Archive for May, 2008
The Croatia Project
I need some help.
Campus Crusade for Christ is having a leadership conference in Croatia for all of their missionaries in Eastern Europe. It’s from July 1-15th.
These kids of these families will have their own tract to follow. That’s where I come in. I’ve been asked to lead the teenager tract. Do some leadership training, teaching, worship, and encouragement for those teens.
I need around $2000 to pull it off.
It’s not a habit to ask for money around here…in fact, I’ve never done it before BUT – if you want to help – leave me a comment or send me a note via my contact page.
Beautiful Day, Session 2: Steve Clifford
This is part 2 of my notes from the Beautiful Day Conference.
Steve Clifford is the Lead Pastor of Westgate Church in San Jose, CA.
When Steve got to Westgate, he simply asked 4 questions:
What do we do well?
What are we trying to do?
What are we not doing at all and why?
If Westgate burned down to the ground, would anyone outside the church care? Would it matter?
As the leaders worked through the questions, Steve consistently resisted the “filling in the blank” mentality. He wanted them to be clear on the WHY of ministry and the HOW of ministry first.
WHY we do what we do? Jesus’ church, His organization. Everything we do must be because we either…
Love God
Love One Anther – internal, inside church
Love Others – external, outside church
HOW?
Pattern of Discipleship –
Come and See
Come and Be
Come and Follow
Come and Remain
You cannot call people/organization to become something that you are not becoming individually…..and it has to start with the leadership. If they do not live with compassion as part of their everyday life, then it will be an add on program at your church instead of the fabric of how you live.
“We can not be collectively what we aren’t individually.â€
The question to ask when changing the culture of a church is NOT “What do our people need†but “What do we want them to become?” If you simply have programs of outreach and compassion and don’t change the culture, you simply have “drive-by blessingsâ€. Compassion/Outreach has to be about investing in people NOT just compassion. Relationship is key.
GE’s Thoughts:
One of the things that Steve said that encouraged me so much was the line – “I didn’t know the what – but I knew the why and the how. WHAT is something we figured out together. The WHY and HOW was given to us by scripture and it’s my prophetic responsibility to continually remind us of that.”
To me – that summed up pastoral leadership/followership. Be the prophetic voice that continues to bring people to Jesus, reminds them of Jesus, points the community to Jesus. Don’t have to have the 5 year vision/plan. Do that together but as a pastor – your core is to be the prophetic voice.
Beautiful Day, Session 1: John Talbert
This is part 1 of my notes from the Beautiful Day Conference.
John Talbert is the founder of Beautiful Day. He’s also the compassion pastor at Westgate. He’s got some cool name other than compassion pastor, but I can’t remember what it is.
Common Grace – you don’t have to be a Christ-follower to be good or do good.
Incarnational Grace – becoming the personification of Jesus.
Our compassion must be rooted in the person of Jesus Christ or it will become a fad and die. The other danger is that compassion becomes a silo ministry that is added on the list of services the church offers.
Incarnational Grace: It identifies, has intimacy (relational) , is interdependent (collaborates with other ministries), and is indiscriminate (blesses even our enemies).
GE’s Takeaways:
EVERY ministry faces the same struggle – how do you keep a relational, holistic approach to ministry for the entire church? How do you keep the church segmenting even further the already segmented familly?
Alcatraz
I’m working on the notes from the Beautiful Day Conference. I’ll get them out next week but since Frontier canceled our flights home on Thursday night, we had an extra day. Row and I decided to enjoy a day in San Fran.
AM
Hit antique guitar store (Guitar Showcase). Lot’s of incredible guitars – Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Chet Atkins…and a Hello Kitty guitar. The next pic is an electric ukulele in the form of a Thunderbird. Then the USA Guitar. If you look closely behind that one, there is a black guitar with some artwork on it. That’s the one Jimi Hendrix made.
Lunch – at Apple Headquarters. Rowland had a couple of guys on his worship team that work there. I have no pictures of this because Apple extremely paranoid about their place. I have no idea why. I mean, even if Microsoft stole some technology from Apple – they’d just screw it up.
It was enlightening. Their cafeteria has to be one of the best I’ve ever seen. A burrito bar, sushi bar, entrees. salad, brick oven pizza, and hamburgers. It was a bit weird seeing a few guys dressed in kilts at their work.
One of the guys that worked there said that Apple’s design process starts with form then moves to function. In other words – they start with what they want the design to look like and what they want it to do then they go to the design team and say – make it happen. Interesting Talking to the guys that work there one of the guys there who works on all the sound and microphone components for their computers
Afternoon – Alcatraz.
The best tour I have ever been on. Ever. We stayed close to three hours on the Rock and it wasn’t long enough. Click on the pictures to get more of Alcatraz.
