13 MANscaping Tips

The philosophy behind manscaping (landscaping of a man's hair) is if you get a haircut for the top of your head, you should consider caring for the rest of your hairy body. If your wife says she doesn't care or notice, she is lying! Never manscape in public (like the gym locker room) and don't think people don't notice your curly, pubic-like, shoulder hair when you wear a tank top. Lastly, the motivation for manscaping is for a woman, not to become one.

1. Trim your hairy chest, arms and legs. Shaving them is metrosexual, trimming is manscaping
2. Wax your back, it's gross
3. Keep armpit hair in your armpit
4. No one should ever see hair coming out of your nose or ears
5. If you're going bald, shave it. You're not fooling anyone and Agassi's hair was a wig
6. Never give yourself a haircut and if no one has ever complimented you after your wife's attempt she must stop too
7. Shave your neck line between haircut appointments
8. Uni-brows are still out so pluck and shape but don't over do it Alice.
9. Eyebrows should have a length limit. How come you don't notice that 2 inch wild hair?
10. Cut your sideburns parallel to your jaw bone and cut facial hair symmetrically
11. Don't miss a patch of hair while shaving. We notice the left over stubble under your nose and around your moles
12. Trimming some areas make objects appear larger than they are!
13. Knuckle hair shouldn't cover your wedding ring

Top 10 Favorite Things of NorthGate Church

Kristan and I have spent the last 5 1/2 years serving as lead pastors at NorthGate Church of the Nazarene. Here are just some of my favorite things...



10. Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the church with former pastors and families

9. Ministry to people and seeing God move to help and change them

8. Participating in life's passages such as marriages, baby dedications, baptisms and funerals (can you believe the Benson boys finally got married! Most painful to me was saying goodbye to Emma Simpkins - see you soon)

7. Preaching the Word - nothing greater than trying to communicate God's heart for people

6. Doing church at the movie theater - thanks for leaving the 99 so we can search for the 1

5. Getting healthy - I found a safe atmosphere to get physically healthy and strengthen my marriage

4. Taking trips - Mexico, Mt Whitney, Uganda, Grand Canyon rim to rim and Ireland!

3. Learning about leadership and loving people by teaching, practicing our faith and finishing my B.A.

2. Raising my family - Kennedy was 2 and Kristan was 8 months pregnant with Jameson when we came. NorthGate was a great introduction to my kids

1. People - Thanks for your love, support, patience and forgiveness. We love you too!!!

Emergentia - Missional

Dave Curtiss presented this message from Mark's Gospel.

He opened with Genesis 12 and the vague vision of God's plan. 2 of the most powerful words in Scripture..."Abram went".

This was paralleled with Jesus' call to his disciples...

"Let's go to the other side."

The other side of the lake was home to pig worshipping herders, demon possessed people and backslidden Jews.

Hear the voice of the Holy Spirit sending us on the Misseo Dei.

Emergentia - Holiness

Stan Reeder presented this topic. Very helpful in seeing the distinctive between yesterday's understanding of holiness and today's. His outline was Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis. This was debated on who is exactly under what. While being helpful, I didn't find it hopeful. Synthesis was a future reality not to be experienced today.

Thesis (1838 - 1960)

A. Personal Piety

B. Heavenly Focused

C. Crisis Emphasis

D. Prophetic Destiny

Antithesis (Today)

A. Authentic Community
B. Missional Focus
C. Discipleship Emphasis
D. Historically Rooted

Synthesis (Future - the pendulum will settle in the middle)

A. authentic community enjoyed by individuals of personal piety
B. mission focus compelled by eternal motivation
C. discipleship journey punctuated by crisis of experiential grace
D. historically rooted with a sense of prophetic destiny

What if the pendulum is the wrong image to think about in regards to God's revelation of holiness?

Emergentia - Christian

Dan Copp presented this session, I love this guy!
He started by telling his story of love expelling sin and pharisaical pride. Dan encouraged us to tell our stories but not be prescriptive on how God should work but rather descriptive.

"The body of Christ is to be the DNA of Jesus". - Howard Snyder

1. One - Diverse: put a name/face on those that are different
2. Holy - Charismatic: invite the Spirit into messiness
3. Catholic - Local: we are part of a Kingdom and a tribe
4. Apostolic - Prophetic: we follow the apostle's teaching and are visionary dreamers

The Nazarene's core values are stakes in a big tent.

