by Josh Monda | Jun 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
Yesterday was a busy day for me. Â I spent the day seeing patients for the first time and spent the day with several people. Â 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.Â
I enjoyed my time with one patient in particular. Â We took time to look at an old car magazine together and I read to him about some of the cars. Â We looked at the prices of some of the cars when they first came out and I shared with him what the horsepower was. Â 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. Â 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. Â I knew he liked cars because he had a picture of an old car hanging on his board. Â 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. Â Forgiveness can be a powerful thing and I am so thankful that I have been forgiven by Jesus Christ. Â I am so thankful for the grace that is experienced through the blood of Jesus Christ. Â It took me a long time to get to the point where have forgiven some in my old congregation and how things were handled. Â In fact if I am honest bitterness began to take root in me. Â Do I agree with how things were handled? Â The answer is a resounding no. Â Do I forgive how things were handled the answer is yes. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â
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.
by Josh Monda | Jun 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
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. Â This book deals with men and porn and is title Porn-Again Christian. Â All of the book is not there yet but it will be soon. Â Simply click on the link below and bookmark the site they also have an RSS feed. Â 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…”Â
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 ::Â 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
- Who is God calling us to reach?
Who has God positioned us or uniquely equipped us with the ability to reach effectively?
- 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?
- 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. Â 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. Â But is he really? Â How many churches have this idea that everyone is welcome and sure they say that but in reality they do not mean it. Â In fact certain people show up and they quickly realize they are not welcome. Â What about the person that comes in and causes division in the church are they welcome? Â We can think of many circumstance where people may not be welcome cant we? Â 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. Â 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. Â
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
Sep 11
May We Never Forget
Posted by Josh
In some ways I absolutely hate the fact that my birthday is today.  That the day I celebrate my life is the very day that such a tragedy struck the heart of our country.  At the same time I know I will never forget.  I have posted a video below of the events how they unfolded that day.  May we never forget.
Life, My Thoughts
Sep 08
Catering to the Minority
Posted by Josh
This has been on my mind alot recently.  I have often thought why does society cater to the minority and why in the world does our church cater to the minority.  Of course we could say that Jesus tells the parable of the man leaving the 99 sheep to go after the one lost and I suppose we could try to make a case for catering the minority out of that parable.  However that is not what that passage of scripture is speaking too.  It is speaking directly to the shepherd going after the lost.
I suppose what really got me to thinking about this is the desire to drill in Alaska.  When watching the news one evening there happened to be conversation on whether to drill in Alaska or not and my step dad who has worked in Alaska many times stated they don’t care whether we drill there or not.  He said this because one of the people in the debate said if we drilled we would be taking out the food chain for a select group of eskimos.  Well this got me to thinking why do we cater to the minority.  I mean think about it.  I am not saying the majority should rule everything but why do we change laws, rules, the way we do things, our way of life, based upon what the 20 percent might say.  Why is it that at times we do not make decisions in our churches based on what 20 percent might say as opposed to what the other 80 percent says.  I am not sure if I am making sense.
I often wonder though why do churches in particular get so caught up into this. Â I have seen churches divided because a minority of the people did not agree with a decision. Â I have seen pastors leave a church based upon a minority of the people that wanted to make it difficult for him. Â I have seen elders boards totally ignore a direction the majority wanted to go and instead go the direction of the minority. Â These decisions are usually made for the sake of unity and I understand that to a certain point.
 This is coming from someone who resigned from their former church for the sake of unity.  I even allowed for half truths and lies to be said about me for the sake of unity.  For the sake of unity I allowed myself to be thrown under a bus and for things to be said about my family that no one should have to sit through nor endure.  All of this for Christian Unity, and all of it coming from not the majority but the minority.  I watched as friends left a church because the minority ruled it and I even at times backed the minority for the sake of unity. Â
Here is what I don’t understand.  If we realize that progress will not be made by continuing to listen to the minority then why in the world do we still allow the minority to rule our churches.  Why is the minority the loudest voice that is heard?  Why do we make decisions that compromise the majority and in the end we chalk it all up to unity?  I really do not know the answer.  This is me just thinking through how we do things.
I really feel as long as we allow the minority to rule all we do we will not see progress. Â I suppose the flip side is what if the majority refuses to move ahead? Â God does promise that in the MULTITUDE of counselors is wisdom.
Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application
Sep 03
Are You Jesusbranded?