Alcatraz sits only 1.25 miles from the coast of San Francisco. You get a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge from its shore. I can see how the views tempted many men to try to swim the distance. None who swam ever escaped, only one made it to shore but barely. A sign hangs as you exit the docks:
If you break the rules, they send you to prison.
If you break the prison rules, they send you here.
Once a prisoner got on the Rock, they were led up a long roadway to the Shower room. In the Shower room they were stripped naked, searched, given a cold shower and led to their cell – naked. Their new clothes, blankets, and rule book awaited them in their new 5′ by 7′ by 7′ room. The whole block got to see every new inmate in their birthday suit in shackles.
Any inmate that caused trouble could get up to 29 days in D Block. D Block was solitary confinement. A cell that was completely dark for 24 hours a day with half the food rations.
In 1946, 6 inmates tried to escape but their plans went very, very wrong. They ended up killing three guards and the Marines were called in. 4 inmates were killed in the melee that followed. Another two were executed afterwards.
This is a picture of the cell that may be the only successful attempt off of the Rock. It belonged to Frank Morris. He and the Anglin brothers – John and Clarence – planned for a year to pull of this escape. They were never found or heard from again. Many think they drowned and were carried off to sea.
One guy who doesn’t think that is Darwin Coon. Darwin was actually on Alcatraz this day and I got to meet him. I bought his book and he signed it for me (Alcatraz: The True End of the Line). He thinks that Morris and the Anglin brothers made it. In fact, Coon had a helping hand in the escape – supplying a screwdriver to Morris.
Coon thinks they made it because Morris was one of the smartest guys he’d ever met plus the Anglin brothers were Louisiana Bayou boys who knew their way around water and woods. He figures they were the only three guys who could have pulled it off and then disappeared. (I finished reading Darwin’s book on the flight home. I’ll have a book review of it later.)
Alcatraz is a MUST SEE destination if you are ever in San Francisco.
Movie Review: Ironman
Had some free time before the conference so Row and I got in Ironman.
What a cool ride. Great movie, great themes, great action, great acting.
I hate halloween but if I liked it – I’d be Ironman for it.
If you go see it – stay till the VERY END of the credits.
You should do this anyway of every movie you see to allow the movie to sink into, to see if anything sticks with you after the movie. To get up and start talking the minute the credits roll is an amateur way to watch a film. Plus you might miss a cool extra scene.
Parent Meter: If you’ve got a middle schooler, roll with them to see the movie. The start of the film has a suggestive sex scene – it’s not graphic but it’s not subtle either. I’ve yet to understand the purpose of most scenes like this in movies. It’s like you’re watching a great movie then – BAM – “We interrupt this movie to give you 15 seconds of sex!” BAM – back to the movie. This is one movie where the director could justify it because he’s trying to show us how depraved, self-focused Tony Sparks is at the beginning of the film.
The problem is this – he had already done that with dialog and key pictures he had already shown us. So was it justifiable? Yes. Was it necessary? No. Most of the time, it’s neither. Again – it’s not an over the top scene. BUT without the scene – I could have taken my whole family (minus Cayden who I think could care less about action heroes. A parental flaw that I’m working hard to correct).
Beautiful Day Conference
Rowland and I are in San Jose for the Beautiful Day Conference. BD is about emptying the church and unleashing compassion. Click on the site to read more.
The conference should be good – Dan Kimball, Len Sweet are on the docket – but I’m actually more pumped about some time to rethink and re-imagine ministry. It’s amazing how much tunnel vision consumes me when all I’m doing is “ministry” in the strictest sense of the word. It’s great to plow and work hard and be consistent. But it’s also a great way to lose the forest for the trees. (Which always brings a laugh to me when I hear this phrase. Not sure why…strange bird I am.)
I’ll post up some notes as the day goes on.
Prince Caspian Exceeds Expectations
Our church rented out a theater to see Prince Caspian today. Believe the hype. It’s that good.
If you’re a huge C.S. Lewis fan, you will love the way the director tells the story – not giving all the details of why certain things are going on early in the film. I love the fact that this film can stand alone – not tied or linked to the first film.
And you can also tell that Walden Media had the money this time around for the CGI. The effects in this film look so much better than the first one.
The story was tight and well-told. The acting from the Pevensie children is spot on. Ever watch a film with children actors and cringe because their performance was either a wee bit over the top or completely lifeless? (Think Annakin Skywalker in any of the prequels.) Not here. The kids in this one nail their characters – even Prince Caspian.
Highly recommend the movie.
Out of the Pan…
I’ve had a pain in my heel for the last month or so and like a real man, I’ve not gone to the doctor for it. The theory went something like this – I probably hurt it during ski season at some point. I took about a month after the season to see if it would heal with rest.
It didn’t.
