Revolution (Part II)

Many Christians are flocking to the non-traditional, church because they desire something fresh...not because they want an experience, but because they want to see that the power of Jesus is real in our lives. You know, even if those people do want an experience, is there something wrong with that? Isn't a relationship with Jesus an experience? Doesn't it fluctuate between crying one moment because you suddenly sense the burden Jesus carries for the lost, to rejoicing the next moment because you just received a revelation about the power of Christ's resurrection? Why have we become scared of the word "experience" when it is associated with Christianity?

Revolution (Part I)

I was recently told by a fellow classmate that her father, who is a Christian, doesn't go to church. She said, "He [my father] just doesn't want to go to the [church] "building" because of his previous dealings with "hypocrites." My grandfather was a preacher, and forced my father to go to church every Sunday - no matter what. So, between the forcing and the hypocrites, my father will not go back into a church at this time." My father was a pastor. I admit, there were times I was forced to go to church. I would imagine her father's experiences have caused him to have a bad taste in his mouth like many Christians who no longer go to a church building on Sunday's and Wednesday nights (and often every other night the church can get them to volunteer). George Barna just came out with a new book called Revolution that I encourage anyone to read before they get into the debate of "Church...or not?" I work with over 230 pastors a year in my job and I offered a copy to all of them. I am pretty passionate about the subject of spirituality in America. While many Christians believe and are looking for America's spiritual awakening, I believe it is already here. However, it is not the way we want it or predicted it. Many are turning to so many different forms of spirituality because they have become disenfranchised with one "system." Unfortunately, the church has often responded with an "us against them" mentality, which alienates them even more.

I recently heard a passage from the Message translation of the Bible that truly resonates with me, especially on this subject: Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me [Jesus]. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Help

Here are a couple of things I need help with:

1) Can I put QT (Quick Time for the technically illiterate) video's on this blog? If so, how? And once I know how, can I start calling this a vlog?
2) How do I create a picture in my profile so when I post in the comments section my face can be seen by the world (Jason or Amy, please provide direction).
3) I recently purchased the Kodak EasyShare V550. It's a cool camera because it has advanced video features, but I am struggling with the picture quality. More like, what settings do I use and when. Any thoughts?

Church...or Not (Part II)

I keep reading comments on the great "Church on Christmas Day" debate, and I don't understand it. Who cares? How many of our "Christian convictions" are really cultural, not spiritual? Is a Christmas Day service biblical or cultural? Is a Sunday or Saturday service biblical or cultural? Is Sunday School biblical or cultural (wow, I know that will really rock some of you)? Is singing hymns biblical or cultural? Is the issue of ordaining gay priests biblical or cultural...just wanted to see if you were paying attention. If these convictions are cultural (which I believe they are, excluding the last one), then why are they such hot topics? And for those of you who have chosen to get on with the real business of the church (reaching the lost and discipleship) yes, some of the preceding issues are still hot topics. I was recently talking with a worship pastor who told me they just got PowerPoint approved. How long did it take them to approve it, you ask? Only a couple of years...no, this is not a joke. The media is having a field day with the church right now regarding the "Church on Christmas Day" debate, and guess who is going to get the blue ribbon? No, it is not the church that will have a service on Christmas Day, it is...Satan. I'm sorry (...wait, no I'm not) but many Christians need to get a life or get Jesus...one or the other. Even the local Christian radio station has gotten involved by having people call in and voice their opinions on whether or not a church should have a service on Christmas Day. Fortunately no pre-Christians listen to the station because it is so lame.

Christians are turning insignificant issues into ones of importance and labeling them as spiritual debates. I guess issues regarding porn, sexual abuse, and reaching the lost are to “sensitive or uncomfortable.” Maybe I am contributing to the debate by writing this post. If I am, please let me know and I will stop.

Church...or Not?

I have been reading many articles related to whether or not to have church on Christmas day, which conveniently falls on a Sunday. The last time this happened was in the mid 90's and the same debate arose. This year, however, the power of the mega church as been thrown in the mix. Honestly, I could care less if they opened their doors on Christmas day or not, because the church is not a building, and I do not need to worship with other Christians to enjoy the meaning of Christmas. One must take into consideration the logistics that are behind a service for many of these mega churches. On a normal Sunday, the average mega church has anywhere from 75 to over 300 staff and volunteers involved. Is it really right to ask that many people to give up time with their families on Christmas day to put on a service for a couple hundred people that might show up? I don't think so, considering we ask so much of them throughout the year. I respond from the standpoint of a member of a church of 4,000 and from having a brother on staff at a church of over 4,500. I want to enjoy the day with him because he lives in PA so I never get to see him. If they made him attend the service, I would be upset. Plus, many of these mega churches are putting a lot of time and effort into their Christmas Eve services, and some are even holding more services before Christmas day than they normally would (I know one church that is holding 16 services during the 2 days before Christmas). Most research proves that the overwhelming majority of non-Christians go to church on Christmas Eve rather than on Christmas day, and aren't those the people we should be focused on reaching? I think Rick Warren makes an appropriate comment that we should consider in this discussion:

"When you're small, they'll dismiss you; when you're growing, they'll criticize you; and when you're large, they'll resent you. So ignore 'them' and get on with whatever God has told you to do!"