Emergentia - Portland

I went to Portland, Oregon last week to attend the Emergentia Conference at the Community of Adsideo. It was a time to think about and discuss the Church of the Nazarene's core values and how they relate to the emerging church. In short, good times, good people, bad weather.

Some Highlights...

• Being with old friends and making new friends


• Enjoying local establishments in the Sellwood neighborhood


• Hanging in Adsideo's Living Room


• Voodoo Doughnuts - eating cock and balls


• Powell's City of Books - 1 city block and 4 stories of heaven


• General sessions with thought provoking presenters


• Seeing the difference between being a critic and an editor


• Feeling hostility on boths sides of the discussion


• Being away from home and more so coming home

Thanks to Jim Wicks and his people for their hospitality (especially Chad and Chris for letting us crash at your place).

Why Pastors Stay

The following is corny and will get annoying by the end of the post but is a great topic and conversation starter. Here are 12 things that will help with a pastor's duration and continuation with a congregation...

1. Desperation - for Jesus and reaching others
2. Transformation - willingness to allow God to change your life and desire same for others
3. Celebration - positive and expressive response to God's movement
4. Appreciation - expressions of being wanted, needed and loved
5. Compensation - salary and benefits to remove stress from family
6. Cultivation - opportunities to learn and grow into God given potential
7. Imagination - using creativity to envision God's dream for the future
8. Innovation - looking forward and risking something new
9. Reconciliation - conflict handled in a healthy, biblical way
10. Relation - meaningful and deep friendships
11. Collaboration - working together in harmony with respect and humility
12. Destination - traveling the same road together towards the same goals

Why Pastors Leave

Pastors leave churches for all kinds of reasons. Leaving makes some people happy and some people saddened. Here are some various reasons...

Stress, finances, conflict, immorality, resistance to change, power brokers, immaturity, ambition, loneliness, not prepared for the job, negative effects on the family, gap between effort and reward, bad fit, unrealistic expectations, unwillingness to confront issues, poor self image, refusal to own or learn from mistakes, lack of vision, lack of ministry volunteers or resources, no sense of support from leaders, leadership style (too strong/ too weak), health, prior unresolved conflict, poor people skills, decline/rise in attendance, burnout, out of tricks, no longer fun or joyful...

We need to add that none of the above reasons could be involved. No one knows where the wind will blow and so sometimes leaving is just obedience to what seems to be the Holy Spirit's leading.

In the Church of the Nazarene, pastors are staying longer.

Average Tenure:

• 2006 - 4 years and 5 months
• 1996 - 3 years and 3 months
• 1988 - 3 years and 3 months

Some pastors and people think that after 5 years it is time to move on and some pastors and people are looking for a lifetime covenant. What do you think?

The Bell Boy vs. The Maid

I recently had the opportunity to stay in a nice hotel.
I observed 2 types of servants:

The Bell Boy...

• Up front
• Works hard
• Motivated by tips

The Maid...

• Behind the scenes
• Works hard
• Motivated by the work

It seemed to me the bell boy was wanting to please me for more money while the maid simply wanted to do her job well. We are all called to serve but what is our style and motivation?

The Nines Leadership Conference

On 9/9/09 there was an internet conference for pastors and church leaders. Each presenter had 9 minutes to say what they wanted. Here are some quotes I enjoyed...

• A movement of God cannot be planned but it must be prepared for - Perry Noble
• Don't confuse large with legitimate - Skye Jethani
• Lord, send us the people no one else wants - Jorge Acevedo
• Spiritual Practices, Safe Relationships, Stretching Experiences - Nancy Beach
• Missional Church - people of God, partnering with God in His redemptive mission in the world - Reggie McNeal
• How to deal with a big head... A Jesus Spirit of humble confidence and confident humility. Paradoxy is Orthodoxy. - Len Sweet
• Do ministry out of the overflow of the Holy Spirit. - Craig Groeschel
• Ask barrier breaking questions. - Greg Surrat
• We have shrunk Jesus to the size he can save our soul but not big enough to change our world. - Jennie Catron
• 1 God idea is better than 1,000 good ideas. - Mark Batterson
• Be a both/and church. - Rich ?
• In the church, tradition should never get in the way of mission or it is a sin. - Dan Kimball
• God's message of loving ALL won't be credible when preached to segregated pews. - Mark DeYmaz
• Take care of yourself. - Chip Henderson
• Best practices come from good theology or we get better at doing the wrong things. - Brian McLaren
• Disciples are hand crafted not mass produced. - John Ortberg
• People want access to our hearts and lives. - Rick McKinley
• Mission is the opposite of self. - Ed Stetzer
• Idolatry = we make a good thing into a God thing and it becomes a bad thing. - Mark Driscoll

Top 100 Church Blogs

http://churchrelevance.com/resources/top-church-blogs/

Dualistc Duos

Instead of thinking in terms of opposites and enemies maybe we can think more paradoxically like peanutbutter and jelly, chocolate and peanutbutter, needle and thread, love and marriage, cardinals and superbowl.