Amy and I started walking 2 miles a day.
It hurt even worse.
I finally caved and went to the doctor today.
He asked me some questions and decided it was plantar fasciitis. Treatment would be ice, stretching, and a cortisone shot.
As he brings out this honkin needle, I tell him my mother-in-law has that and it doesn’t feel anything like that. My arch is fine it only hurts in one spot.
So the doctor relooks at my foot and says “Hmmmm.”
I don’t like it when doctors say that.
He puts away the shot and gets…a razor blade.
“I think you may have a buried wart so I’m going to have to scrape off some skin to find it.”
He pauses.
“This is going to hurt a little bit.”
So he scrapes. And there’s quite a bit of blood. And he finds the wart.
Then he puts some goo on my foot to stop the bleeding.
Then he put an acid on the wart that would burn and kill it.
Then he told me that we’d have to do it again in two weeks.
And it didn’t hurt a little. It hurt a lot.
So…I avoided one shot for all of that.
Book Review: Into The Wild
After reading Into Thin Air, Robert encouraged me to read more of Krakauer’s works. Into the Wild is the story of Chris McCandless and his journey towards an “examined life.” He graduates from college, gives away all his money and sets across the country – into the wild.
The shocking thing about the book is that you know how it is going to end after the first 3 pages. Krakauer tells you the end picture of Chris McCandless. I was half tempted to punt the book at that point. “What kind of author tells you how the story is going to end within the first 3 pages??”
But Krakauer isn’t trying to tell just WHAT happened. He’s more consumed with the HOW and the WHY. And on that level, he does an excellent job. Where Krakauer stumbles a bit are the three or four nostalgic chapters on his own adventures and a few other characters that had some parallels to Chris McCandless. Were they boring or over the top rabbit trails? No. But I’m not sure what was gained by them either other than it took up more pages. You’ll be entertained and informed at the end of those jaunts but I’m not convinced they were necessary either.
Where Krakauer is excellent is in telling the arc of the story of Chris McCandless and his family. He has laser sharp insights into family dynamics. It’s these insights that save Into The Wild from becoming another vehicle to bash the dysfunctional family. Chris learns that his dad not only divorced his first wife, but had an affair and was married to his mom BEFORE the first divorce was final. He learns this as an adult by investigating his parent’s past. It’s doubtful Chris EVER forgave or got over that incident on top of the value conflicts he had with his father.
Krakauer was careful in the book to point out that while Chris put many of his ideals in practice, he had his own huge blind spots of inconsistencies. The very past and family roots that Chris was trying to unshackle from, he wouldn’t allow his dad that same freedom. The men that Chris idolized – Tolstoy, London – led much worse private lives and lives that were completely at odds with the ideals they wrote about. The Great Alaskan Adventure that McCandless was so focused on not only ended tragically, but hardly in the “great wild.” He was 6 miles from a US Forest outpost, 1 mile from another set of cabins, and stayed for much of the adventure inside an abandoned bus.
There’s some time taken in the book to evaluate McCandless – was he an idiot? Did he have a death wish? Was he just another stupid young man who underestimated the Alaskan wild? What if he was none of those options? What if he was just a guy who was trying to find out who he was and he just made one mistake in the middle of that process? McCandless wasn’t stupid nor was he suicidal but the strength of the book isn’t in how Krakauer answers these questions.
The strength of the book is found in Krakauer insight of human relationships. The greatest sin of his father – in Chris’s eyes – was his insistence of doing what he wanted when he wanted to do it regardless of how it effected others. The son was guilty of the same sin but at a much higher consequence. It’s this insight that Krakauer nails exactly.
Flag Football Chronicles
I’ve been neglectful in my postings of the season.
Okay – the bad news – we’ve yet to win a game.
Good news: We’re scoring touchdowns, throwing deep passes, getting safeties with double blitzes, running a hurry-up offense.
Bad news: It appears that it is next to impossible for a 9 year old to go to the bathroom BEFORE the game starts. ??????? Think you’re going to use those timeouts for strategy and clock stoppage? Think again. You are going to use them so that you can substitute one of your players that has to pee. It’s pretty comical until the guy that subs in doesn’t really get what he’s supposed to do and that’s the one play that goes for a touchdown.
The kids are laughing, having a good time. I’ve heard a couple of our ‘rules’ repeated by parents – “Stay positive. Always.” “Do your best then get back to the huddle.” “Pay attention to details and good things are going to happen.”
So it’s paying off in terms of life lessons and the kids learning some skills and loving the game.
They’ve learned how to lose graciously and learn from it. They’ve learned how to stay positive and keep working. They’re catching the ball now, moving the ball and scoring touchdowns. That’s all good.
I just want them to learn how to win as well. How to stay focused for the whole game and get a W.
One conversation with a parent kind of sums up my feelings on that.