If God has not convicted the staff of a mega church about closing their doors on Sunday, than so be it. If it is a conviction for you, then find a church and go on Sunday morning while I am cuddling with my wife by the tree. Better yet, here is a revolutionary thought (one that is uncomfortable for the majority of Christian families). If you are so concerned about not having a building to go to in order to have church on Christmas day, read a devotional as a family and sing to Jesus! Maybe you could even pray together!

"The church is a family--the Bible says that many times. And within a family there is freedom. Just because a church decides to handle things a certain way does NOT make it wrong when another church does not do it that way...and for a church to claim that they have everything right and other churches should be like them is--well--ARROGANT!" - Perry Noble (New Spring Church).


Jon Mitchell

Gifts...or Not

Do you give gifts at Christmas? I don't. By the way...I didn't blog the whole month of November. Oh, like you are really better at blogging than I am. By the way, I have updated the website of the week. Check out Church Marketing Sucks. I love the sight.

Where I've Been...

I discovered this cool little tool on someone else's blog to map out all the places I've been in the U.S.



create your own visited states map

Here are the countries I've been to. Wow, I have a lot of territory to cover before I die.



create your own visited countries map

Have I Really Become...

Have I really become a once a month blogger? Wow, that is sad. I am pathetic. I now notice that Blogger.com has added a new feature to blogging called "Recover Post." For those of you who have ever poured your heart and soul into a post only to have it vanish to the pits of hell before you are done, you are now set free!

Update:

• School is going well. I'm now in my third course...the infamous Managerial Accounting.
• We love our new home, but the couple we bought it from won't move out. Isn't there some legal action we can take?
• I did a wheelie on my new riding lawnmower. It was very cool, but I think I broke something.
• I recently had a battle with chiggers. These invisible pests drove me crazy for nights until I drugged myself with 4 Benadryl in 4 hours. I was late to work the next day.
• San Diego here I come. Next week I will be visiting the greatest zoo in the world.
  

Quote

I love spending time with my cousin Richard. He knows me better than anyone except my wife. It seems like God brings us together at the perfect moments to get serious with one another about life and spirituality. I walk away feeling energized and like I can conquer the world. Do you have someone like that? Anyways, I want share a quote by Marianne Williamson that he sent to me. I believe it is powerful. Let me know what you think.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Update

Wow...I almost didn't remember my password to get back into my Blogger account. Fortunately for you I remembered it was "maharshalahashbaz." Anyways, so much has happened since I last blogged. Karen and I found a house and will be moving to Trussville, AL Sept. 28th. We are pretty excited and anytime you would like to visit, just let me know (this invitation does not extend to anyone who may have randomly come across this site). Also, I have completed my first MBA course and got an A+ (much to the neglect of my wife). Now I am in my second course, trying to be more balanced...and it isn't working so far.

Also, since my last blog I found out that I am going to be an uncle! I am really excited for my brother and his wife, but unfortunately they live all the way up in PA so I will have to settle for becoming the distant uncle who sends $20 and a lollipop on birthdays. More thoughts to come on the devastation in the coastal south...

What Would You Write?

It's so late...school work is eating me up!

Anyways, I was just listening to a message by Rob Bell. He mentioned that there was a recent study – mass survey – where the question "What do you think of when you hear the word Christian?" was posed on a blank sheet of paper. Unfortunately, the majority of people wrote, "Hates Gays.”

Why didn't they write love, compassion, humility, creativity, innovation, etc? When we process all of the political events that have surrounded the last year, it's not hard to understand why someone would use the word "hate" to describe a Christian before anything else. Petitions, arguments and legislation have all been passed during the last year as Christians become more politically vocal. The question is, how are we coming across? I believe we should be politically active as Christians. However, I agree with Rob Bell when he went on to say "I’m sick and tired of people speaking for Jesus who I think have missed the point."

Update: I have updated the website of the week. This is an odd little site, and I can't be held responsible for its content. However, I am oddly drawn to the questions many of its writers are posting.

The Unveiling...

In my post Planting Time I promised that once my garden grew, I would give an update with before and after pics. Well, my friends, the time has come. I am so excited. The left photo is of the area that I planted in. This area actually looked rougher than what you see here. This was after putting in a drain and creating a wall with lawn timbers. I then filled that area with dirt. While maintaining the garden is harder than I ever expected, it is rewarding to see flowers and tomatoes grow right before my eyes. Karen and I used to look every morning to see what plants grew during the night. Here is what it looks like now:

Nature amazes me. Let me know what you think of the garden when you have a chance, and feel free to come over and weed when you have some spare time.

Weather

We have had some pretty bad weather in the Ham during the last 2 weeks. I was deep sea fishing on July 5th and found out that Dennis was coming up right behind us (Hurricane Dennis). I have been on the coast the day before a hurricane twice now...it is unsettling. While on our two hour boat ride to our first fishing hole in the Gulf, I had a revelation. These fishing trips would be SO much more exciting if the boat Captain let us ski off the back or at least parasail. Man, they could make a killing off the extra incentives they could offer on their deep sea fishing trips.

Yesterday we had another torrential down pour. I had to pull into a parking lot for at least 30 minutes. I have to admit, I was pretty freaked out. We got a total of 4 inches of rain in less than 45 minutes, and many areas around our house were flooded. I saw a dumpster picked up and moved and a parking lot erode away. That is pretty cool.