APOPHATIC AND CATAPHATIC
CONTEMPLATION AND ACTION
TRUTH AND LOVE
EVANGELISM AND DISCIPLESHIP
TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY
LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE
ATTRACTIONAL AND MISSIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL AND SMALL GROUPS
WORD AND SPIRIT
BODY AND SOUL
SCHEDULED AND SPONTANEOUS

Can you think of others???

To Do or Not To Do?

An emergence or resurgence of social justice is being awakened in the church. There is a renewed emphasis on the poor, marginalized and disadvantaged. This is being led by Bragelina, Bono and Emerging Church leaders.

This could be a reaction to the spirituality of not doing. The aim of not doing was focused on the Big 5: NO drinking, smoking, dancing, movies or playing cards.

The spirituality of doing could be rooted in Matthew 25 when Jesus said, “whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me”. The list could be called the Big 6: hunger, thirst, hospitality, nakedness, sickness, and the imprisoned.

The problem is that we can be the source of our not doing or the source of our doing. We use our energy so we get the credit for not doing harm or doing good. Most of us run out of energy and experience moral failure or burnout. Matthew 7 reminds us that Jesus desires for us to know him, not just prophecy, drive out demons or perform many miracles. The parable of the Good Samaritan is an example of loving God and neighbor not just being a do-gooder. And back to Matthew 25, neither the sheep nor goats had a self consciousness of their doing or not doing when they both said, “When did we see you and help you? When did we see you and not help you?”

The good news is that Jesus sends His Spirit to live in us and be our energy. It seems the pendulum of doing vs. not doing swings every 50 years. The church can chase the culture and try to stay relevant or live in the energy of God and lead the cultural change. It is not about doing or not doing but about allowing God to do or not to do through us. This is the simple definition of holiness = Holy in us. Think of how much more good we would do if the Spirit of Jesus lives through us.

Come Ye Aparty

The basic meaning of holiness is "separateness". When people in the holiness tradition want to make a moral argument against something they say, "we are called to be separate". This has led to the exclusiveness of the christian bubble, our irrelevance to people and our ineffectiveness in healing the world.

I do believe that God's Spirit indwelling a person will dramatically change one's behavior because of their heart being purified. Yet the end goal is not to never drink, smoke or play the lottery.

Holiness is separateness FOR something. We are sanctified for sacred USE.

Jesus, without sin, partied with sinners and was accused of being a drunk and glutton. He was divinely used to teach others to live, laugh and learn about God's promised abundant life.

So, will you Come Ye Apart or Come Ye Aparty???

What is the Church???

The Church of the Nazarene updated the language on the mission of the church. Here is article XI.

We believe in the Church, the community that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord, the covenant people of God made new in Christ, the Body of Christ called together by the Holy Spirit through the Word.
God calls the Church to express its life in the unity and fellowship of the Spirit; in worship through the preaching of the Word, observance of the sacraments, and ministry in His name; by obedience to Christ and mutual accountability.
The mission of the Church in the world is to continue the redemptive work of Christ in the power of the Spirit by making disciples through evangelism, education, showing compassion, working for justice, and bearing witness to the kingdom of God. (new language in bold)
The Church is a historical reality, which organizes itself in culturally conditioned forms; exists both as local congregations and as a universal body; sets apart persons called of God for specific ministries. God calls the Church to live under His rule in anticipation of the consummation at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Exodus 19:3; Jeremiah 31:33; Matthew 8:11; 10:7; 16:13-19, 24; 18:15-20; 28:19-20; John 17:14-26; 20:21-23; Acts 1:7-8; 2:32-47; 6:1-2; 13:1; 14:23; Romans 2:28-29; 4:16; 10:9-15; 11:13-32; 12:1-8; 15:1-3; 1 Corinthians 3:5-9; 7:17; 11:1, 17-33; 12:3, 12-31; 14:26-40; 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:1; Galatians 5:6, 13-14; 6:1-5, 15; Ephesians 4:1-17; 5:25-27; Philippians 2:1-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12; 1 Timothy 4:13; Hebrews 10:19-25; 1 Peter 1:1-2, 13; 2:4-12, 21; 4:1-2, 10-11; 1 John 4:17; Jude 24; Revelation 5:9-10)

My thoughts...

