Spiritual Application | Bad Days Better

May 13

Clayton’s Story

Posted by Josh

This is a powerful video that not only all teens should see but all people. It is worth a few moments of your time

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Dec 18

Learning From an Atheist about Evangelism

Posted by Josh

I believe this video speaks for itself.  You may recognize him from Pen and Teller fame.  The video should really cause us to rethink our evangelistic efforts.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Nov 20

Forgiveness

Posted by Josh

Yesterday was a busy day for me.  I spent the day seeing patients for the first time and spent the day with several people.  I had a good day it was fun to spend time with some people yet at the same time difficult knowing that these people are in the last days of their lives. 

I enjoyed my time with one patient in particular.  We took time to look at an old car magazine together and I read to him about some of the cars.  We looked at the prices of some of the cars when they first came out and I shared with him what the horsepower was.  Even though he could not speak well enough fro me to understand him I could see in his expression and in his eyes that he liked the fact that I took the time to be with him.  It saddened me to know that perhaps this guy had a very little interaction with men now that he was in a nursing home and more then likely he was lonely and wanted a man to just show some interest in him and who he was.  I knew he liked cars because he had a picture of an old car hanging on his board.  My time with him was valuable.

However, this got me to thinking.  What would it be like to talk to someone and to know that they can not understand you.  I know his mind works but it must be difficult to know you can not communicate in a way that people understand you.  For some reason my thoughts turned to forgiveness.  What would it be like to want to say to someone “I forgive you yet not be able to”.  How difficult that must be.

My thoughts have turned to my father.  My father was alcoholic and that is really all I knew him as.  In fact it was a rare moment that my father was sober.  I remember the yelling and the screaming I remember the violent way he behaved when he was drunk.  I could not stand it.  I wanted an escape a way out.  Eventually my mother and father were divorced and I rarely saw my dad.  It got to the point where I never say him and in fact did not even know where he was.  I remember when my dad first found where I was and I m in that first letter he wrote and asked if I would ever be able to forgive him.  My response was “dad I forgave you long ago”  It was barely a year later that my father was murdered on the street of Arizona for a measly 11 dollars.  But what if I had never had the opportunity to tell him I forgave him and what I he never had the opportunity to ask.

This has been on my mind.  Forgiveness can be a powerful thing and I am so thankful that I have been forgiven by Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful for the grace that is experienced through the blood of Jesus Christ.  It took me a long time to get to the point where have forgiven some in my old congregation and how things were handled.  In fact if I am honest bitterness began to take root in me.  Do I agree with how things were handled?  The answer is a resounding no.  Do I forgive how things were handled the answer is yes.  I did not want to forgive but God began to break me and I got to the point where I knew without forgiveness my life would eventually be useless in the hands of the potter.  Now perhaps there are those that think they have done nothing wrong but regardless of the fact I forgive, and have forgiven those that have hurt me.  I pray God’s grace may abound.

I also know that in my life I am not so naive to think that I do not need forgiveness.  I know I have screwed up many times and many times my errors have hurt others maybe those I have hurt will forgive me.  This I know without forgiveness we are not following Christ.  It would be a terrible thing to want to tell someone you forgive them and not be able to say a thing.  

Tomorrow I will spend some time with a man that will most likely be dead very soon I am responsible for his spiritual care.  What would it be like to pass away without forgiving I pray I never know.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Oct 13

This Moved Me

Posted by Josh

After watching this video I was deeply moved.  Man how often do we just play the game and put on the face.  How many in our churches may be doing this every sunday.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Sep 29

Free Porn Book Porn-Again Christian

Posted by Josh

I was recently doing some online surfing and came across this free ebook on Mark Drsicoll’s site.  This book deals with men and porn and is title Porn-Again Christian.  All of the book is not there yet but it will be soon.  Simply click on the link below and bookmark the site they also have an RSS feed.  Warning this book will be very frank.

