what in the world I need to do about it. So I try a couple things...they don't work...and then I try again...and they still don't work.

Oh well, time to get some professional help. That's what they are there for right? Still don't like it that I don't know how to fix it.

Ethan's 11

Yesterday was my son's 11th birthday! I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday he was introduced to the world in Greensburg, IN. He and Ben now would be the only native Hoosiers in our family now. Ethan is also starting the 6th grade today. Can't believe that either. Even though he has already started participating in the Student Ministry, it's hard to believe this new phase of his life has started. He is so completely in that phase where he is holding onto things that children like to do, yet he is drawn to older kid things. I look forward to what God is going to do with his life.

bobbyjackson, comedian

So bobbyjackson preached for the first time yesterday. Apparently he felt the need to dog me out...I can't imagine why he would feel the need to poke fun at me...hmmm? You can here his little attempt at humor here. It's about 5 minutes into the message.

Of all the good things we learned yesterday, the biggest is that the man can preach! Hope we can talk him into getting out from behind his guitar again.

The times, they are a changin'

For awhile now our 3rd service has suffered a little with low enough attendance that it just "felt" empty. Even though we would have 150-190 in attendance, the space is so large it made that number not look very big. So, some gravitated towards the 2nd service and made it even fuller. We struggled with what to do and were not looking forward to Bear's season which makes the 3rd service even worse as fans attend an earlier service so they can be home in time for kickoff.

Anyway, we decided this week to go with some earlier times and I was inspired to make a short advertisement about it. Just for fun.

World Vision's AIDS Experience

I just got back from World's Vision AIDS Experience at Faith Church, in Dyer. This traveling walk-through exhibit let's you get a close to first hand experience of a child in Africa who's life is affected by AIDS. By wearing headphones you are immersed into the world of a child who is struggling just to live. The experience culminates at a medical clinic where you discover whether or not you have AIDS. It was a moving experience. I encourage everyone to walk through it. I'm going to get Sheila and Ethan through it tomorrow hopefully and encourage as many others as possible.

You can click here to learn more about the experience and schedule a time to go through it.

It's my hope that out of this experience and others Suncrest can join other churches that are joining the mission to help those who are helpless as a result of the AIDS pandemic.

$100 challenge garage sale

When our community groups director challenged us with the $100 challenge (each Suncrest community group was given $100 to multiply in some way and bless someone's life) our group's first thought was to make it personal. Not that we would be opposed to giving it to an organization, but we wanted to do something for someone that was personal...for someone we had or would have a relationship with. So we prayed...and prayed...and finally God brought someone to my wife's attention. It was a family who we had just started getting to know and who had fell on hard times. It seemed like a clear sign.

Our project was a garage sale. It was something Sheila knew a lot about as we had one annually and typically had a bunch of stuff to sale. So we gathered our stuff and our group member's stuff and then as if God was confirming our effort, we received a bunch of stuff from two other families not connected with our group. The result: we were able to give away $600!

Sheila delivered the money in a card along with some other items that had been given to the family from our group yesterday. She didn't say anything about what was in the envelope, letting the card say it all. 5 minutes later the family was on our doorstep thanking us. All thanks go to God though because he made the garage sale successful beyond what we imagined. It's always a blessing to be a blessing to someone else.

Bobbyjackson, worship leader

So bobbyjackson, Suncrest worship arts pastor and who's name I write and speak as if it is one word because it sounds funny, is always talking about how I talk fast. He seems to derive some sort of base humor out of it. I suppose there is some truth to the matter...okay a lot of truth to the matter. However, it appears from the following video that he doesn't have much room to speak.



And then there's this. When he came on staff he said he was an authentic worship leader in that he could only sing stuff that he really meant. I guess this video really speaks volumes about bobbyjackosn's true identity.



All kidding aside, bobbyjackson is a great leader of worship and great addition to Suncrest's staff.

Leadership Summit reflection

Spending a few moments this morning reflecting on my experience of the Leadership Summit. I wouldn't call this one the best one ever (I've only attended 3) but it had some good stuff. Bill Hybel's last session at first glance didn't strike me, yet this morning as I am reflecting on the summit, I do think he had some of the most practical things to say. His talk was on how to stay inspired so you can inspire others. Instead of re-writing all of them here I will just point you to Dave Ferguson's blog who wrote them all down. Good stuff.