Church is a…
1. Confession – Jesus is Messiah
Matthew 16:13-19
2. Covenant – Mutual love
Matthew 18:15-20
3. Calling – Mission to be/make disciples
Matthew 28:19-20
4. Context – Meaning of the message to the surroundings
Matthew 2:1-12

Pope Bowling Rescinds - New Pope Toler

Following the opening devotional and prayer time before the Thursday session, General Superintendent Jesse C. Middendorf introduced Bowling, who was elected to the Board of General Superintendents on Tuesday. Bowling addressed the Assembly, stating he had awakened at 3:00 A.M. and felt "checked" by God. He said he was conflicted about his decision to accept the superintendent assignment. He considered how Eugenio Duarte and David W. Graves had been elected to this Board, accepting their elections with an obvious peace. He, however, did not feel that peace. With emotion, he indicated he felt he should rescind his election to the Board of General Superintendents."Out of love and respect, I apologize to you all," Bowling said while asking for forgiveness. Bowling becomes the first individual in Nazarene history to decline the superintendency twice (2005, 2009).

Stan Toler was elected Southwest Oklahoma District Superintendent on June 4, an election which was to be effective approximately 30 days from that time.He has been serving as pastor of Oklahoma City Trinity since May of 1997. He also served as pastor for Nashville (Tennessee) First, and Oklahoma City First.He is a graduate of Circleville Bible College (Bachelor of Theology), Southern Nazarene University (Bachelor of Arts), Florida Beacon Bible College (Master of Theology, Doctor of Divinity), and Marantha Seminary (Doctor of Ministry).For several years he taught seminars for John Maxwell's INJOY Group, a leadership development institute. Toler has written over 70 books, including his best-sellers, God Has Never Failed Me, But He's Sure Scared Me to Death a Few Times; The Buzzards Are Circling, But God's Not Finished With Me Yet; God's Never Late, He's Seldom Early, He's Always Right on Time; The Secret Blend; Practical Guide to Pastoral Ministry; Total Quality Life, and his popular Minute Motivator series. His latest book, ReThink Your Life, debuted at No. 23 on the CBA Christian Living Best Sellers list.

White Smoke - 6 Popes!

The Church of the Nazarene has 6 leaders of the denomination called general superintendents. 3 retired this year and so the general assembly elected 3 new people.

Cunningham, Gunter (first woman GS) and Deihl are out.

Duarte (first GS elected from outside USAmerica), Bowling and Graves are in.

Duarte (pronounced dwart) has been a pastor, district superintendent and the Africa regional director. Duarte holds a master's degree in leadership from California's Azusa Pacific University and speaks at least five languages, including English and three of the major African languages. He has a gentle spirit, is a firm leader, and has a good understanding of mission philosophy.

Bowling has been a pastor, college faculty and university president. The dude is smart or least has more degrees than a thermometer. Bowling was also elected general superintendent in 2005, but graciously declined the election to return to Olivet. He gladly accepted this time.

Graves has been a pastor and Sunday School Ministries Director at Nazarene Headquarters. Graves is the third consecutive pastor from Olathe College Church to be elected general superintendent. Graves replaced J.K. Warrick, who was elected to the Board of General Superintendents at Indianapolis 2005. Warrick succeeded Paul G. Cunningham as pastor at the church after Cunningham was elected to the Board in 1993. Warrick began his service at the church in January 1994; Graves in September 2006.

Duarte, Bowling, and Graves will join re-elected superintendents Jerry D. Porter, Jesse C. Middendorf, and J.K. Warrick to comprise the Board for the next quadrennium.

The question remains... In the midst of denominational division between Nazarenes concerned about fundamentals and Nazarenes concerned about missional living, where/how will this group lead?

Do you facebook, myspace or twitter?

Found on Scot McKnight's blog. What is your disease...ADHD, Narcissim or Stalking?

Annual Pastor's Report

This past weekend was the Arizona District Assembly. All the Nazarene churches on the district (about 60) gather and give a report on what God is doing in their local congregation. The biggest part of policy passed was a change in the district budget amount. There has been a confusing formula that dictated how much each church contributed to the denomination, now each church gives a straight 10% from all income. Here is my report...