She said “Johnny (not his real name) loves flag football this year. He won more games last year but hated it. This has been a great experience.”
“I appreciate that. I just want to get one win.”
“Winning isn’t everything.”
“Neither is losing. I’m not saying I want to dominate the league and go undefeated. I just want them to learn what it takes to win and handle that just as well as they’ve handled their losses.”
Playoffs are this weekend. We get one game to get it done. If we win, we move one. If we lose, we go eat pizza. Either way – it’ll be a good day.
Jesus Divides
This is part of our e-journey through the book of Acts. This week is from Acts 14.
That probably wouldn’t work as a bumper sticker but it’s true. I can’t get through Acts without that fact slapping me in the face. And it has been a slap.
Ever been to a place where a value that you thought was so biblical and uncompromising got turned upside down and stripped naked? Ever had a conviction that you KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt was of God – a die on the hill value – only for it to be exposed as hay and stubble?
That’s where I am at with Jesus in Acts. Growing up in the “Sure Bride of Christ” tradition, the congregation voted on everything. The theory went roughly like this – every one has a connection with God, there is priesthood of the believer therefore every person’s insight and opinion matters. If there isn’t unity, God isn’t in it. God wouldn’t bring division to the body.
Here is what the witness of scripture says to that – it’s a lie straight out of hell.
Not that honestly hurts me to type. You know why? Because I’ve said those stupid words and people actually believed me. Say those words in a meeting and you’ll get “Amened” and “That’s right” to death. But those words ignore scripture itself. I wish somebody had loved me enough to tell me that was just a pile of crap. At the very least, I wished they would have challenged me to re-read the book of Acts.
God doesn’t author confusion but He’s completely okay with chaos and destruction, disunity, if you will. Jesus will bring chaos and division to any situation that doesn’t have Him as the center.
A church can be unified in their idolatry. They were in Acts – thought Paul and Barnabas were gods. They were in Corinth – thought sexual sin was okay to ignore. They were unified in the churches in Revelation. They were unified in Jerusalem about not allowing Gentiles to follow Jesus. They were unified at Golgatha as well.
Could unity be our golden calf?
Jesus never demanded unity. He demanded to be center. His prayer was that the Father make us ONE in our love. It wasn’t for the sake of unity he said that…it was for the sake of Himself. For the sake of advancing the Kingdom.
I’ve been a part of decisions where there was unity and we were completely wrong. The journeys of Paul and Barnabas emphasize that one fact well – Jesus will bring division, heat, conflict. Because He doesn’t want any company in the center of our life.
Nuggets From May Confab 2008
We have 4 Confabs a year for our Life Group Leaders. “Confab” is short for “confabulation.” So as leaders we set aside 4 nights a year to eat and connect with each other for encouragement, sharpening, and to hear life-change stories from other Life Groups. Last Thursday night was our last one of the ministry year. (We’ll do another one to kick off in the fall.)
Here’s what we unpacked:
What was the highlight of the year for your Life Group?
Tell us a life-change story.
What was the biggest obstacle? Is the biggest obstacle?
What do you want God to do in your Group this next year?
What’s one thing you know now that you wish you knew 9 months ago?
If you happened to stumble in the room, here are some of the things you could have heard.
“We stole an idea from a blog and had each person bring a song that moved them to a place of worship, that rocked them on a deep emotional level. We then played it at Life Group over dinner and had each tell the story behind the song for them. Most memorable night of the year. Helped the new couples connect deeper with the older ones. Allowed those who hadn’t shared all year a venue to share deeply.”
“Watching a group of people rally around a family that was going through hell and becoming totally other-focused.”
“Having a crisis become a spiritual marker instead of a death sentence.”
“As a leader, you are not really in control. At least past the first question. You have control over that. After that it’s basically a free-for-all and you pray to God He works it out in the end.”
“Well, maybe you do have some control but it’s like the more control you exercise, the more the thing gets derailed.”
“Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing…just let the room breath.”
“There are nights when the most spiritual thing you can do is just punt the questions and just hang.”
“Life walking with folks is messy. It’s work but I love it. It’s more than just studying the Bible.”
“So in the summer – do we take some time off or what? We were just going to hang out, do a Beerapoolaza, grill, invite some other families to join us.”
“That sounds like relationship building – not taking time off – which is an awesome agenda for the summer.”
“Finding an intern couple seems to be the biggest obstacle right now.”
My Cars And Their Classification
I guess at some point this whole Car Classification will have it’s own category on my blog.
To catch you up…here’s the saga so far.
First there was the story on My New Ride and all the comments therein.
Next, we tried to get some handles on what exactly made a car manly, chick, or metro.
Then we talked about Cowballs.