Random Thoughts About Spirituality (Part 4)

Here is an interesting statistic. Eighty percent of tithes given to U.S. churches today are through the Builder Generation. That astounds me and leads me to the question, what happens when they are gone? Why is the local church in a state of plateau or declining in every county in the U.S., while it is growing rapidly in countries like India, China, and Indonesia? How about this…maybe they have a model we need to adopt. Maybe they understand that a house church is valuable because it gives groups of people the ability to truly “do life” with each other. It promotes a healthy church, which in turn creates a growing church. Forget about focusing on church growth...let's focus on church health.

I had church on Saturday night. It was a little different than normal though. I was outside, sitting on the back porch of my cousin's house, watching a thunderstorm role by. The crowd wasn't huge...actually just four people (myself, my cous, my close friend, and Jesus). I was able to walk away feeling encouraged, strengthened, and provoked. I have spent a lot of time processing the whole idea of unconditional respect, which is a lot of what or conversational theme revolved around. I do a pretty crappy job of it. However, it has spurred some great conversations since Saturday. Anyways, I can’t wait to go back to that church!

Would the idea of house groups make too many Christians in the U.S. get out of their comfort zones? Would it make them have to become real? The real fear in being a Christian is not the title, it is the idea that God will single us out to be different. My greatest fear in being a Christian is that He won't single me out to do anything significant.

Two Issues

There are two issues I want to address. One is the new iTunes 4.9 which comes with Podcasting capability. If you have not upgraded or are not using iTunes as your MP3 manager, stop what you are doing and download by going to www.apple.com.

Two quotes I have read this week in TIME that have bothered me. The first is from Tom Cruise who was criticizing Matt Lauer after the Today show host questioned Cruise's earlier disapproval of Brook Shields for taking antidepressants: "You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do." I understand Tommy boy is all into Scientology, but give me a break. My brother posted on his blog, "If I were the Head Scientist (or whoever their Pope figure is), I would have a frank convo with Cruise and let him know in no uncertain terms that he is not longer allowed to don the lab coat. In other words he is out. Put up the beakers and move on Tom. Anything redemptive that movement had going for it, Cruise has officially destroyed."

The second quote is from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She said "Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory." TIME says she made the comment "in a dissenting opinion in the 5-4 ruling that local governments may force property owners to make way for private development when officials decide it would benefit the public, even if the property is not blighted and the project's success not guaranteed." Wow! (Thank you for your service Sandra, it is sad to see you are retiring). I am all for progression, but this decision on property rights seems harsh and that there is no choice in the matter of government seizure. If the government wants your house, it's theirs. Obviously they will buy it from you, but without your say in the matter. I find this extremely difficult to swallow. This decision could be on the same level as abortion. What do you think?

Hawaii Five-Noooo!

I saw a few funny incidents in my trip to Hawaii. Someone's sail boat was not sailing anymore. Apparently this captain didn't get the memo that you actually do have to pay attention to where you are sailing. Or maybe his curiosity of the little rubber stopper in the bottom of the boat finally got the best of him.




Can you figure out this math from the sign on the right? I have tried 100 different ways to see why I would be getting a better deal if I bought the six pack.









The infamous NeNe. Ironically this sign is posted where the most active volcanoe in the world resides. I don't think I would be concerned about them getting run over. I'm not sure if this picture on the right is a NeNe or not, but if it is, I fear that I killed it by feeding it Fruit Loops. Now there are only 999 left.



I actually saw a small earthquake happen as I was looking at the siesmograph. It freaked me out.

Hawaii Five-O

Well, I'm back. I just experienced a week long trip to Hawaii. It is quite an amazing place, and I encourage you to place it on your top ten. The beaches are very nice and so are the people.

We were on a cruise boat called The Pride of Aloha which took us around to 4 of the islands in Hawaii. I don't know how many of you have been on a cruise boat before, but this one was a little different. I made a few observations about the service on the boat that I found rather interesting. A few times while in a buffet line about to fix my salad, they insisted on doing this for me. Question 1: Who wants to be in a buffet line and have someone fix their salad for them? Doesn't this defeat the point? They could never know how many cucumbers I want (3) or how much salad dressing to put on (1/4 cup) or that I like raisins on it. One time I was in the buffet line and they wanted to fix my hotdog for me. I ended up with more sauerkraut than hotdog. Every time I went to get a drink at the drink station, they wanted to fix that for me also. So if I fixed my own, they would stand right beside me and watch. Can you say awkward? I wrote the Captain and said that instead of the crew staring at me while I fixed my own drink, maybe they should walk around to the tables and get drink orders...kind of like a normal restaurant.


Anyways, the boat was pretty cool...like a hotel that floats. It was crazy to think that there were 3,000 people all living within 900 feet of each other. Good thing I have gotten over being a germ freak. More to come later.

Religion...Or Something More

"We humans, somewhere along the way, seem to have picked up the bad habit of trying to get life on our terms, without all the bother of God, the Spirit of Life. We keep trying to be our own gods; and we keep making a sorry mess of it. Worse, the word has gotten around in recent years that "spirituality" itself might be a way of getting a more intense life without having to deal with God - spirituality as a kind of intuitive bypass around the inconvenience of repentance and sacrifice and putting ourselves at risk by following Jesus in the way of the cross, the very way Jesus plainly told was the only way to the "abundant life" that he had come to bless us with.