Dr. Porter, Dr. Schortinghouse and Assembly,
At last assembly we changed our name from Desert Hills Fellowship to NorthGate. The intent was to better reflect our membership and mission area. We followed this up by articulating a vision to make Christlike disciples in our context. This was a year of risk and reward.
My staff and I compiled two resources to equip our people for evangelism and discipleship. The first we titled “The I.M.A.G.E. Profile”. This is to help people discover the truth that they are created in the image of God and have dignity. The second resource is “The Spiritual Life Coach”. We defined a discipleship lifestyle as, A Jesus Community – always seeking to know God, connect with people and serve others. The Life Coach is a reference guide for spiritual practices that are means of grace in healing the image of God in people.
Desiring to be missional and chase the vision, we planned on spending 5 weeks in a new movie theater to reach an adjacent neighborhood to the church building. Attendance rose and we decided to spend another month there for a total of 9 weeks. It was a fitting place to celebrate the Church of the Nazarene’s centennial birthday. A man named Mitch who lost his wife to cancer donated $500 to sponsor a Sunday in the theater. He wasn’t a church attender but after visiting a worship service he is now faithful to Christ and the Church.
God is still moving,

Pastor Jimmy Farley

Grand Canyon Hike

A group of 25 from NorthGate travelled to the Grand Canyon on Memorial Day weekend. Lanny and Michelle organized the trip and talked all of us into doing something we normally wouldn't dream of...hike from rim to rim in one day. The trip is 24 miles, just short of a marathon and if you haven't seen it, the canyon is kinda deep.

4 guys (Lanny, James, Ryan and Scott) left at 8 pm to hike from the south rim in the rain and darkness to meet us on the north rim. We met them at 6:30 a.m. The weather was perfect for me. It was cloudy, rained when I was sweating, sunny when I needed to dry off, and hailing the last 1.5 miles. Lanny and James turned around and hiked it again. James made it out by 8 pm to reach his goal of getting out in 24 hours. Lanny after having diarrhea on the first way across was a stud and waited to get a man 84 years old out at 11:30 pm. My brother in law, Brent, set a monster pace for me and we got out in 10 hours. I feel good!

Lessons Learned...

1. Be prepared
2. Hike with a partner
3. Watch out for donkey dung and piss
4. Thank Jesus for the little things on the journey
5. Life is not a highway, it is a kick butt, make you wanna cuss canyon but you'll make it out if you don't give up

Outliers

Read a great book on vacation. Gladwell argues that SUCCESS is not just about being the best and brightest but others factors surrounding the person.

To be successful...

• Yes, you have to have an IQ, some talent or gift; but this is not enough.
• Timing of your birth and the next _______ revolution (ie. bill gates was born in 1955 so by the time of the computer revolution he was the right age)
• Family Background - 2 parenting styles: Concerted Cultivation = parents involved in developing the child's potential vs. Accomodation of Natural Growth = loving accomodation as the child develops naturally. People with concerted cultivation have a greater chance of success.
• Community and Culture: people who come from a culture of honor that are easily offended when called an asshole have less chances of being successful.
• 10,000 hours or 10 years of preparation to become an expert. (the beatles performed eight hours a night in strip clubs 7 days a week for 7 years before coming to the US)
• Persistence - attitude not ability
• Hard work that is meaningful: autonomous, complex, relationship between effort and reward
• OPPORTUNITY - "to build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success...with a society that provides opportunities for all." So give a guy a chance.

Gladwell gives great anecdotal evidence that success needs a threshold of intellegence and ambition but also the right history, community, opportunity and legacy.

I would argue one chapter is missing. Behind the scenes in all of our lives we have a God who is working out the details. More than we wanting to reach our human potential, God wants it for us more. I believe He orders the steps of the righteous and all we need to do to succeed is to respond to His leading. Gladwell does a good job of sketching out what the response looks like.

Cruisin'

Kristan and I took a cruise to celebrate 10 years of marriage. We left the San Diego port on a Monday, sailed two days at sea, spent a day in Victoria, then disembarked the next day in Vancouver. We chose this cruise because we honeymooned in Victoria and wanted to go back.

Some thoughts and memories...