As full disclosure, these are the cars I’ve owned and how I’d classify them. I’ve left out Amy’s cars…unless they were manly.
1985 Ford Tempo, 4 cylinder, light brown, 5-speed
My first car. Automatically that garners the NE classification. Somewhere my mom has a picture of this car covered in mud. I mean, buried in mud. I was a senior in high school and there was momentary insanity on my part as I tried to follow a Jeep through the mud. It got great gas mileage but this was the ’80s and to be honest – no one was thinking about gas mileage. It did have a kickin’ stereo in it.
CLASSIFICATION: Necessary Evil.
1988 Chevy Camaro, IROC V8, red, automatic
Technically, Amy owned this car. She had it while we were dating and when we first got married. So I’m going to claim it. (I mean, seriously…what were we going to go out in – My Ford Tempo or her IROC…) You had to crawl into the front seat, it sat down that low. That thing could freakin’ fly. When you stepped on the gas, it would hunker down and growl at you. Amy got a few speeding tickets in this thing.
CLASSIFICATION: MANLY
1990 Chevy Silverado, V8, gold, 5-speed
Loved this truck. Ironically enough – one of my dads helped me buy it. A few years later, I sold it to my other dad. Keepin’ it in the family. (Dad still drives it.) Couple of cool stories with this truck. First, driving back to Texas after I got it, I blew out two tires in Clinton, Mississippi. Put it in the ditch in Kansas.
CLASSIFICATION: MANLY
1998 Toyota Tundra, V8, green, automatic
We will now observe a moment of silence.
By far my favorite vehicle of all time. It was loaded to the gills – off-road package suspension, tires, and skid plates. It did awesome in the snow, mud, dirt – whatever. Didn’t handle underwater very well. I had to go through a few months of therapy after totaling this one.
CLASSIFICATION: MANLY
2002 Toyota Sequoia, silver
The Sequoia is built on the Tundra frame to compete with the Suburban. Best driving vehicle we’ve ever owned – very smooth, comfortable. In the winter – it’s a SUV hauling skis and people to the mountains. In the other seasons – it’s a mini-van on steroids. With 3 growing kids, we’ve got a vehicle that we can all of us plus grandparents around. Manly Accessories: Step bar, full size spare, trailer hitch, ski racks, Denver Bronco magnet.
CLASSIFICATION: NE/MANLY
2004 Hyundai Sonata, V6, white
The one that was totaled. We bought it for the gas mileage. Plain and simple.
CLASSIFICATION: NE
2002 Nissan Xterra, V6, 4WD, solar yellow
Manly Accessories: step bar, 4wd, skid plates, ski rack, roof rack bin, full size spare (noticeable), off-road tires.
Metro Qualities: color, no trailer hitch (this will be fixed shortly.)
CLASSIFICATION: MANLY
Book Review: Yeager
My knowledge of Chuck Yeager went something like this – the guy that sold AC Delco batteries, then I learned he first broke the sound barrier. I watched the movie “The Right Stuff” to learn how influential he was in the testing of rocket engines.
Stuff I’ve learned since then? He was a World War II fighter pilot who was shot down, escaped, then got right back in the air. He led squadrons in Europe during the cold war ready to nuke Russia if it ever got to that. He led a squadron in Vietnam. He was the best test pilot the Air Force ever had, flying over 100 experimental aircraft. The minute the U.S. got their hands on a MiG jet, they flew Yeager out to a hidden location in the Pacific to test out the capabilities of the plane. He established and ran the school that provided over half the astronaunts to NASA.
All in all – the man was a stud. His story is absolutely incredible as he followed one creed – Love what you do, do what you love. When what you’re doing isn’t fun anymore or gets you amped, go do something else.
The book is good for is giving an intimate look at the Air Force during the Golden Age of Flight – moving from props to jets to rockets. Yeager was in the middle of the transition. He talks about the hardship of being in the military and the risks they took. Lots of great stories and escapades.
The big takeaway for me – nothing worth having is safe. Yeager took the risks he took because he loved flying. He loved it. He didn’t take stupid, unnecessary risks but he didn’t just look for the safest route in the world either. If you are going to be the best in what you do, you will have to take some risks. Unavoidable.
Good read.
I Need More Cow…
In the ongoing saga to clear up the classification of cars, we come to the issue of cowballs.
As noted earlier, these are commonly found on the rear hitch of a monster truck – almost always an American made truck. I’ve actually seen a set on a mini-van. It was amusing and depressing.
Camber: “Daddy…what are those?”
She’s pointing to the truck in front of us which just so happens to live on the same street as we do. Lucky us. We get to see it every single day. The children of that household also go to the same school as our kids, ride the same bus and are in the same grade as our kids. Add these facts to the reality that Camber repeats every single thing she hears and you can see the volatile, sensitive situation we have here.