The generic name for this way of going about things - trying to put together a life of meaning and security out of God-sanctioned stories and routines, salted with weekends of diversion and occasional erotic interludes, without dealing firsthand, believingly and obediently, with God - is "religion." It is not, of course, a life without God, but the God who is there tends to be mostly background and resource - a Quality or Being that provides the ideas and energy that I take charge of an arrange and use as I see fit. We all do it, more or less."

By Eugene Peterson in the forward for Church: Why Bother? by Philip Yancey.

As I read these paragraphs this morning, I was stopped in my tracks. I am not sure where this will lead.

Mushrooms & Houses

I read today that "There is a giant mushroom in Oregon that is over 2,400 years old, covers 3.4 square miles of land, and is still growing!" (www.hookedonfacts.com) Is this real? If it is, have you been there? I once saw a booger the size of a small meatball, and even after seeing it I still couldn't believe it.

I have been thinking a lot about houses lately, mainly because we are looking for one. I believe the next great reality show would be for me to let you vote on the house I buy. Whatever you decide is what we will do. So, every week I will show you three houses, and whichever house receives the most votes will make it to the next round where I will add three more. So, here are the first three:

House 1 first picture & second picture. This house even has a built in entertainment center and comes with a free truck!
House 2 first picture & second picture. This is more of a fixer up.
House 3 first picture & second picture. This one comes with a guest house (see second pic)!

Now it's up to you and all your friends to vote!

Persistence Wins

Okay, so I understand I have been a total slacker since my last post. I have been really busy...my wife is interested in looking for a house. What an all consuming process! I can't imagine being a Nomad...looking for the next best spot of land to lay down on everynight.

There are a few exciting happenings this month. We are taking an incredible cruise around Hawaii. I will also be starting my MBA in Marketing at LeTourneau University. I still can't believe I am going back to school, but it will be a great experience.

Update: Sears Auto Center decided to reimburse me for my car rental and all of the labor which totaled about $180 (see 2 for 2). I am also being reimbursed by my financial advisors because they gave me misleading information (which I had documented). In both cases, persistence & integrity won out. My new issue is with Roundup. I am taking pictures of the weeds I sprayed two weeks ago that have shown no signs of dying (and are probably growing). Once I send the pics to them and hear something back, I'll let you know. I have also updated the website of the week. Please give me some feedback on this.

Ramblings and Updates

So far Sears Auto Center has reimbursed me $97 for their crappy labor. I have also submitted the invoice for my rental car and I'm confident they will pay me back for that.

Karen bought me Season 3 of Seinfeld for my birthday. It is hilarious. I believe it is the best season out so far.

My flowerbeds are performing nicely. I am somewhat disappointed with the bulbs I bought because 4 or 5 of them have died. When I start getting more blooms, I will post before and after pics of the area between my house and garage that I landscaped.

Why do they call it a Restroom? I don't know about you, but I rarely rest when I am in there. In fact, I am motivated to get in and out as fast as I can (often this approach fails). You can't really call it a Bathroom either, because unless you are at home, you can't take a bath (although I did see a guy with his shirt off, a bar of soap, and the sink running). I prefer it to be called The Toilet. In the Asian countries I have been to, that is what they call it, and it seems to make the most sense.

My sister and her husband are moving to the Queen of the South today (a.k.a Birmingham). Now we will have 23 family members living here, most of them within a 10 mile radius. Is this good or bad?

How many of you visited the Website of the Week? What did you think of it?

Podcasting

Do you have an MP3 player? I hope so, because I am about to introduce you to something that will change your life. Due to the fact that 2 months ago most of you were in the dark as to what a blog is, I will now introduce you to an even greater piece of technology. It is called Podcasting. The following definition is from Wikpedia:

Podcasting is a way of publishing sound files to the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new audio files automatically. Podcasting is distinct from other types of audio content delivery because it uses the RSS 2.0 protocol. This technique has enabled many producers to create self-published, syndicated radio shows.

Users subscribe to podcasts using "podcatching" software (also called "aggregator" software) which periodically checks for and downloads new content. It can then sync the content to the user's portable music player, hence the portmanteau of Apple's "iPod" and "broadcasting". Podcasting does not require an iPod, however; any digital audio player or computer with the appropriate software can play podcasts.

Now I am going to give you a link to iPodder, the service I use free of charge for receiving the 5 or so Podcasts I am subscribed to. This technology could be the future of your cable, radio, news, etc. Let me know what you think.

Update: I went to two different car service centers who both told me that I was overcharged for the service Sears provided me. Not only that, but the job that took Sears mechanics 13 hours should have only taken 1 hour. Both service centers felt that Sears was responsible for breaking wires to the alternator, so I am writing my brief to Sears Auto Center now. Brian, can you help?

Unspoken Rules

I have noticed another phenomenon (please reference the "Bag Boy Phenomenon"). Not a new one, but one I believe has been taking place since the wisemen came to see Jesus. We will henceforth call this the "Imbalanced Gift Exchange Phenomenon." This phenomenon transcends all barriers. Whether they are social, religious, financial...it doesn't matter. Everyone is faced with this experience. Here it is:

How come you never send money as a gift to anyone older than you? It doesn't matter if they are 25 and you are 24, it just doesn't happen. However, you are always expected to give a monetary gift to someone below you. Some of you need an example so here it is:
It was my birthday last week, and I received a card with a monetary gift from a few people older than myself. When it is their birthday, they will receive only a card from me. Why? Because I am not expected to give them money. Maybe a toothbrush or a fresh apple, but never money because that might be awkward. I would be in violation of the unspoken gift rule. However, when my cousin Austin sends me a graduation announcement (still waiting...I think his graduation is Saturday) I will be expected to provide a monetary gift (I am almost in the clear on this one, because the exception to the rule here is that if I don't know about it in time, I am not obligated to send money). Who made these rules? How long have they existed? What happens if I am in violation? Who would win in a fight between George W. Bush and Hilary Clinton?