Posted by Josh
I have been a Youth Pastor for 14 years.  Trust me I have gone through an onslaught of t-shirt companies trying to pawn there wares off on me.  It typically goes something like this we want to send you 50 t-shirts for you to evaluate and what you don’t sell you send back to us.  I have to admit that this is a great marketing idea because Youth Pastors are procrastinator’s they let the t-shirts sit around forever and then the next thing you know they have to buy them all.  In addition to that alot of these t-shirts are kind of lame.  They lack in style and seem just kind of cheesy.  You can see I clearly don’t ascribe to the “they will know we are christians by our t-shirts” mentality.  However I believe that Christian t-shirts if done tastefully can be a cool thing to wear and can be a conversation point.  Enter JESUSBRANDED.
I recently received a link to the site Jesusbranded.com so I decided to go check them out.  I was pleasantly surprised as I perused the shirts.  They really have some cool stuff that steps out of the ordinary style of christian t-shirts and bring a cool, refreshing, unique style.  These are not just some cheesy t-shirts but each shirt has a verse that goes along with it.  Perhaps you say big deal. Well let us not forget
Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
It is God’s word that is the power of God for salvation. Â So when I see a company that put this into practice I support it. Â Why don’t you go take a look and decide for yourself. Â Are your Jesusbranded? Â Check them out here.
Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application
Sep 02
Am I Ready to be a Sr. Pastor?
Posted by Josh
I have always felt that God has called me to be a Youth Pastor in addition I have always been against those that merely use Youth Ministry to aspire to something better meaning a Sr. Pastor role.  But what if you feel maybe God is calling you to a Sr. Pastor role.  This has entered into my thinking and something I never thought I would think about is dominating my thought process.  I really have never desired to be a Sr. Pastor.  I guess all of the headaches that come with it I would like to avoid.  However there are just as many headaches within Youth Ministry.  I however have always liked dealing with teens and have not necessarily liked dealing with many adults.  However I have to ask myself has God been preparing me for this, preparing me for something different, even something I never dreamed I would do.
I have always said to my wife if I was going to be a Sr. Pastor I don’t want to do it in a small town.  I have just felt the potential for growth is so low.  However over the last few weeks I have begun to see that there are many smaller towns that either do not have a good church or they have a church without a Pastor.  Many people here in MO are forced to drive several miles if they live in a small town in order to find a good church.  In addition I have had several people recently ask me if I would consider being a Sr. Pastor.  I just struggle with decision.  Am I ready?
Sometimes God calls us to do things that we never though were possible.  Sometimes God wants us to think outside of ourselves and to focus on Him.  I am not saying I am call to be a Sr. Pastor but I decided today I should at least be open to the idea.  If you are reading this I would ask that you pray fro direction in my life.
Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application
by Josh Monda | Jun 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
Yesterday I started a little blogging series on judging so today I will continue with that series.  As stated yesterday the first thing I notice from Matthew 7:1-6 is that there is a definite command “do not judge” I also stated the greek word for judge used is (krinite) which also means to criticize.
Often times when a person has done what others feel is wrong and fallen the first reaction is to judge that person but judgment often times misses the point. Â
When someone has messed up as we all do shouldn’t this be a time for compassion towards that person. Â This should be a time of reaching out to the person and making an offer to love on that person and to pull them in even closer, not push them further and further away. Â This is a time to speak kind words of them not bite and tear them down with destructive talk. Â (Ephesians 4:30-32)
We should take time to show loving compassion for those who have come short why? Â Well we realize that we too have come short so many times and in many cases much worse then the one we are judging.
Then why is it that people so often and so quickly move to judging and criticizing? Â Not only that why is that so often these are the what we might call “Strong Christians”. Â There are several reason why this takes place and let me say as I state these this was me and probably still is to a certain extent. Â
1.  When we judge or criticize another person it boosts our self-image.  When we tear someone else down it makes us seem better at least that is how we see it, somehow we are better then that other person.  It inflates our pride, ego, and our own self image.
2. Â We enjoy criticism. Â Think of all the successful talk shows, movies, and so forth that are based primarily on this issue we love to hear and share bad news and others shortcomings.
3. Â When we judge and criticize it makes us feel as if somehow our own life is better than the person that failed.
4. Â When we judge and criticize it helps us justify ourselves and all the shortcomings that we have. Â We begin to rationalize our own failures because we can point out failures in other people.
5. Â Judgment and criticism we think is a sign of strength. Â When we criticize someone else we believe it just once again proves our narrow minded beliefs by the other persons failure to live up to that standard.
6. Â Judgment and Criticism gives us a chance for hurt and revenge. Â We feel that somehow that person that we are judging and being critical of deserves it. Â Our reasoning go’s like this “if he hurt me, he deserves to be hurt.” Â So we look for ways to hurt them.