G: “What are what, baby?” (It always helps to delay the inevitable. Buys you some think time.)
C: “Those things hanging from the back of that truck.”
G: “Those are testicles.” (I’ve answered the question. I’ve used the correct terminology. She still doesn’t know what they are. The ultimate parent answer.)
Long pause. I’ve only got to get to the driveway then I can hand her off to Amy. Another great skill to learn in parenting.
C: “What are testicles?”
G: “What, honey? Let me turn down the radio so I can hear.” (See above.)
C; “What are testicles?”
G: “Frozen tests….that hang from a truck….like icicles are frozen ice hanging from a roof.”
Okay, I really didn’t say that. So I told her what they were – a bull’s private parts.
She pretty much grossed out. “Are they real?????? Why do they put those on trucks?”
I told her as far as I knew – they weren’t real but we shouldn’t take any chances. So don’t touch them. Ever.
As to why certain people put them on their cars, another great question that will probably never be answered. There is a whole world of questions like this – particularly when it comes the car industry. Questions that just can’t be answered intelligently or with any sense of confidence.
Why is rust or primer a legitimate car color in Arkansas?
Who originally put a kid’s cartoon character with guns on mudflaps?
How does silhouette pornography help keep mud off of trucks anyway?
Tennis balls on CB antennas?
The easiest explanation to many of these is that somebody at some point in history lied to another individual and told them that it looked cool or was a good idea. Apparently the first friend didn’t want to hurt the other friend’s feeling or intelligence. This of course stands as even more reason why we shouldn’t lie to people. It’s probably the reason bell bottoms are trying to make a comeback today and why spandex is still considered by some a legitimate fabric to have clothing made of.
These are just some of the reasons we shouldn’t lie to people.
It Takes All Kinds…Really
This is part of our journey through Acts. Today is from Acts 13.
The highlights:
Barnabas and Saul are confirmed as missionaries.
John Mark decides to go with them.
Saul changes his name to Paul.
John Mark goes home in the middle of the trip. (We’ll come back to this later.)
Paul starts debating Jesus in the synagogues.
Jewish people get mad.
Paul takes the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Jewish people get madder.
Paul and Barnabas move on the next town.
If it hasn’t been clear thus far, this chapter makes it crystal – Saul/Paul is one fierce intellectual. Calls one guy the work of the devil and blinds him. Argues the Jewish scholars into the ground. Travels all over the world. Can relate to almost any culture he finds himself in. Fierce in debate and dialog. No obstacle is too big or insurmountable. He’s not going to accept “no” and he’s not going to take the easy route to anythinig. Apparently John Mark got sick of it and wanted home.
He’s relentless.
Paul would have never made it on most church staffs. Way too abrasive and opinionated.
Barnabas is the nice guy. He’s the relational one. He befriends Saul. He befriends John Mark. We see him constantly being the one to bridge gaps. Barnabas is the velvet. Paul is the hammer.
Here’s the awesome thing – God uses both of them. That’s a huge stumbling block to some of you.
I’ve talked to a lot of students who didn’t think they could do ministry because they didn’t have the “right” personality. They were too loud, opinionated, edgy – whatever. Some students thought they had to be Mr. or Mrs. Charisma to be in student ministry and play guitar. I now have a standard response to such presuppositions.
From what level of hell did that come from?
Seriously. God has some moral markers for us. Things that should and will be apparent in our life if He’s working in us but He doesn’t have a personality profile. Look at all the different kinds of personalities He uses in Acts. It’s not just ridiculous, it should give us great hope and humble us when we think we’ve figured out who exactly the Spirit can use.
And here’s the other observation – God doesn’t just use pastors/missionaries. Paulos stays in political leadership after he follows Jesus. Marketplace converts will stay in their field. Why? Because it takes all kinds.
Had a student once who was struggling whether or not he should go in ministry. He love Jesus but he also loved law.
“Try this on for size – You love Jesus AND you love law therefore…”
“I’m going to be a lawyer for Jesus!”
“No – that’s impossible. They make you revoke your salvation at law school.”
Seriously, how about “with” Jesus? Do law with Jesus. Do ministry WITH Jesus. Do whatever you do WITH Him.
Garfield minus Garfield
Marko gets the props to this find – a blog that has taken Garfield out of the Garfield strips.
This is the description from the website:
Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.
A couple of samples for you…
What The Chicago Bears Draft Should Teach Us All
The Bears meltdown last year could be linked to one thing and one thing only – the quarterback position. They went from being a couple plays out of the Super Bowl to the bottom of the NFC North. How? They couldn’t hold on to the ball, couldn’t move the ball, couldn’t put points on the board (until they played Denver) and it was all because they didn’t have a leader on offense.
