Sunday provides us a day to relax, reflect, and refuel. On Sunday’s I like to sit back and ask a couple of questions. Maybe it sounds a little like those awkward games you play with people you do not know so that you can get to know each other better.
Lets just call it Question(s) for You.
You can answer them all or just one
1) Where is somewhere you can go where everybody knows your name?
2) Do you like the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter?
3) July is almost over, I am _______________?
Answer them all or just one….these are questions for you.
This post is apart of a series of post covering the book “Present Perfect” by Greg Boyd. Each chapter has been featured on bibledude.net and today I covered chapter 5, Living in Love. Here is a quick excerpt from my post today:
Perfection has lost its perfection.
The word perfection is one of those words that has lost its meaning. Things like:
This is perfect…Find the perfect fit…The perfect way to lose weight
It seems the word perfect can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In a society that wants to test and measure everything, perfection has to be obtainable. This could be why it always seems that we are judged on perfection. Because truly, we have not done something well unless we have done it perfect.
In chapter 5 Greg Boyd dives into what it means to live a life of love perfectly.
This post is a part of a blog project for the Idea Camp. For more post on the subject of Pornography and Sex visit The Idea Camp Website or friend them on Facebook here.
A couple of months ago I followed the trend and created a formspring account. Now if you have never heard of formspring let me give you the short version of what it in-details. Formspring is an online service that allows you to ask questions to friends, give answers to questions that have been asked to you, and a great place to learn more about your friends on Twitter and Facebook. By setting up an account you broadcast to the world that your open for questions. I was about 6 questions in when I got this:
A little back story behind this question first. Earlier in the day I got a question from an anonymous person on formspring asking me if I struggle with pornography? My first reaction was, “seriously, you are asking me this on formspring?” I was a little surprised/annoyed with the question because it came from an anonymous person, and is the type of question that deserves a better answer then just a yes or no. You do not go on a first date with someone and ask why they are not married yet? Those type of discussions come after a couple of drinks (I am kidding). Naturally, I did not answer the question. About fifteen minutes after I received the first porn question I received the question above. Feeling that it could be taken that I was hiding something, I gave my reason for not answer the original question and then said that I would like to move that discussion to a different place. Today, I would like to have that discussion. (more…)
I am so glad that I was born towards then end of the 80′s. Mainly because the music was terrible, the clothing choices outlandish, and William Shatner partook in commercials like this. Lets be glad that we have things like Playstation 3 and iPhones. I guess you could say I am a child of the 80′s but an adult of the 2000′s or something like that.
Rachel Held Evans was the kind if kid that most would want to beat up.
Not what you expect to read first line in on a review of a book, but it was that character trait that made this book most relatable to me, as I was also very much so, “that kid.” I was a know it all Christian that was more concerned about making sure that my favorite baseball player was a Christian and that I could fill up my memory verse sheet at church with stars,then to actually understand what it means to love your neighbors and to pray for those that persecute you.
Evolving in Monkey Town, Held Evans takes you on a personal adventure in her evolving process-from being a know it all Christian who had everything figured out, to one that had more questions then answers. I love the way she describes it:
I went from the security of crawling around on all fours in the muck and mire of my inherited beliefs to the vulnerability of standing, my head and heart exposed, in the truth of my own spiritual experience.
Evolving in Monkey Town is more about asking questions and being okay with not always having the answer. (more…)
High speed internet, instant messenger, instant dinner, instant satisfaction, you get the point. Feedback is something that everyone is looking for. Businesses go to great lengths to hear what the customers are thinking, individuals go to great lengths to appear the way they want to look. The main reason for the need of instant feedback is because we cannot get inside of the brains of individuals and hear what they are thinking (well Mel Gibson can). Because of these limitations businesses have turned to different methods to hear about customers “experiences” with their products, service, or merchandise. For the most part I think they have done a pretty good job of listening to what the customer thinks and then what they want. Individuals look at mirrors and ask their friends if they have anything in their teeth to make sure they will not get any negative feedback. One place that I think might be missing out on the opportunity to hear feedback is churches.
There are a couple obvious things that I do want to point out with my assumption. First, the church is not in the feedback business (or any business for that matter). I know that contradicts what I just said, but churches do not cater to the audience, they serve as a place of worship to a loving God. Stick with me and I will explain why I mean something different when I say churches are missing out on their chance to hear feedback. Second, I do think churches are constantly reforming and examining ways they can share the Gospel message, in no way was the above bolded statement meant to say that churches are not seeking to share the message of the gospel. Third, I do not think the consumer dictates the pace or direction of the church.
Okay, now that we got that out of the way
Churches need to listen to feedback to better connect with the congregation. Feedback is not telling the church how to do things better (even though a lot of people use feedback that way) it is about a conversation. People are providing a glimpse into their thoughts, emotions, and ideas. Being able to hear this type of free feedback can provide the church an opportunity to engage with the congregation and in conversation about what they are doing and how they are telling the story of the gospel.
This was something that I tweeted yesterday morning at Harvester Christian Church. Using foursquare and my iPhone I wanted to make sure that the band knew that things sounded awesome, and not only that I was letting others in the area around me know that the band was killing it with the music. Sure there are only a couple of people that check in on foursquare at church but what a great way to see who is there and hear what they are saying. Not only has foursquare provided a quick and easy way for churches to hear what others are saying, but tools such as facebook, twitter, and blogs are some ways churches have looked to connect.