I am going to close with reasons why we should not be so fast to judge and criticize.
1. Â We never know all of the circumstance and all of the facts. Â What happened and why it happened are never really known. Â So often there are all kinds of things that have taken place behind the scenes that are not seen by others. Â Think about just these relationships Children and parents, wives and husbands, employer and employee, friend and friend, in all these relationships things happen behind closed doors so often. Â In addition to that things are seldom remembered and when they are remembered the facts are messed up. Â Usually the person that does the talking does not reveal the true fact but many times reveals only the fact that make them look good. Â The one that is in a hurry to tell others the problem is the one that seeks self-justification. Â The one that desires to be silent is the one who is caring and compassionate. Â The spirit of silence is silent because it does not desire hurt for others.
2. Â The second reason we should not be so quick to criticize and judge is that all people it does not matter who you are or what your position is come short, all fall, and all fail. Â In addition to that we all sin (1 John 1:8, 10). Â No one at any time is ever exempt from sin. Â When we are quick to bring out the whip of judgment and criticism we have a big problem; we have forgotten that we are also sinners. Â It is only when we acknowledge our own condition that we act with care and compassion to those that fall short. Â We must realize though they may be failing now we failed before and we will fail again. Â Sin is a cycle that is continuous and no one is exempt it started in the beginning when Adam and Eve ate of the tree and it will not end until Jesus returns. Â Those that believe in Christ have His righteousness imputed upon them and we are dependent upon that (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:8-16). Â We must always be seeking after God’s forgiveness and forgetting those things that are behind us.
I want to make it clear that I am not saying that we have a license to go out and sin all we want neither is our sin just excused.  We are not to continue in sin, not by being quick to judge and criticize nor by doing evil.  We all have weaknesses and shortcomings the person that really knows God is the one who is constantly seeking God.  ”And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
3. Â Everything that there is to know about a person is never known. Â How then can we judge and criticize? Â Think about all the things that mold us into who we are. Â Think about our parents what are they like, how were we treated for the 18 years we lived at home. Â What did our fathers or mothers teach us? Â What kid of friends did we have or do we have? Â There are many factors that influence the person that may be failing. Â Do we know what it is influencing them? Â What kind of genes has this person inherited? Â Are the loving, shy, strict, arrogant, strong, fiery? Â There is so much that influences the human life that only Go can know a person well enough to judge him. Â We can really never know someone well enough to pass judgment on them.
4. Â Judging others usurps God’s authority. Â When someone is critical and judges of another they are saying they have the right and are worthy to be the judge over other lives. Â They are in essence claiming the right to be God, which is absolutely ridiculous. Â Yet I believe most people including myself have laid claim to the right at one time or another, and some claim the right o exercise a judgmental critical spirit all the time.Â
Lets not forget what the Scripture says “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master [God] he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (brackets added by me) (Romans 14:4, James 4:11-12)
Tomorrow I will look at verse 2 and how it is made very clear that we will be judged with the same judgement or criticism we use and we will be judged with the same measurement.
Let me also make it clear that this series is not talking about specific occasions when value judgments must be made, nor is it speaking of the careful discrimination that has to be made at times, finally it is not speaking of the moral judgment that we at times have to make either. Â It is speaking of the harsh judgmental, and often critical spirit that has invaded our churches and our lives at times.
by Josh Monda | Jun 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
I was reading this blog post tonight and it really spoke to me because this is where I am currently at in my life.
Thanks to http://timschmoyer.com
Last week in a conversation with my mentee, he asked, “How do you know if you’re called to ministry?” If we’re all honest, there have been times when each of us has questioned our calling to ministry, particularly during the difficult times. My mentee is not currently in that situation, but the issue of feeling “called out” of ministry is still a difficult one. When we go into vocational ministry, we often use language like, “God is calling me to serve at this church.” Or, when we leave one ministry position and go to another, we say, “God called me away from that ministry to this new one.” Sometimes we’re clearly over-spiritualizing a situation, sometimes not. But when we start to question the calling, let’s not confuse those emotions with ones of discouragement or insecurity. For example, if you had a lot of people encouraging and supporting you, would you still feel “called out” of ministry? If you felt affirmed by key people in your ministry, would your calling change? Remember, our calling into ministry does not come from people, nor should it be retracted by people. It comes solely from the Lord. If you’re doubting your call to ministry, don’t confuse it with feeling discouraged or insecure. Deep down, we all feel that in ministry.
Affirmation and encouragement are absolutely healthy and necessary things to have in your ministry, but never should we base a calling to ministry on the praise or opinions of others. Base your calling on the Lord’s direction in your life.
