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For Young Men Only

October 9, 2008

For Young Men Only is a book that I was asked to review from the Multnomah Publishing company, a division of Random House. The book is insightful in it’s premise to be a “guy’s guide to the alien gender”. After almost fifteen years of marriage, I have learned some of the concepts from the book the hard way – through experience. Since the demographic of the book was out of my present capacity (yeah I’m old!), I decided to enlist the help of a good friend of mine. He is in the trenches (high school) and is confronting these issues daily. Instead of doing a cover review of “Oh the book is great”, I thought that a first hand account of the books main audience would do more than I ever could.

In his own words, I give you Sean:

Well here I go, the book was amazing! If I had to pick a book to give to teenage boys, this would be the book. The real life surveys made the  book seem more realistic. While I read the book, it felt like they were inside my head and answering my questions as the book went on. I even wish girls could read this book so they could get an adequate view point on a guys perspective. Some of my girl friends read some passages from this book and they told me what the book says about girls is totally true. I would really recommend this book to any lonely guy in need of relationship help, but I would also recommend it to any one! As a not so good with girls guy I felt like I have a better perspective on how a girls feels and acts by this book.

Could not have said it better if I had been paid! This book is available at Amazon, Family Christian and your local Christian retailer.  You can also find out more by clicking here. If there is a teen guy under your roof – get this book!

Categories: Awareness, Books I'm Reading, Context, Life

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Happy First Anniversary!

October 5, 2008

It has been one year since I began blogging. Last year we were in the middle of a series called “Whatever It Takes”, and this year finds me in much more of the same place, only more extreme goals and ideas for next year. The concept of “Whatever It Takes” was about catalizing people to volunteer in areas inside the church – BTW the people of Lifepoint have done great.

More is still to come and I’ll be getting down to brass tacks in the coming weeks, but once you make the decision to do “Whatever It Takes” there really isn’t any place for stepping back.

As with anything we do in life, I have learned a number of lessons concerning blogging:

1. You may think nobody’s reading, but they are

2. When you feel a need to rant…don’t

3. Use the platform to encourage people in the development of their lives.

4. Be prepared for the parodox of your opinion.

5. When you feel the need to open yourself up a little more…do

6. You’re not going to make a living at this

7. Check your spelling twice

8. Check your hyperlinks three times

9. You don’t have to be an expert to comment on something

and finally…

10. People that you never thought you would become connected with will turn out to be the greatest teachers

Here we go again!

Categories: Creativity, Life, Me, People

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Practices of a Generous Heart

October 5, 2008

Today we moved beyond the identification of the Pillars of Generosity, to the practices that accompany a generous heart. A lot was said, but I want to hone into an idea. Generosity, by definition, has to do with giving. Giving of time, money, effort, kindness, empathy, creativity, wisdom, love – and the list could go on. In the discussion today we are talking from a Christian point of view, and more precisely from a Christ/Jesus point of view.

Now, regardless of your take on Biblical interpretation, when the main character, Jesus, does anything, generosity is an integral part of it. There is always more than the original gift (which can certainly be an odd choice): mud leads to restored sight; shame leads to freedom; a happy meal feeds thousands more than it should. The point is not the supernatural healing or multiplying – the point is the modeling of generosity that Jesus exemplifies.

Jesus is speaking volumes with his actions. We can discount mud and fish as cheap, but the essence is not the original supposed value of the items, it is what happens when ordinary items become part of a pattern of giving. When giving becomes a part of your life, your life will change.

I’ve made a point to not become political in my posts – there are much better analysts to discuss such things, but through this election season we have seen something that has largely gone unnoticed. Barack Obama, from the onset, decided to enlist the “average Joe” to contribute five or ten dollars at a time to the campaign. In those small amounts people began to feel that they were a part of something. I don’t have numbers, but I would be willing to guess that if you added up the total contribution of an average Obama supporter, you would find a much larger amount than if they had given just one time. Here is what I think is interesting. Throughout the campaign season a habit of giving has been engendered by the Obama campaign. This is not a small thing.

Think about this – the truth is that the Bible promotes the idea of giving (whether rich or poor), and also promotes the concept of blessing associated with giving. The election will come and go, and someone will be the next President, but the combined effect of hundreds of thousands of people giving (some out of their overflow and some out of their poverty) will be, if we believe the Bible, historical in terms of economic effect.

The practices of a generous heart are not a “Christian only” or “Jewish only” concept. The idea of generosity is waiting for anyone who will embrace the giving of themselves and their “stuff” for someone else. The result of such giving is simply amazing!

Categories: Awareness, Context, giving, Influence, Life, Lifepoint, Message Series
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The Art of Peacemaking

October 2, 2008

I do not need to list the myriad of concerns around the world in regards to Peace. I am consistently amazed at the need seemingly present in religious circles to have a “crusade” or “fight the good fight” or use the “sword of the spirit” to “defeat our foes”. Though we proclaim that our message is Peace our language is anything but.

Don’t missunderstand me, I realize that the endeavour of peace is not a simplistic undertaking. Time, conversations, more time, listening and work are needed – but not force or violence.

One word that must be included in the conversations about peace is the word, “Justice”. Robert McAffee Brown speaks volumes about the search for peace when in Making Peace in the Global Village he says,

“We need to measure our world and the imperative for peacemaking, with an eye to justice. Whatever is unjust threatens peace. Whatever fosters justice is an act of peacemaking.”

These acts that foster justice can be done by anyone at anytime and each is an act of peacemaking – each moves us closer to a realization of global peace. Sometimes when we think of world-wide peace, we tend to become overwhelmed, but the imperative is that the big things are never done by big organizations or big governments, they are always done by small people who, like yesterdays post, have big dreams.