3 I need to pay attention to:
1. Pay attention to health - have let that slip since running the marathon last year.
2. Be around exceptionally inspiring people - this may come through books or intentionally seeking someone out who is inspiring.
3. Pay attention to work environment - Kinda let my office get stacked up and messy. That's very de-motivating to me...so this afternoon I organize and clean.

The most inspiring moment above all though was seeing the story of Patrick Henry Hughes. A gifted musician who was born without eyes and the ability to walk. It was discovered as early as 5 years old that he could had natural ability to play the piano. Now he is in college at the University of Louisville. He actually is in the marching band there where his dad wheels him around during practices and performances. To be able to make all the practices his dad works a graveyard shift at UPS. What an inspiring dad! I love this quote by Patrick:

"I was born blind and not able to walk, big deal! God has given me gifts that I can use."

Leadership Summit Day 1

Attended a great leadership conference today. Highlight for me was from author Marcus Buckingham (btw, a very funny guy even though you can't tell from his "magnum" pose.). I've read his Now, Discover Your Strengths. Key thought: Even though we are taught and ingrained with the idea that when it comes to our strengths and weaknesses we should play to our weaknesses, that is, focus our energy on our weaknesses to improve them, by focusing the majority of our energy our strengths we will be much more effective. Here's some myths and truths he presented:

Myth 1: As you grow, your personality changes.
TRUTH: As you grow, you become more of who you already are.

Myth 2: You'll grow most in the areas of your weaknesses.
TRUTH: You'll grow most in the areas of your strengths.

Myth 3: A great team member puts aside his strengths and does whatever it takes for the team.
TRUTH: A great team member volunteers his strengths most of the time.

I was challenged when I read the book, but am inspired to do more from listening to him. His follow up book, Go put your strengths to work is in my reading queue now for sure.

Changing hearts

I was reminded today that God is in the business of changing hearts...even hearts of pagan Kings. I was reading Ezra 7 and read about how God made King Artaxerxes, grandson to Esther (which also makes him grandson to Xerxes, shown to the right from the movie 300), favorable towards Ezra and the Israelites. They were essentially still in captivity but he basically gave him permission to return to Jerusalem to teach God's Word to the people there and stocked him up with all the stuff he would need including sacrifices for worship and gold. It just made me think that if God can change the heart of a pagan king, he can change the heart of anyone for His purposes. This is encouraging because Suncrest is involved in an initiative where we could really use the favor of town and city leaders. So that is what I am praying for...that he would change hearts to make them favorable towards us.

Third Place!

Ethan and Daisy participated in the Illinois Kid Golf Foundation (formerly Hook a Kid on Golf) Saturday. It was a skills challenge. Daisy participated in the S.N.A.G. competition which is a starter program for kids. Not sure if she will take to it like Ethan, but she had fun. And we were stoked to see Ethan get third. They competed at Rose Hill Farms in Sugar Grove. A fairly prestigious golf course which will host the 2009 Solheim. Got to see Peter Longo as well. He is a well known trick golf shot artist although this was the first I had heard of him. He was good.

Great Times in Indy

We had a great time in Indy. Great conversation with Ron of Mission Indy and a great time having some fun. The first pick is at Great Times. 2nd pic is the bladder buster Sheila picked up at a gas station. Now that is super size.

An official welcome to the blogging world

This is the official welcome to the blogging world for fellow Suncresters Greg, Tim and Lynn. Greg of course is the lead pastor of Suncrest. Tim is a college student at Lincoln Christian College and currently doing an internship in southern illinois. Lynn is a saint and vital volunteer at Suncrest. Great to have you guys commenting in cyberspace.

Ministries that get it

I have been blessed to connect with a few ministries that really get it. Get what you say? Get what it means to be Jesus in the world. One of those ministries is Mission Indy. This is a great ministry that is doing so much good for God. The good they are doing for Inner City Indy and those who participate in their weeks is unmeasurable. Essentially what they do is bring in Jr. High and Sr. High students from around the nation to spend a week working hard in the inner city and worshiping God. The other side of the ministry is that they have become a connector to the ministries in Indy. In an area where a lot of churches have abandoned the Urban environment for the comfort of the Suburbs, several churches and ministries are sticking it out and doing their best at reaching people. Mission Indy has been a catalyst for great things even starting an Urban Institute for mission minded leaders to learn about ministry in the urban environment.

I'm headed down there the next two days to connect with the director and my friend Michael to glean from the director how he built this ministry.