…some years ago I sat down and in one day wrote a small booklet about male sexuality that we published in-house. Since then we have gone through thousands of copies and literally cannot keep it in stock. I asked some Christian publishers if they wanted it, and they said it was too hot to handle and so they declined.So, I decided to just put it online and give it away for free. The book has had a small amount of editing and rewriting since its original version. We’ll give it away at the Resurgencea bit at a time in conjunction with the Song of Songs series I am preaching titled “The Peasant Princess.” Once the entire book has been put online, it will then be posted as a file that guys around the world can download and read on their computer, forward to their friends, or print copies of to hand out as they like.

I hope this thing goes nuts and hundreds of thousands of guys read it.

In closing, I want to say two things. One, a lot of folks will not like the content or tone of this book and I love them and wish them well. You get what you pay for and this is free. Two, a lot of young guys (and some older guys too) tell me they have been helped by this content and if God uses it to help some guys I would be overjoyed with that. So, let the critics fire away and I’ll gladly take the shots for the guys who are walking wounded in an effort to help them get their shield up and sword sharpened.

Until we see Jesus,
Pastor Mark Driscoll

Porn Again Christian e-Book

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Sep 23

I vote for Life

Posted by Josh

This is something I recently read concerning Obama.

David Freddoso:

When Barack Obama spoke on the Illinois Senate floor in 2001 against Illinois’ born-alive protection bill, did not say that a pre-viable baby is not a “person.” He argued, rather, that even though the state should perhaps provide care for these babies, any recognition of their personhood would create unacceptable consequences. Again, his words, at length, so there’s no uncertainty about context:

There was some suggestion that we might be able to craft something that might meet constitutional muster with respect to caring for fetuses or children who were deliever in this fashion. Unfortunately, this bill goes a little bit further, and so I just want to suggest, not that I think it’ll make too much difference with respect to how we vote, that this is probably not going to survive constitutional scrutiny. Number one, whenever we define a previable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we’re really saying is, infact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a – a child, a nine-month-old – child that was delievered to term. That determination then, essentially, if it was accepted by a court, would forbid abortions to take place. (Taken from the transcript of the Illinois 92nd Assembly, Mar. 30, 2001.)

Wow. Did you catch that? Since Roe vs. Wade is threatened, then we are allowed to commit murder? You would think it would be the other way around, right? We should not be allowed to kill babies that are born alive from survived abortions and if Roe vs. Wade is threatened, then so be it. Does that logic not follow? But Obama’s stance is as follows: If we have to sacrifice some born alive infants to make sure “women have the right to choose” then that’s what we’ll have to do. How backwards is that?

Read this again: “Number one, whenever we define a previable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we’re really saying is, infact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a – a child, a nine-month-old – child that was delievered to term…” 

You would think that if you read this paragraph in isolation that what would come next is, “so we need to do exactly that. Protect these persons.” But sadly, it’s not. For Obama, our personhood is not defined by anything specific other than the need to uphold Roe vs. Wade. I think the basis of our personhood should be rooted in ground that is much more solid than the pragmatic need to see the Democratic ticket upheld. Would you not agree? Does this not follow for you Obama voter?

Friends, this man has morally disqualified himself on this issue alone. Don’t drink the Obamalaide.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Sep 19

How do You Change a Church?

Posted by Josh

I snagged this post from over at church relevance I enjoyed it and wanted to put it up here on my site.

Scott Hodge of The Orchard (Aurora, IL) opened up day 2 of MinistryCOM with a keynote on change. Scott is not only the lead pastor but the communications director as well. Here are some “tweaked” highlights from his talk:

How do you change a church that has been doing things the same way for too long?

The biggest challenge is changing the way that people think about church. People want to reach people for God, but they like to reach them on their terms.

God can birth a new culture for your church.

A communication director’s job is not to decide or dictate the vision of the church. A communication director’s job to to translate and clrify the vision so that people can get it.

Sometimes whole visions live or die on the basis of the words the leader chooses for articulating the vision.
-Bill Hybels :: Axiom

When you have a clear and compelling mission, you have the opportunity to create alignment.