Some will point to the defense but you can’t hang your defense out to dry for 40 minutes a game and expect them to win that battle. Rex Grossman, Brian Griese – none of them worked. Everyone knew it. Had to be addressed.
What did they do in the draft?
Round 1 (14): Chris Williams, T, Vanderbilt
Round 2 (44): Matt Forte, RB, Tulane
Round 3 (70): Earl Bennett, WR, Vanderbilt
Round 3 (90): Marcus Harrison, DT, Arkansas
Round 4 (120): Craig Steltz, S, LSU
Round 5 (142): Zackary Bowman, CB, Nebraska
Round 5 (158): Kellen Davis, TE, Michigan State
Round 7 (208): Ervin Baldwin, DE, Michigan State
Round 7 (222): Chester Adams, G, Georgia
Round 7 (243): Joey LaRocque, LB, Oregon State
Round 7 (247): Kirk Barton, T, Ohio State
Round 7 (248): Marcus Monk, WR, Arkansas
Didn’t see a QB in there either did you? Didn’t see them try to move up in the draft to get one or trade for one. It’s not that they had a BAD draft. It’s a good draft with some real nuggets in there. It’s just they didn’t do anything to address the biggest elephant in the room – the quarterback.
Organizations do this all the time. Instead of tackling the biggest elephant in the room, they’ll come up with a thousand other stop-gap ideas. The ideas in and of themselves may be good but they don’t touch the biggest problem and by not tackling the elephant, they hamstring themselves for long term improvement. Any improvement will be negated by the elephant.
Why not tackle the elephant? Mainly because it’s an elephant – big, noisy, and unpredictable. Takes too much time, too much energy and risk to do it. Maybe a lack of skill is a reason. But there he sits and he sits anywhere he wants because he’s an elephant.
If you’ve tried the ‘ignoring the elephant’ approach, you already know how that ends. It doesn’t. It’s like getting eaten to death by a duck. It just goes on and on, a painful, slow fade to black. It’s misery is only doubled when after a year or two or longer, you’re right back in the same situation you were earlier except now you’re older.
It’s also miserable tackling the elephant. Egos, personalities collide with tradition vs. risk and besides that – it’s gut-wrenching on friendships and job-security. The difference is – it’s only in dealing with the elephant will it ever go away or get fixed.
We have a 5-week observation period for any volunteer who wants to work with students. After that 5-week time frame (and if there is a green light from both sides) that volunteer will spend 6 months to a year ‘interning’ with one of our veterans. This process has rescued us from many elephants.
Of course, I haven’t always had the 5-week observation or the intern process. Had to learn the value of those the hard way and eat a couple of elephants along the way.
My hunch is the Bears aren’t going to be all that much this year than they were last. Next off-season they’ll once again have the elephant in the room. We’ll see if it gets tackled this time.
A Man’s Classification Guide of Cars
There’s manly vehicles.
There’s ‘chick’ vehicles.
Then – according to Wayne (I’d link him but he hasn’t blogged in 14 years) – there’s ‘metro-sexual’ vehicles. It’s fair to ask what exactly makes Wayne an expert in such issues. I’ll allow him to answer that in the comments section below. (This should be fascinating.)
I think there probably ought to be a 4th category – kinda the ‘necessary evil’ category. Stuff like Honda Civics, Hyundai Sonatas, and other gas-conserving vehicles that aren’t completely ridiculous could go in this category. (No, the Yaris doesn’t go here. It’s completely ridiculous.)
Before we start categorizing, some general principles that we all can agree upon.
1. A mini-van will never, ever in any way ever be classified as a MANLY car. Ever.
It could be classified as either a CHICK or a NECESSARY EVIL (NE) depending on number of kids in family. If you have 2 or less children and you have a mini-van, you are on the bubble. Technically, you don’t NEED an mini-van. If you have no children, it’s a definite CHICK classification.
2. Any car that could fit in the back of a full-size pickup, will never, ever in any way be classified as a MANLY car. Ever.
There is one notable exception – the Mini-Cooper. I have yet to meet a guy who doesn’t like the Cooper. It’s a sweet ride. Got a cool name as well. The Yaris, Yugo, Geo, Smart Cars and the like will always be classified as CHICK cars.
3. Any car that comes with a flower vase is a CHICK vehicle. See VW Bug.
4. If it says “Jeep”, we’re going to give you the benefit of the doubt.
The Jeep Liberty raised some questions about the manliness of the Jeep. It’s a terrible drive, horrible off the road and marketed towards women. However, it’s still a Jeep. Every man born has wanted to own a Jeep at some point in his life. It’s instinct.
Questions We Need To Answer
Does the vehicle’s color have anything to do with classification?
This of course is part of the argument against classifying my current Xterra as a MANLY vehicle – it’s yellow. But so are some fire trucks and those are definitely MAN cars. So color alone can’t sink a car into the CHICK category.