Update: I have included a new link entitled "Website of the Week." This week I am featuring Boxed Thoughts, which I find EXTREMELY interesting. It provides a fascinating insight into people's lives. This site went live about two weeks ago and has grown immensely.

2 for 2

Many of you know the story of our trip back from Harrisburg (read the story). Apparently Karen and I don't travel well. And now, the rest of the story...

We were on our way back from St. Simons where we had a somewhat relaxing 3 days. Here is the schedule of what happened on our way back:

Saturday 4 p.m. – Battery warning light comes on as we approach Douglasville, GA. I regret my decision earlier in the week to help jump start a stranded motorist.

4:15 – Wal Mart checks the battery and says it is probably the alternator, which they can’t fix. I feel like a jerk for wishing I had not helped the stranded motorist.

4:30 – Arrive at Sears Auto Center (Arbor Place Mall). The service dude, whom we will call D, says he will call me with an estimate in 1 hour.

6:00 – D finally calls and estimates that they need to replace the alternator. He says they will finish call when it is done.

8:45 – I arrive back because I haven’t received a phone call and they close at 9. D says he called. I show him my call list, he says he must have misdialed. They are closing, and tell us our alternator plug has been stripped. I ask him what time he new this wasn’t going to get fixed. He says 8. He offers a ride home…I remind him (again) that I live in Birmingham. He offers a ride to Hampton Inn…I cannot believe what is transpiring. They promise to get the part and fix it in the morning…they don’t open until 10!

Sunday 11 a.m. – I arrive at Sears Auto Center. D says there’s a problem. Nobody is open to get them the part. After reminding them again that I live in B'ham, I tell him to give me the phone book.

1 p.m. – I give up calling dealerships, salvage yards, and auto part stores and decide the best thing to do is get a rent-a-car and go home. D promises me it will be fixed by 1 the next day.

Monday 10:00 a.m. – I call to make sure everything is still cool, D says yes. I let him know I am on my way.

1:11 p.m. – I arrive in Douglasville. They tell me it won’t be ready until 6. I forcibly let them know how they are jerking me around and that he needs to get out there and tell them to hurry it up. Once again, they are reminded I live in B'ham.

6:00 – Where’s my car? Still getting worked on. They say another 45 min.

7:00 – I get my car and go home with $360 taken out of my checking account.

Random Thoughts About Spirituality (Part 3)

Part 1 generated alot of response while Part 2 generated only a few. I hope that Part 3 provokes you enough to give me your thoughts. I am not going to make my usual disclaimer. If you want it then click on either one of the links above.

New Disclaimer: When I refer to the church below I am referring to local congregations in the U.S. I define programs as anything which categorizes groups of people (i.e., VBS, Singles Ministries, Divorce Care, etc.).

I believe there is a generation of people who have spent all their life in the church but continue to have a deep spiritual longing. They have been brainwashed to believe that the local church is the only place that can fill that need. Many who have grown up in the church have been conditioned to believe that just one more program is needed to meet particular needs of individuals, and that will solve the spiritual longing they have. We have programs for EVERYTHING, but it sure seems that many churches lack intimacy, excitement, and the movement of the Spirit. Have we programmed ourselves into complacency? Do we believe we can create a program to foster true intimacy with the Father? What if the heart of the Father is grieved by all of this? I believe in many ways we are trying to take the role of God and fill people’s spiritual hunger. When people visit our congregations with a problem (i.e. divorce) we hand them a spiral bound workbook and send them off to a group. Please don’t misunderstand me, I don’t believe that programs are a waste of time or wrong. Many are life changing. However, I do believe that many local congregations use it to stay busy, not to foster intimacy with Jesus. What do you think?

TIME Tells The Tale

Last night I was absorbed in an article entitled Faith and Frat Boys by TIME. Usually when I read TIME, I get angry, stomp my foot, and frown because of their liberal bias and malice towards Christians. This time, however, was different. The article related to how difficult it is to live out one's Christian faith on a secular college campus. There is one particular story at the end that caught my attention. It was of Peter Howell, who has asked each of his 70 frat brothers to join him in a Bible study. He didn't ask once. He asked them every week for 2 years. Here is the rest of the story:

Just two of the 70 brothers accepted the offer, but that doesn't mean the rest haven't been affected by Howell. "In the biggest meathead frat [at Indiana University], he's himself. He's 100%. And no matter what day I say no, he'll always come back," says junior Trevor Loe, who declined to attend that week's session. "One day, when I'm ready, I'll remember Peter."

Trever Loe will never know how much his statement has impacted me, but it is clear that we have to be persistent in our pursuit of Jesus. People watch, and as Peter Howell has exemplified, they know when we are authentic. Who will remember me when they are ready?

Where have you been?