Vision is not sticky. you have to recast it and recast it and recast it.
-Andy Stanley

Ask Yourself Three Questions

1. Who is God calling us to reach?
   Who has God positioned us or uniquely equipped us with the ability to reach effectively?
2. What is it going to take to reach them?
   What is it that we need to stop doing in order to effectively reach the people that we are called to reach? Sometimes your clearest vision starts simply by knowing what you do not want to be and stopping those things that feed it. What do we need to start doing?
3. Are we willing to pay the price?
   When you start trying to reach the people God has called you to reach, some people will not like it. You will lose something (reputation, appeal, etc).

You have the opportunity to create culture. That culture is created by everything, including what you choose to celebrate as well as who and what you allow to have influence in your church.

Communicate the why behind the what. Do not just tell people what is happening. Explain why you are doing it.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Sep 17

What are we waiting for?

Posted by Josh

In my reading of “Confessions of a reformission rev.” I came across this.

I am still not sure if most pastors are aware that their churches are comprised of people they don’t yet know.  Those people will never come to the churches so the Pastor must go to them.

This is definitely not the norm.  Rarely do we see pastors taking this to heart.  This is once again a difference between a missional church and other churches.  The missional church believes in the fact and clearly teaches that everyone is a missionary what more the missional church teaches how every member can be a missionary.  To often the pastor pawns it off on the people and the people pawn it off on the the Pastor.  However the Pastor and the people must work in concert with one another.  Both must be out meeting knew people.  People are not just going to show up at our churches anymore we have to go get them.

Here is a second quote I found

It was at this time that I realized that our church would never have a sign out front that said “everyone welcome,” because I did not want everyone.

Now perhaps we would say that Driscoll is wrong for this.  But is he really?  How many churches have this idea that everyone is welcome and sure they say that but in reality they do not mean it.  In fact certain people show up and they quickly realize they are not welcome.  What about the person that comes in and causes division in the church are they welcome?  We can think of many circumstance where people may not be welcome cant we?  Something to chew on.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Sep 16

I Shouldn’t be Alive

Posted by Josh

Last-night on “Hannity and Colmes” Gianna Jessen shared some of her story.  If Obama was president at her birth she would be dead.  She handles herself well.  Check out the video.  This issue is going to heat up in this election especially with the fact that Sarah Palin’s baby Trig being born with Down Syndrome.  It is estimated that between 80 and 90 percent of all pregnancies diagnosed with Down Syndrome are murdered.  Watch the video below.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Sep 12

Change and grow don’t change and don’t Grow

Posted by Josh

I am reading a book by Mark Driscoll who is the pastor of Mars Hill Church.  The title of the book is Confessions of  a Reformission Rev.  I will probably post about this book throughout the coming weeks as I find things in it that I find interesting.  I am definitely intrigues by the book and love the way Driscoll rights though for some I am sure he would be considered harsh and brash.  While reading the book it was speaking about change and something really stood out to me.

For a church to grow it must also accept that the church will change.  The problem with most churches is not that they don’t want to experience conversion growth but rather that they don’t want to change, which negates their ability to grow and is a sin to be repented of.

Over the years I have been blown away by churches that refuse to change.  Not change just for the sake of change but change in order to be most effective where they are at.  Instead they want to keep things they way they are the same music, the same standards, the same lack of vision, the same programs, etc.  In reality this is sin and should indeed be repented of.  

If the church does not change I am afraid the church will eventually die.  By our refusal to look at and do things in a different way we are telling others they really mean little to us and worse we are often telling our communities that they do not matter.  We are to often inward focused and rarely outward focussed.  Instead of evaluating our community and doing inventory of how we can effectively reach it we get stuck in the rut of doing things the same old way, and think by some miracle people are going to be drawn to our church.  Sadly this is primarily seen in the fundamentalist mindset and the churches refusal to change to a Missional mindset causes stagnation within the congregation and breeds discontent for the generation that wants to be an effective force in their community.

The message to the church has to be clear Change and grow don’t change and don’t grow.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

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