• Sailing on Holland America's ship the Ryndam was like expecting to go to a contemporary mega church but ending up at your grandmother's traditional church.
• Don't make out with your wife on the deck. It will sunburn one side of your face and people will then ask questions or make dumb comments.
• Formal night is unnecessary. We dressed up, sat next to strangers at dinner and had shallow conversation. The fun part was that I played a part... I was a professor of psychology and human sexuality.
• I like mojitos.
• We both got wobbly legs and vertigo. Sea sickness is not fun.
• We spent some time in our cabin watching movies, getting a facial, taking a nap and obviously some things described in Song of Solomon.
• We exercised everday. Kristan took a spinning class and I did some weights and cardio.
• Victoria was the highlight of the trip. We went straight to the Sticky Wicket for lunch, had tea and cookies at the Humboldt House (the B&B we stayed at 10 years ago), went to the mall, bookstore, internet cafe and had dinner at Cafe Brio. Went back to the Sticky Wicket then back to the boat.
• The ship's crew sang a farewell, "Love in any Language" by Sandi Patti. Yes, it was as bad as it sounds but so bad we couldn't stop laughing.

ORIGINS/ Catalyst

Good times and good people. Some highlights...

• "The raging Mississippi River has no effect on the Pacific Ocean. Is what we're doing having an effect on what matters" - Erwin McManus
• "I left the passionate pursuit of God's Presence and became a pastor." " I wanted a big-ass church!" - Naeem Fazal
• Alan and Debra Hirsch's book is coming out about Untamed Jesus followers vs. Domestic disciples. Can't wait!
• The Origin's Project: Jesus, Humanity, Innovation
• The higher up in leadership you are the more complexity and uncertainty. "I will always be uncertain, I'm certain of it". In uncertain times, have clarity and flexibility. - Andy Stanley
• "Pleasing everybody creates mediocrity." "Don't let the bozos grind you down." - Guy Kawasaki
• Line #1 Christians: Believe enough for the benefits. Line #2 Christians: Believe enough to comfortably contribute. Line #3 Christians: Believe enough to give their life for the gospel. - Craig Groeschel (the guy with big guns!)
• Culture's foundations and pillars: Eternity, Morality, Accountability and Charity - Ravi Zacharias (brilliant!)
• "I'd rather be a church builder than church critic." - Brian Houston (sorry bro, I'm really trying)
• There are 27 million people in slavery today! More than anytime in history. What to do??? make it unprofitable, enforce laws, after care shelters
• Churches are either "come and see" or "come and die". they need to be both. God wants faithfulness and fruitfulness. You need a process for discipleship. - Rick Warren
• The Acts Church was unstoppable. Our church is easily stoppable (pastor, style, time, location, music etc.) - Francis Chan
• "The size of the vision God gives you is directly related to the amount of pain and discomfort you are willing to endure." - Perry Noble (looks like a hillbilly serial killer but the man brought the Word!)

Blog Stalkers

For those who follow blogs and like to comment...
I've googled blog etiquette and added some of my own.

• Comment, don't blog on my blog. If you have that much to say buy me a cup of coffee!
• Post comments that are related to the entry.
• If you have your own blog, don’t blatantly promote yourself on other’s blogs. Especially if the entry is unrelated to you.
• If you don’t like it, move on. If you don’t share a blogger’s opinions, don’t make it your mission to spam his/her blog with your vile personal attacks. There are so many blogs to choose from in the blogsphere, find a new one to frequent.
• If you’ve accidentally posted repeat comments, apologize to the blog owner, preferably via email. You could post the apology with another comment, but be careful not to have it posted multiple times again.
• Rude and childish behaviour just because you’re an anonymous commenter or are behind a pseudonym is unacceptable. As much as good manners is required in the real world, it works the same in the blogsphere.
• If you’re emotionally riled by a blogger, pause before you hit submit. You might regret what you wrote.
• Before you write...think, read, converse, think again.

Jesus Followers and Church Goers

Church used to be simple. People who followed Jesus went to church. They shared a common life and weekly routine. They would laugh about the CEO (christmas and easter only) attenders and cry over the occasional "hypocrite". Church isn't simple anymore.

Jesus and Church don't always mix. I've observed 4 kinds of people...

1. Do follow Jesus, Do go to church.

The good ol' days! People follow the life and teachings of Jesus and unite with a group of others to do the same.

2. Don't follow Jesus, Don't go to church.

I respect these people's honesty. They don't follow the life and teachings of Jesus and don't waste their time pretending like they do.