I have not received much response from my last "Random Thoughts About Spirituality (Part 2)." Frankly, this concerns me. There could be several reasons for this: (1) you don't care (2) you are lazy (3) I'm wrong in what I wrote and you have excommunicated me from your church (4) you are "to busy" to get involved with someone's blog. Hey folks, no one said reading my blog was going to be easy. I need feedback...I crave it.

I went to a funeral last night for a guy I didn't know. I'm not big on the whole funeral thing...especially with an open casket. I have never understood this. Why do people want to look at a dead body? There really seems to be disturbing attraction with this among most people. Anyways, I have decided on a few things I would like you to keep in mind when I die:

1. Make sure no one wears black. I want bright colors.
2. Close the casket. I don't want people examining me, trying to figure out why I never had certain moles removed.
3. Celebrate (not because I'm dead).
4. Have the reception (not viewing) the same day as the funeral and in the evening. I don't want people to have to take a lunch break to come to the funeral during the middle of the day.
5. Do not...I repeat, do not, have finger foods. It is perfectly acceptable to have pizza, burgers, ribs, BBQ and Creme de mint! I want you to have a party, but make sure the topic of conversation revolves around how I impacted your life.

What do you want at your funeral?

Update: Congrats to KB (one of our regular bloggers) on becoming a dad! My flowers are coming up well, but no blooms and lots of weeds. Do you have any suggestions for weeding without breaking a sweat?

The Cat Who Ate to Much and the Turkey Next Door®

This morning has been quite the event. I was about to leave for work when the unexpected happened. As I opened my blinds to let a little sunlight in, I peered out towards the back yard and saw our friendly neighborhood cat. As it turns out, he is not so friendly. He was jumping around in a circle, and I thought "Boy, he sure is frisky today. I hope he doesn't try to bite me on my way out." It turns out he was to busy biting a chipmunk. A bite here, a paw slap there...I watched this debating on whether or not to stop mother natures game of 'Cat and...Chipmunk.' Eventually I decided the best thing to do would be letting nature run its course. The chipmunk fought bravely, but in the end, I'm afraid the small lioness won out. I was so enamored with the ability to see a chipmunk up close (usually you see a blur of brown when they run by) that I finally looked down and realized it was 8:00. Guess what time I was supposed to be at work? You can see pictures of the Frisky Feline and Chipmunk Corpse below. So then, as I'm on my way to work, I pass a car I had seen broken down the night before in a church parking lot. This is a nice late 1990's model cop car in good condition. Unfortunately, after little Johnny and the Appleseed Gang got hold of it there was nothing but charred remains. Sorry, no pictures...yet.


The Culprit


Breakfast


Rest In Peace

And now...the rest of the story:

Two weekends ago I was spending some time at my parents' suburban home in Metro Birmingham. It was about 9 a.m. so I decided I would see if the neighbors were out having their daily shuffle board lesson. To my surprise, instead of seeing an 80 year old man in his underwear pushing a broom, I saw a huge turkey (don't let your mind wander). There, in the middle of shopping malls and hundreds of homes, this Tom (correct name for a male turkey, not the neighbor) was all by himself in what was probably his former home. He wouldn't let me get close enough to get a good picture, not to mention half the neighborhood was already out with their 12 gauge shotguns thinking they had a free meal. It's Alabama, what do you expect?


Wild Turkey!


Look Mom...Dinner!

Random Thoughts About Spirituality (Part 2)

Part 1 of this series seemed to generate some pretty deep thoughts, which is why I haven't posted Part 2 until now. I will make the same disclaimer I made last time: Please understand I am NOT against the church in any way. How could I be against the bride of Christ? That would be foolish. The following are thoughts I am processing and dealing with, and I want to make them available for criticism, reflection, questions, or any other responses. And now...the rest of the story:

Here is a thought that, unless you know my heart, you may not agree with. Why do we limit God to the Bible? Why have we taken a leather-bound book and said from Genesis to Revelation, that is all God has to say? You may be saying “But Jon, don’t you realize you are speaking heresy. You are belittling the Word of God!!” No I’m not. You place chains on God when all you do is read the Bible and never take time to listen. God wants to speak!! Jesus said “Many more things I have to say to you!” I heard a great analogy recently. I can go out to eat with my wife, and I can take all the love notes she has ever written me and read them on our date. Why would I do that when I have the absolute privilege of talking with her, as she is sitting right across from me? In fact, after awhile she would probably become annoyed and leave. Please don’t interpret what I am not saying. I am not saying to quit reading the Bible, and I am not saying that God is annoyed with you and will leave you. Do you believe God has more to say?

Atomic Clocks - Are They Real?

Do you have an Atomic Clock? I do, and I think it’s pretty cool. I never have to set the time because it is programmed from a big radio-active tower in Colorado (I wonder if that is dangerous).

Well, the other day the time got all messed up…it was running two hours slow. So it caused me to wonder how accurate the clocks are, and how I was going to correct the time. I mean, if the clock sets on its own, there shouldn’t be a way to set the time on the back of the clock, right? Wrong. I found out you can program the time manually, which means my Atomic Clock has lost all credibility in my mind. I wonder if Wal-Mart will take it back…it’s only been two years since I bought it.

Update: Due to the overwhelming (and somewhat wordy) responses I have had to "Random Thoughts About Spirituality (Part 1)" I am holding off on the second part until tomorrow. Feel free to post your final comments.