Unfortunately, I think churches are missing out on key opportunities to connect with the community (not just the church community). Four years ago, if you were a band, you couldn’t just have a myspace page with your picture on there. You needed music, tour dates, and even fans to prove that you were a band. Today, you cannot have a twitter account and just advertise service times and events and call it a social media presence. We have seen that with Generation Y, social media is not a trend and in fact is a very viable way of communicating and connecting. More and more people are going online to connect and move those online connections into offline friendships.
The church might need to start listening to the feedback before they start to give feedback.
Do you have any examples of churches using technology to connect with the congregation?
Mom, today is your 50th Birthday (don’y worry, no one really reads this blog so your secret is safe) and to be honest is another day to celebrate the greatest Mom in the world. I know a lot of people say they have the great mom, but I truly believe that Kyle, Kelsie and Kamrie have been blessed with the worlds greatest mom.
Don’t believe me, well let me give you some reasons why you are so great:
1. Loving
From the first day I can remember you have always said you love me and you are proud of me. No matter what I did, how well I did it, or even if I did anything at all, you were there to tell me that you loved me and that you were proud of me.
2. Caring
You have always been more concerned about us even if it cost you sleep. From late night adventures to early morning lunch packing, you always made sure that we were taken care of even if you had to stay up late at night or get up early. I always knew that no matter what time I came home at night you would wake up to make sure that I was safe and alive.
R-L: Kyle, Kamrie, Kelsie
3. Serving I remember talking to my friends at school and hearing about their Sundays and what they did at church. It always struck me as weird that they just went to church and then went home. For a long time I thought it was weird that we didn’t just show up and then go home, but instead stayed at church for hours serving. It wasn’t that I was upset, it was that a lot of my friends parents didn’t do that. It wasn’t until I got older did I start to see just how big of servants heart you had. You have taught me what it means to be a servant and to have a servants heart.
4. Teaching From a young age you taught us about Jesus, you taught us how to speak, and you taught us how to love peanut M&Ms. Never forgetting that you were a Mom, you would come home from long 10 hour days at work to help us with our homework or just plain listen to us complain. But you always were there to teach us how to live, and that was best done by the example you showed us each and every day.
5. Parenting
I have always told you that if I am 30 and not married I am adopting. Why? Because I want to be a Dad. Truthfully I have always wanted to be a Dad (and wanted to find a women to marry so I can be a dad, but I am working on that one first don’t worry). I thin some are afraid of being a parent, not me. I know it is not easy, but your example has shown me what it means to be a parent. You have taught me about patience, about discipline, and about how to unconditionally love. I cannot wait to be a parent and try to be half as good of a parent as you.
6. Number 6 I am leaving blank. Not because I ran out of things to say about you, but because I am excited for another 50 years to celebrate your life and the many things that you have shown all of us.
If you notice Mom, all of these things that make you great end with “ing.” The reason behind that is because you have always been doing, acting, living a life that does not sit down and expect things to happen but makes them happen. You have been an active participant in my life and our family and for that you are the greatest Mom in the World.
On the day we celebrate your birth, I(we) celebrate our birth to you. Because we could not be blessed with a mother better then you. Oh and I guess Dad is okay too :)
Last night Lebron James made one of the biggest decisions in NBA history. He chose the beaches of Miami over the hometown crowd of Cleveland. For most of you, this was an exercise in narcissism, so naturally this decision brings about all kinds of hate and spite towards one player. My initial reaction to the one hour special, the referring to himself as Lebron James or King James, and to the entire two weeks that led up to “the decision” was somewhat interested but ready for the madness to be over and to focus on more important things, like oil on the beaches of Miami.
To think that any athlete is not looking out for number one is crazy. There is a reason why 96% of Americans have regural jobs and only a select few play a professional sport. Some of it has to do with ability, but a lot of it has to do with ego and selfishness. There is a reason why these guys are where they are today, they looked out for number one and got what they wanted. I really have no problem with what Lebron has done up to this point, that was until he started talking about his real fans. At that point me and Lebron need to talk.
The NBA analyst were chomping at the bit to talk with Lebron (but wasn’t it weird how Jim Gray didn’t seem to care at all) after “the decision” and they played into the game by throwing up softball questions to let Lebron stroke his own ego a little bit more. But an expected question that was met with a very curious answer stuck out to me. Lebron was asked about how he expected the fans of Cleveland to react? His response (loosely quoted) “I expect my true fans to continue to like me.” At that moment, when I heard that response I knew that Lebron was missing the point. Here is why.
Last night Lebron James made one of the biggest decisions in NBA history. He chose the beaches of Miami over the hometown crowd of Cleveland. For most of you, this was an exercise in narcissism, so naturally this decision brings about all kinds of hate and spite towards one player. My initial reaction to the one hour special, the referring to himself as Lebron James or King James, and to the entire two weeks that led up to “the decision” was somewhat interested but ready for the madness to be over and to focus on more important things, like oil on the beaches of Miami.