In memory of Jolee Mohr

I just returned from officiating a funeral for a friend. Due to complications with gene therapy, she passed away this past Tuesday. Here and here are some articles about the controversial cause of her death. By far this was the hardest funeral I have ever done. And yet it truly was a celebration of life. Jolee was a bright spot on the earth and she will be missed. Please pray for her husband Robb and her daughter Toree.

Despite the circumstances it was great seeing some old friends from Taylorville, IL, especially the ones who let us crash at their place. They have been life support along the way. Their daughter, Kelsey, graduated from High School this past year. Hard to believe that when I first went to Taylorville she was in 3rd grade. Man, time flies. While in the youth group she was such a great leader and used the activities she was in as opportunities for witness, instead of just fun. God is going to do great things through her. Can't wait to see it.

Candlepin Bowling

I had a first last night. I played Candlepin Bowling which apparently is a favorite in the New England area. Basically it is bowling with a smaller ball and the pins are tall and skinny. You get three rolls to knockem down. To the right is a picture of Greg in action....action of missing the pins completely that is. Yes, there is ONE thing I can beat Greg at. What was the final score....let's just say mine was double of Greg's.

Also, here's a great article on Reunion in the Boston Globe.

Day in Boston

Wanted to post quickly about my time in Boston. I got to sit in on the partnership team meeting for Reunion Christian Church. It was awesome to see how God is opening up doors to opportunities to reach people for Christ. Most people in the middle of the country take for granted the availability of churches that help others connect with Christ in a real way. Reunion is one of the few that is doing anything significant about reaching people in Boston. I'm proud that Suncrest is supporting them. It is so expensive to do ministry in Boston. It costs them $1000/week alone just to rent space to hold their worship service. An expensive but vital outreach. The lives I heard about being touched are reason enough.

In answer to a comment question from a previous post, I wanted to say how cool it is to collaborate with these guys on a few message series. Suncrest along with a 8 or 9 other churches are working together on several upcoming message series. The one we are in right now happens to be one of them. Basically how this works is that in the planning of these messages 8 weeks out we bring to the table our best stuff on the Scripture or theme. The beauty of this process is that instead of getting the best illustrations, teaching points or stories of 1 person you get at least 8. All that to say I got to pick the brain of Hank, lead pastor of Reunion on their message this last Sunday which happens to be the topic for Suncrest this Sunday. Basically, I asked him to give me what he absolutely would keep if you preached it again and what you would throw out. I probably shouldn't post about this because now someone might expect a really, really good message. Yikes.

The heart of the matter

I'm sitting at Midway on my way to Boston for a couple days I am meeting Greg out there to sit in with the management team of Reunion Christian Church, of Boston. What a great church.

The band did a great job this morning. Rick, Joe and the gang brought a definite energy to the stage...even that one guy who looked suspiciously older than college age. During their rendition of "Heart of the Matter" I thought some were going to pull out their cell phones and wave.

As with a lot of things in life, this forgiveness business can be messy. It doesn't always provide an immediate feeling of happiness, but it is the entry point for God to heal. One thing I wish I would have had time to talk about was an incident that happened to me several years ago. For me it illustrates the messiness of forgiveness. Without going into all the details a friend got so mad at me he ended our friendship. To this day I (and other close friends) don't see why he chose to react so harshly. It hurt me deeply and I spent a lot of time praying about it and meeting with him trying to iron out what went wrong. I apologized for what I did wrong and prayed with him on more than one occasion. None of that seemed to make a difference in the end. What I finally realized was that he simply did not want to forgive me and there was nothing I could do to make things better. For awhile I held on to the hurt, but eventually I realized I needed to forgive him even though he wouldn't accept it. It wasn't a one time forgiveness, it was a season of choosing to forgive him and refuse to play the tapes of our conversations. All that to say it was worth it. No, I don't have a friendship with this person, but I do have peace that I have done all I can to reconcile with him.

Friend in need

I have a friend in critical condition at U of C. I went to see her and her husband yesterday. She is stable but still critical. Basically her liver has shut down and her kidneys may do the same. If you could take a moment when you read this and pray for Jolee, I would really appreciate it. They still don't know what caused it so it's still real crazy.

I met Jolee and her husband Robb when I was at a ministry in Taylorville, IL. I have so many found memories of Taylorville and one the best is my friendship with Robb and Jolee. We were living in a duplex and they moved in the other half. It was kinda funny because before they moved in there Sheila and I prayed for opportunity to minister to whoever moved in next door. Before we could even invite them to church they actually asked us if they could come to our small group. They hadn't been active in church for sometime, but were really interested. Jolee had grown up in church and Robb had minimal exposure. Sometime later I had the privilege of baptizing Robb, seeing them become parents and watching them grow.