3. Don't follow Jesus, Do go to church.

These people give me ulcers and adrenal fatigue. They are involved in the organization of the church but don't or half-heartedly follow the life and teachings of Jesus.

4. Do follow Jesus, Don't go to church.

The next generation. People are leaving church to follow Jesus. This is a call for us as the church to follow Jesus again in a kick butt fresh expression kind of way.

Nazarene Government and Infrastructure

Wondering why this has bothered me...maybe I figured it out.

It seems to me that this structure is an internally focused church and does not line up with our core value of Missional.

Parishioner vs. Missioner

I found a new word in the dictionary that lights my fire!

Old School Word:

Parishioner = a member or inhabitant of a parish (church)

New Word:

Missioner = a person sent by a church on a mission

In a fight, who would win?

Parishioner vs. Missioner

out of shape sitting in a pew vs. calloused hands helping others
sunday school answers vs. real life questions
invested vs. invested and involved
supports missionaries vs. becoming a missionary
comfortable with a busy life vs. life is busy bringing comfort

Disturbance in the Force, Glitch in the Matrix

Historical What Happened...

Israel was once a great nation. In 586 BC, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and forced many of the people of God into exile and the rest to scatter. This was a shocking event because the Jews believed as long as the Temple was in the city center their political/military greatness would never end. After the fall, Lamentations describes Jerusalem as a naked widow, abandoned by her lovers with her menstration sticking to her skirt.
This did not end their relationship with a faithful God but changed their religion. The Temple rituals and festivals were over and scholars believe this is when the idea of synagogue started.
With the Temple dysfunctional, people gathered, with a minimum of 10, as a house of prayer and house of study. The Temple was rebuilt and destroyed again and many people still are waiting for another Temple.

Contemporary What If...

The Church was once a great institution.
Is the church a naked widow?
Has culture conquered the church?
How do we respond to the church not being the center of society?
Should we learn to live as exiles?
How is the church dysfunctional?
How does this shift effect our worship gatherings?
Are the days of mega churches over?
What is the place of the house church?
Are we waiting to change the church while we should be wanting to changed the world?
With all the changes, how do we continue in relationship with our faithful God?

LIFE - Ministry - job

LIFE = Who I am
Ministry = What I do
job = Where I do it

Problems with my job:

· It doesn’t feel sacred
· I see no measurable success
· The Jesus community isn’t communing or commuting
· Marriage and ministry can be like oil and water
· It has taken my health
· Impatience with staff/ board/ leaders
· If I’m going to run a business I want to get paid
· Leadership development isn’t developing
· I see little life response (seek God, connect people, serve)
· Vision gets further away
· God doesn’t source everything I do
· I’m not good at half of it
· Pastors are hired to be fired, no job security
· Denominational utilitarian expectations
· It’s painful and lonely
· It’s more religion than Kingdom
· Is it the best expression of my life and ministry?

Am I Spiritually Exhausted? - Oswald Chambers

The everlasting God . . . neither faints nor is weary —Isaiah 40:28

Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, "Feed My sheep," but He gave him nothing with which to feed them ( John 21:17 ). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.

Have you delivered yourself over to exhaustion because of the way you have been serving God? If so, then renew and rekindle your desires and affections. Examine your reasons for service. Is your source based on your own understanding or is it grounded on the redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, "O Lord, I am so exhausted." He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. "All my springs are in you" ( Psalm 87:7 ).

Church Visit

This past Saturday night, Kristan, the kids and I went to a worship gathering in Goodyear. The church we attended was Palm Valley Church. They are 8 years old and meet at a high school. I thought the pastor was genuine but the worship team entertaining. I was most impressed by their emphasis on the bible reading plan. (As a side note, I think that reading through the bible in a year is guilt producing and not life changing.)So overall not bad, not good, just contemporary vanilla with lots of people.

It seems there a similar ingredients in contemporary vanilla churches:

• Good location
• Hip pastor with fashionable clothes
• Use of technology - videos, extra screens, light shows, fog machines
• Kids rooms designed by disneyland or rainforest cafe
• Starbucks
• Multiple services
• Class 101, 201, 301
• Small groups
• Colorful signage and bulletins
• Topical Sermon Series about current events or sex

I think (which means I could be wrong) that contemporary vanilla is the new traditional. As we shift from a modern to postmodern culture in 20 years there will be few churches that will be hymnal led singing or legalistic preaching. Instead people will be fighting to keep a certain style, technology, program or coffee brand.