This is what I would have looked like in 1970. Go here and get ready to laugh. I also love the late 80s/early 90s mullet do's....
If you do one of yourself, post a comment and link me to your blog...I'd love to see 'em!
I’d like to share a bit about an area of scripture that, in my realm of all things worship, gets a lot of coverage...it's Romans 12:1-2:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present
...Pretty rich, eh? I could camp out in there for an eternity, considering what it means to offer my body as a sacrifice to God. And being transformed, renewing my mind, proving God’s good, acceptable and perfect will; these are amazing commands and promises for the believer. That’s what I want for my life for sure, folks...
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of
God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Rom 12:1-2 ESV)
But wait a sec... Look at what follows:3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment,
each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For as in one
body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
(Rom 12:3-5 ESV)
You mean, once I have this sacrificed body, this transformed mind, knowing the will of God, I’m NOW supposed to be humble? I thought this was supposed to make me better than those other people! You mean I’m stuck here? What is that supposed to do for my self-image or self-confidence?
Paul goes on to describe how we use the gifts we have in the body of Christ. Each one does according to his gift: prophesying, teaching, exhorting, giving, aiding, being merciful, etc. This is the spiritual act of worship, the living sacrifice Paul is talking about. It happens in the body of Christ, the church.
Paul loves to talk about the living, breathing connection we have with one another as the body of Christ, as it's so obviously filled with love...peep this:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice
in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the
needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
(Rom 12:9-13 ESV)
What a beautiful place the church is when this stuff happens! It has little to do with what music is being sung, how cool the sanctuary looks, the worship leader’s hair, or the pastor's dress and personality. Those who live out the fullness of this passage in authenticity are true worshipers. That's what I want to be, and that's what I want to be a part of. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm remotely close....
This is Iba, and he is 8 yrs. old. Him and I share the same birthday. I wrote him a few months back now, and was starting to get worried that he did not receive it. I drew him a picture of a football as a cartoon character, as he wrote me first saying that he loved sports.
Iba lives in Burkina Faso, which is a landlocked country in Northwest Africa. It was originally occupied by the French, and Iba's letters are translated from French to English to me....pretty cool. I have never met this young man, but I think he is just the coolest little guy. His entire family is Muslim. In fact, 50% the est. 15+million people of Burkina Faso are Muslim, with 10% being Christian. He told me in his last letter that he does not go to church yet, but at the center he goes to, they "sing, pray, listen to Bible stories and eat well." I thought it was funny when I read that his favorite song to sing is "David Killed Goliath With A Stone." I pray that God protects him and his family. He actually has both parents, along with three sisters and one brother. He sent me a couple of photos: one of himself and the other of his whole family. Seeing that little smile on his face made my day!
Compassion International works exclusively with local communities around the globe - specifically churches in villages and communities in 24 countries, rescuing close to 1 million children from poverty. Our #32 a month helps my specific child, Iba, in Burkina Faso to participate in programs that educate him, feed him and shares the story of the love and hope found in the gospels. And, for another $8 a month, Compassion's AIDS program helps educate Iba, as well as his family about AIDS and provides preventative information, and medical care, should him or his family need it. So, $40 a month does all of this. My wife, who gets a $3.50 coffee every morning. That adds up to $105/month...that gives a little perspective to us, don't ya think? I know that getting glimpses into this little boy's life has certainly derailed my selfish thoughts and priorities today.
I encourage you...if you've been thinking of sponsoring a child, but are feeling a bit overwhelmed with it or just not getting around to it...take the risk. Consider it. God has called us to something bigger than ourselves. Bigger than April's Starbucks, our iphones or my guitars. The Kingdom of God is safe place to learn and to eat to Iba - not music and golf for me. God is calling us all to be a part of seeing His kingdom coming to earth, just as it exists in heaven.
That prayer - that calling begins with the oppressed and the poor.
You can click the Compassion widget on the right hand side of this blog to sponsor a child today. I encourage you to consider.
My friends, Dave and JJ Heller have JJ's newest record available for free on the web. If you've not heard JJ, I believe you'll find her to be quite the find. 
So, my wife and I have decided to try and get stronger. We found this WEBSITE, which details a six week program for doing 100 push-ups consecutively, which sounds impossible to me at this point. One takes an initial test first to determine what level to start the program. I managed 26 push-ups before stopping, and April managed 12. We both agreed that we could have possibly done 5 more, but we weren't trying to exhaust ourselves. We start the program tomorrow. If we're able to drop and do a hundred in a row after six weeks, we'll be really excited. Of course, you can stretch the program if you have setbacks. And the coolest part.....push-ups cost nothing. They work numerous muscles. We can do them in our apartment.....sounds good to me!
Anyone interested in joining us? Go to the site and do the initial test. Maybe we can keep each other accountable.
Get to it!
I came across this quote today about leadership. It's from Gary Haugen, president of International Justice Mission.
He says,"Just because I’m leading and people are following doesn’t mean that I’m leading them in things that matter to God."
This made me think, as I talk about/listen to matters of leadership quite often. It seems, sometimes, that we measure a leader's success (in the context of church leadership) as their ability to lead, cast vision, and for people to be on board. What about things that matter to God? Do we factor that in as an integral part of our critique? I fear that I don't a lot of times.
What do y'all think? I know most of you guys/gals reading are involved in leadership in some form or fashion....
I've been thinking about listening to hymns a lot lately. A lot. There are scores of hymns that I've never even heard of, so a lot of these are so new to me and are falling on new ears, which, in turn, has allowed me to really listen to the lyrics of the songs. So often I find myself just going through the motions when hearing those old, familiar tunes. If I'm honest, I can easily remember several times when I've sang, "Amazing grace, how blah blah blah blah" in my head. It's sad, really.
It's also sad that Christian music, although arguably thriving more than ever, is becoming pretty bland lyrically. I think even Tomlin and Crowder are getting a bit comfortable in knowing what the hits are, which is making it all sound the same. I think that's pretty unfortunate.
I still think hymns are still very important and necessary in our post-modern culture, because:
The church is not a passing trend or fad, it is something solid and rooted.The church lives in the midst of history as a sign, instrument, and foretaste of
The arts, stories, poetry, music all combine to sneak into the heart by the backdoor – something increasingly important for our ministry to the coming generations.
the reign of God.
- Leslie NewbiginHow will you reach this post-modern generation – a generation that cannot
And finally, I think this quote captures what many people post-college age have experienced through a re-discovery of hymnody and the new-found freedom to express these words of passion and devotion in music that resonates with who they are in Christ. The discovery of being part of something monumentally bigger than themselves.
conceive of objective truth, cannot follow your linear arguments, cannot
tolerate anything (including evangelism) that smacks of religious intolerance?
- Kevin FordThe challenge is to provide roots
So, I think hymns are definitely needed in our culture. I'm excited about learning more and more about them, as well as doing some writing myself, using a more traditional hymn approach, possibly adding more modern expressions in refrains. We'll see how that goes.
and wings – to bring young people into a sense of connectedness with the past
that doesn’t rob them of their vision of the future.
- Gerard Kelly
Lord, help us remove the fin....
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