Random Thoughts About Spirituality (Part 1)

Please understand I am NOT against the church in anyway. How could I be against the bride of Christ? That would be foolish. The following are thoughts I am processing and dealing with, and I want to make them available for criticism, reflection, questions, or any other responses.

Why is there another church planting movement happening today? Is it because there is a spiritual hunger that we believe church can fix? We believe programs can fix it, so we tweak an old machine. We add a GenX worship service, or we add a cool new VBS theme. But what if God wanted to give us a whole new system altogether? What if He doesn’t want us to tweak an old car, but wants to give us a brand new one. And what if He wants you and I to drive? Are we preparing ourselves for such a shift, or are we trying to plan? Planning limits God…it binds Him. Preparation invites him. How much preparation are we doing?

Update: KB, I replied to your comments on April 7. Thanks for your thoughts.

Back

I'm back...with a broken back. I don't know what is going on with my back, but apparently it didn't want me to go to work yesterday. As soon as I attempted to get out of my car at the office I pulled, twtisted or broke something in my lower back. Wow does it hurt. Although I have never been stabbed, and hopefully never will, I'm sure the acute pain is similiar. Have you ever been stabbed? Would you tell me what it feels like?

I refuse to buy in to the system of doctors. About 6 months ago I was having back trouble. I went to one doctor who spent 2.3 minutes with me and then told me to get an MRI and come back. I went back and he spent another 2.3 minutes with me and referred me to another doctor. That doctor then referred me to physical therapy, and now that I want to go back, I need another prescription. Apparently you need a new prescription every 30 days. It is evident that being a doctor is no different than being a money hungry CEO. Any comments?

Update: My garden is so slow...why is it taking so long for flowers to come up? My deodarant test went well (seen previous post). I am convinced Sure is not good, and that I need to switch back to my previous brand or test another. Any comments?

Bag Boys and Deodorant

So I was at the grocery store the other day and noticed I was bagging my own groceries. As I processed this historical event, I began to reminisce on all of my recent grocery store outings. I cannot recall the last time I had my groceries bagged. What has happened to all the bag boys?!? Why am I paying more for groceries now, but yet I get less service? Have they all gone on strike? Have they been outsourced to Mexico? Were they all abducted in some government conspiracy to eliminate all possible help at grocery stores? Has the bag boy union gone out of business? I know they haven't been moved to stock boy positions, because the store is STILL out of organic milk every time I go in. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE BAG BOYS?!? I demand to know.

While I was at that same grocery store I decided to do a little experiment. I bought another brand of deodorant...one I am not accustomed to. For the next week, I will put the new deodorant under one arm (the right), and the old deodorant under the other (the left). Four categories will be ranked: smell at the end of the day, perspiration (is it showing through the shirt), what my wife thinks, and any reactions. I will keep you posted.

In other news...
I have heard limited response from my two posts dated April 6 & 7. Each post had two, what I consider good, questions. People, I need you to respond. This blog is pointless unless you give feedback. Now, I need you to carry your weight, put aside anything important, and give me feedback. As a reward, you can say that you are a published author on the World Wide Web, and a member of the “Blogosphere.”

Ramblings

There are a few things today that I just want to throw out there...

My friend Jay is getting married in Bolivia and has asked me to be in the wedding. I don't know if I will be able to go or not. GenXer's have such a desire for community that we are willing to travel thousands of miles to be with, or I should say to experience life with, each other. I think that is amazing. We have such a different understanding of community and work/life balance than our grandparents did, and even our parents. Many of our parents and grandparents feel like we were created to work. GenXer's know we were created to commune with each and God. Most of us cringe at the thought of going to work, coming home, mowing the grass, watching TV, and then going to bed...day after day after day. I personally throw up when I think of a life full of repetition...excuse me...okay I'm back.

My friend Sean has an iBook. My brother has a PowerBook. I have...a Dell. I hate it. I want a Mac. Sean came in the office today with pride on his face. He was so excited because he discovered voice recognition technology on his Mac. You know how long it took him to set it up? 1 Min. You know how long it takes to set up on Windows? 1 year.

Last but not least, Vote for Pedro!

Spring Training for the Heart

Tomorrow we are hosting a conference for pastors and lay leaders called Spring Training for the Heart. I think it will be a pretty interesting conference. Reggie McNeal, who is the main speaker, has written three books. In one book, The Present Future, he writes that "Church people still think that secularism holds sway and that people outside the church have trouble connecting to God. The problem is that when people come to church, expecting to find God, they often encounter a religious club holding a meeting where God is conspicuously absent" (59).

I believe one of the main problems people have with God today is that they don't see Him at work in the "average" Christian. What do you think?

April Showers...

Well, the planting is done. Now I just sit back, relax, and wait for the flowers to come up. I hate being patient.

I have started reading a great book lately called E-Myth Mastery by Michael Gerber. It has made me question how many people I know, including myself, that are truly passionate about what we do. Are you? How many of us have passions locked inside that we never let out simply because of fear. "What would people say? What if I don't accomplish it? What if I lose my job?" My philosophy is that most people carry on a normal life, with little to show for it in the end. Who did we impact? How many people did we see changed? What cause did we champion? I personally can't stand the thought of leading a normal life. It scares me to death to think of doing things "the way they're supposed to be done." In fact, it makes me downright mad that we never question the way things are done, because what if it could be done better. What do you think?