Pink is the exception. Pink is NOT the new black when it comes to cars. You better be selling Mary Kay if you have a pink vehicle. That’s all I got to say about that.
Other colors that are ONLY CHICK:
Sea Foam Green – again see VW Bug.
Light Sky Blue
Does the personality or profession of the owner have anything to do with classification?
Yes, it can.
If you are an Electrical Engineer and enjoy reading power grids, you’re not going to pull off a yellow vehicle. Nor are you going to pull of a ‘fun’ vehicle. Stick with boring box cars or standard SUVs. Chances are you’re not going to pull off any color other than white or black or maybe silver. You know, the basic, boring colors of the vehicle palate.
If you are basically as cool as Chuck Norris (not cooler than Chuck as that is impossible…and it should be noted that most youth ministers fall in this category) then a color like…oh, I don’t know…say …. YELLOW actually works for you. It’s loud. It’s bright and positive. It screams that you are fun and not boring…the antithesis to engineer type of people.
This can also work in terms of types of cars. If you are a youth pastor and drive a mini-van, you could always fall back on the NE classification due to the number of students you drive around.
Does the usage of the car effect the classification?
Abso-freakin-lutely.
Let’s look at the Suburban.
Suburban driven by a soccer mom that never sees 4wd – CHICK.
Suburban that is full of ski gear, mountain climbing gear, and parachutes – MANLY.
Pink Mary Kay Suburban – CHICK.
Pink Mary Kay Suburban driven by husband going to store to get milk – candidate for divorce. (I actually saw this once at a Walgreens. I just kept staring at him. I had no idea what to say to him in order to console him. I do know that there would have been a throw stuff around the house kind of argument if it had been me. And I would have taken my bike or walked.)
Can accessories help classify a vehicle?
It can make the difference in the final vote. In some cases, like the Yaris, it won’t matter what you put on it. It is what it is and the best thing you can do is just man-up and deal with it. A mini-van will allows be a Chick car. Any man that argues differently is just delusional and deserves both our pity and insults. However, in Wayne’s ‘metro-sexual’ category, accessorization could make the difference.
Ski racks – manly.
Front grill protector – manly.
Antenna smiley face – chick.
“My kid is an honor student” bumper sticker – chick and candidate for running off the road.
Christian Fish Symbol – undecided at this point. Did your car make that decision or are you forcing Jesus up its tailpipe?
Trailer hitch – manly.
If you can see the spare tire – manly.
If spare tire is full-size – manly.
Donut spare – chick.
If you can see the spare tire AND it’s a donut – well, we may need a 5th category.
Width of tires – generally speaking, the wider, the more manly.
Ball cracking the window stickers – chick.
I’m sure you’ll have more so list away in the comments section.
Later next week – my history of cars and their classifications.
Gearing Up For The Next Few Posts
I never imagined that my post on the Xterra would generate such a landslide of comments. It’s quickly becoming one of the most popular things on the G sides. (That’s either awesome or a brutal critique of how mature we are over here.)
Over the next few days, I will tackle the important questions raised in that post…like…
1. Blogging etiquette concerning spelling. Should you correct the mistake? Leave it as it is and make a comment? Change it and note it? There are some special nuances I’d like to investigate. Stay tuned for this one.
2. Classification of Cars – chick, man, or metro-sexual (in the words of Wayne – who I’d gladly link but he hasn’t blogged in 14 years.)
3. Cars that we bought that we should have but didn’t want to – see Yaris, Hyundai, and the like.
4. Why it’s important to have friends who bust your chops for any reason whatsoever.
Any other topics?
Great Thoughts For Leaders
I stole this from Tom Peter’s blog. It has MASSIVE implications for those of us who lead in the Church. He’s got 10 on his list. Here are the ones that are sticking to me.
2. Remember. You are the only human being in the world who can help this particular customer at this particular moment in time.
How many times have I said – “I can’t help this person. I don’t have the knowledge/skill/insight/power.” But God says differently. He intersected your path with that person at that moment for a reason. Trust that.
4. Brand inside is more important than brand outside for sustained success.
Ouch. Too often we spend more time on bulletin design, web design, or curb appeal than we do on infrastructure and care of our people.
5. Leaders’ careers will usually be determined by their handling of one or two critical events that no one could possibly anticipate or plan for.
How many careers have we seen tanked because of one careless word or action.
6. Make sure that you spend your time on the things you say are your priorities.
If you say you love God, spend time with Him. If you say you love people, spend time with them.
9. Irrelevance comes from always doing the things you know how to do in the way you’ve always done them.
‘Nuff said.
10. If you love your company and love what you do, you will serve your customers better—period!
If you love your God and love your church – you’ll serve better. Can’t fake that.