Please pray for them. Thanks.

Sold out for Jesus

I just read a post from a former youth ministry student of mine and had to write about her. Her name is Shannon and unlike the Rich Young Ruler, she has not let her "one thing" stand in her way of her relationship with Jesus. God has transformed this girl who had every opportunity to grow up bitter and making excuses for her life and instead chose to sell out to Jesus. And God has blessed her. And God will do incredible things in her life. You can read about her journey to eventually live and minister in Africa here. She's an inspiration.

Rich Young Ruler-Message Reflection #1

I have received some positive feedback from Sunday's message. I appreciate every comment. I would love to interact a bit this week on how Jesus' encounter with the Rich Young Ruler affects our life. You can read about it in Mark 10:17-30, Matthew 19:16-26 or Luke 18:18-27.

Here's what I am asking:

• Do you feel compelled to do anything in response to this passage?
  
• What are you doing?
  
• If you were with us on Sunday, were you able to identify your "one thing?"

In the message, what I tried to do was lay out the fact that each of us has at least one thing that stands in the way of making Jesus our one thing. Not totally due to preparing for this passage, but in part, my family is making some changes in the financial arena to make sure we choosing Jesus over stuff.

What about you? I have heard from many of you that you have read but never commented. Here's your chance. I would love to hear from you.

Day at the Zoo

We had a great day at the zoo yesterday. Fun stuff with the family.













































If you look closely in the background you will see giant hissing cockroaches. Yuck!

Oh what a feeling

I love the feeling of completing the writing phase of my message. It's such a great feeling to print it out and have in front of you something you have spent hours on and the sense that you didn't do it alone. The feeling that the Spirit was the primary source. Of course, preparation for Sunday doesn't end there.

Since I preach without notes, a number of people have asked me how I prepare for that. It really is nothing spectacular other than 2 or 3 rehearsals of the message and making sure that I have internalized it. For me the internalization is really the key and that doesn't happen in one week. The things I get to preach on I have to make sure I have been thinking about and praying through for days and sometimes even weeks in advance. I have read that in so many books on preaching but have really seen the importance of that in recent years.

I have tried every method of sermon delivery you can: full manuscript you read, full manuscript you preach from but only refer to a few times each page, detailed notes, very few notes and finally without notes. I love preaching without notes because I feel like I connect the best with the audience. By no means do I feel like I am an expert on it. I still have such a long way to go, but it is the method that I am wired for the best. With this method I am able to make more eye contact, talk in a more conversational fashion and really not let "anything" stand in between me and the audience.

Overall though, it's just fun. I still get really nervous before each message but that is the way I want it. I feel like I do my best when there are some nerves. Looking forward to this Sunday!

In the "Blink" of an eye

Jim Gaffigan has a joke about the person who sees a movie 10 years after it's release and then wants to talk about it. Nobody wants to talk about it then.

Well that's me and this book. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (love his doo) was only published 2 years ago, but it is not quite on the "top sellers" list for today. In fact, I got it along with Velvet Elvis and Traveling Mercies on the 3 for 2 rack at Borders. But it was so worth the read. The illustrative material alone was worth it. Remember all that stuff I was citing about prejudice against short people? That's from Blink.

The basic premise behind Blink is that we have the ability to make good decisions with far less information than we think. Some call it "thin slicing." Our brains are wired in such a way to cut through all the clutter when making a decision and zero in on what's most important. What stands in the way of that is our biases, prejudices and stress. But in any field, you can be trained and gain experience that will help you make great decisions even though some would call them "snap decisions." Studies have shown that a decision made quicker with less information can be better than one delayed with more information.

Some keys:
1. Seek better understanding versus more information. This is huge in an information overload age. It also helps me understand why some people I respect are totally disconnected from culture, yet they are some of the wisest people I know.
2. Recognize your own prejudices and do what you can to eliminate them. We all have them. This has to do with everything from skin color to the way people dress and they do affect the decisions we make.
3. Recognize your stress threshold. An interesting section of the book talked about how when our heart rate is within a certain range we can make really good decisions quickly (without all the information). But once it rises above that level we go off the edge, so to speak and don't really think straight.

Blink was so worth the time I will be referring back to it.