"Given the right circumstances, from no more than dreams, determination, and the liberty to try, quite ordinary people consistently do extraordinary things." From Birth of the Chaordic Age, by Dee Hock

Planting Time

Call me weird, but I like to work in the yard...most days. I find it pretty relaxing, and the fact that you can see the progress you made instantly is pretty rewarding. Tonight, however, I am going to plant bulbs. I wonder if I have the patience to wait...and wait...and wait again for those blooms to start coming up. Karen and I went kind of crazy at Lowes and bought something like 50 bulbs of different flowers.

I have an issue with dirt. This weekend I went and bought a 1/2 truckload of dirt, and it barely filled 1/4 of the area I wanted it to fill up. Dirt is EVERYWHERE...why do I have to pay $40 for it, especially when it doesn't accomplish what I want it to? Anyone know where I can get some good dirt?

Missing The Plane

I really like Panera Bread. If you don't have one in your neighborhood, you're missing out (especially on the sodium). However, due to an overpowering urge to eat there on Monday, we missed our flight from Harrisburg, PA back to Birmingham. We actually got to the gate and they had given our seats away. It happened to be the worst day ever to miss a flight. What should have been a 4 hour trip turned into 15 hours when we finally arrived home at 2:30 a.m. Apparently every plane in the U.S. decided to fly on Monday, causing major delays, and we ended up having to fly into Atlanta and then drive to Birmingham. As good as Panera is (minus the heartburn) it wasn't worth the hassle.

Tsunami Trip

Some of you know that I recently returned from a 2 week trip to the tsunami effected areas of Sri Lanka and India. It was a life changing event, not only to see the destruction nature can cause, but the hope that a relationship with Jesus Christ can bring. If you would like to know details of that trip, let me know and I will email you the article I wrote for India Gospel League. IGL is the organization we are partnering with and if any of you are looking for a way to be involved with rehabilitation, go to their website and check out the "Recovery Gift Catalog" link on the left side.

Sterotypes

Wow was I wrong. I just got back from the North (read previous post). In my southern upbringing, I always heard how rude and mean northerners were, how expensive it is in New York City, and that New Jersey is the armpit of America. I have now found out that I have been lied to (except for the New Jersey thing). I am going to make a huge step-out and say that northerns (at least the ones I met) are just as friendly as us southerners. Not only that, but their yards are much cleaner, and you don't see a trailer right beside a mansion (southerners, just admit it, we aren't so good at land consistency/development). I also expected NYC to be this incredibly bustling metropolis where everyone was in a hurry and it cost $10 for a hotdog. Neither are true. You can get a hotdog for $1.50 (bun cost extra...just kidding) and the only hustling I saw was a mad rush for the Starbucks bathroom. The people in the city were friendly, telling us where the locals dine and places we should visit. I have to be honest, and this may upset some people. While NYC is an incredibly cool place and I would still love to live there, I was more impressed with the culture of city life (where they live, what they eat, how they travel) than I was with the city itself.

And so, the moral of this trip was...don't sterotype (more to come on our eventful trip home later). For pictures of our trip keep scrolling down. To make the pictures bigger, click on them.


The Big Stereotype...I Mean Apple


Jon & Karen at NBC


My Brother & His Wife


Daddy Needs a New Pair of Shoes!


Pulled From the Rubble of the WTC


Sheep Pasture in Central Park (where are the sheep?)


The Old & New


Statue


St. Peter's Cathedral (I think)


Jon & Karen


Cool Streetlights


Hershey Factory

The Big City

I am pretty stoked because Karen and I are headed to the big city of Manhattan this weekend. It is going to rock. If you have been there, let me know where we should go because it will be this southern boy's first time above the Mason Dixon Line.

Technology

I am pretty bummed because I just got a call from my brother. He just got a PowerBook by Apple. I always thought I would be the first in the fam to make the "big switch" considering I hate Windows. Jason...please let me play with the PowerBook this weekend.

I want to offer some advice for those who are somewhat technically savvy or pretend to be, like I do. If you are using Internet Explorer as your internet browser, STOP IMMEDIATELY. You might as well be using paper and pencil. I have a great web browser for you, that most cool people have already switched to called Mozilla Firefox. Once you do that, click on the little orange button in the lower right hand corner of the screen and click the down arrow and save in the "Bookmarks Toolbar Folder." For those of you that don't know...that is called an RSS feed, which isn't as important as know that you have now saved my blog on your browser so you can see when it has been updated.

Jon & Karen

Fake

Pretentious - adj 1: making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction; "a pretentious country house"; "a pretentious fraud"; "a pretentious scholarly edition" [ant: unpretentious] 2: intended to attract notice and impress others; "an ostentatious sable coat" [syn: ostentatious] [ant: unostentatious] 3: of a display that is tawdry or vulgar.

Pretentiousness is a pet peeve of mine. The thing that sucks about it is I find myself being pretentious at times. Do you ever wonder why you feel you have to impress someone? Say the right thing, be the right person, act the right way. Who cares. I am going to try my best to be real with this blog...to take off the mask and become unveiled, so here I am:

a struggling husband, trying to do a better job at loving my wife
a struggling worker, trying to add value to those on our team
a struggling friend, trying to ignite passion in those around me
a struggling disciple of Jesus, trying to become more acquainted with who He is