Categories: Awareness, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life, peace
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Dream a Little Dream

October 1, 2008

When I was younger, I managed to find myself in trouble quite a bit because of daydreaming. People said that I needed to focus on what was going on and “pay attention”. Now that I’ve added a few more years, I have found great value in daydreaming. I like to think that prior to God’s work of creation, however that happened, He indulged in a little daydreaming. Once satisfied then He did whatever it was that He did.

Dreaming is an incredible gift for us, but even more so if we realize that we all dream differently. We can have the same facts, environment and desire, but our dreams will be completely different.

T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia makes a distinction between day dreamers and night dreamers:

“All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous, for they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible.”

Today dream a little dream – in the open day – for your dream can, and should, become a great dream that influences many for the good.

Categories: Awareness, Belief, Creativity, Influence, Life
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Suffering

September 30, 2008

“We do not want suffering; we want success. We identify not with those who are low and hurt but with those who are high and healthy. We don’t like lepers or losers very well; we prefer climbers and comers. For Christians, the temptation to be conformed to this world is desperately sweet and strong. Yet, says the apostle Paul, we are children of God if we suffer with Christ. … God does not give his hardest assignments to his weakest children.”

 Cornelius Plantinga, Jr

There is such pressure for us to become pressed into a form that is not authentically ours. We have people all around us friends and family and co-workers who try to tell us how we should be. Then we pay people to come and listen to us in therapy and tell us what we should be or do. The stark reality is that we need courage to become who we are. Within each of us is a divinely unique essence that God wants displayed in this world. In our day and night dreams we see flickers of it. When we connect with a character in a great film or story we feel a brief moment of what could be. Too often we see those experiences as fantasy instead of the open window into our real reality.

What we perceive to be weakness is in fact strength – strength that has the capacity to remove any obstacle in your way of becoming the true authentic you.

Categories: Awareness, Belief, Life
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World Wide Day of Play

September 27, 2008

Something amazing has happened today. Nickelodeon, Noggin, The N and NickToons have all gone dark. From noon until 3:00pm nothing will be shown on these channels. For the fifth consecutive year Nickelodeon is brokering its influence for a Worldwide Day of Play. This is the first year that all Nickelodeon networks and their comparable websites will effectively shut down in order for kids around the world to get out and play.

There have also been over 1,000 play event scheduled around the United States. This was designed as a way for Nick to encourage kids to fight obesity. Before and after the blackout, each network will show programming that is health-related. Nick has partnered with several organizations this year including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Big Brothers and Big Sisters along with the National Football League.

What a great opportunity to for our kids to see that there is more that they can do, and that influence can be used in positive ways to motivate us toward better goals and a better life.

Categories: Awareness, Creativity, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life, People, Sports, Vision
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Alzheimer’s Memory Walk

September 25, 2008

Alzheimer’s is a disease that is increasingly affecting more and more of us. Today it is uncommon to find someone who does not know of a friend, family member or acquaintance who either has known, knows or is going through themselves this terrible disease.

The most difficult part of Alzheimer’s is that when we lose memory, we lose the path of our life. When the signposts of the past are gone, we truly become lost. To watch as someone you love enters into a place of lostness within themselves is a decidedly helpless position to find yourself in.

My friend, Mike Scarborough, has set up a team to participate in the Georgia Alzheimer’s Memory Walk this November 1st. I encourage you to click here and either become part of the team, donate or both. Significant advances are being made in the search for a cure, but more help is needed. Together we can indeed make a great difference in the future!

Categories: Awareness, Belief, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life

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President Bush and David Blaine

September 24, 2008

Odd title I know, but this is something that couldn’t go unsaid. As Creative Pastor I make sure that nothing technical gets in the way of the success of our creative learning environments on Sunday morning. Sound, lighting, video, music selection, drama, set design and execution are all critical elements that if done effectively will all fade into the background and go without comment.

Cue the President. During what could be one of the most important “talks to the nation” he’ll make before leaving office, a continuous mic cable noise could be heard throughout his talk – an annoying muffled low bumping noise – that was distracting and, most important – not the technical quality of presentation you expect of the White House. This is especially significant when telling the nation that the government is the only entity capable of handling the economic crisis that we all are fully aware of. Mic noise – economic stability of the free world. I know they are totally dissimilar and the audio guy was fired, but given everything else on the radar, this was a time to shine and for tech problems to disappear – and they didn’t.

Cue David Blaine. In what was heralded as one of the greatest magical experiences since the Flood, David Blain made those who were interested sit for a couple of hours until….in a moment that was to at least rival Houdini….did he explode?….did he transform into some other creature?….did he give everyone in the audience a new car?…No. He jumped off of a 40 foot truss, connected to a safety harness and then was lifted away by a large bunch of helium balloons while we all watched in awe. Awe that we had been duped into wasting a couple of hours to see a fair ride. How does this connect? As David Blaine is “disappearing into the night”, someone forgot to mute the audio of a guy saying, “Get him up. Higher, higher. Get him up.” Now I’m no magician, but that sounded a lot like a director giving cues.

The key takeaway is this: details matter – in life, in business, in family. Apparently we do need to sweat the small stuff…at least some of the time!

Categories: Influence, Life, Production

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Lifegroups

September 24, 2008

I have to say a word about the most important part of Lifepoint Church – Lifegroups. If you want a better explanation you can go here, but for me the experience of group life is one of community and trust unlike anything you will experience anywhere else.

In today’s society the increase in social networking sites has shown that people have a need to connect. A lot of times in church we think that we provide for this need of connecting with the services on Sunday or, in other churches, during a mid-week meeting. These venues are often one sided with communication coming from one person to a crowd and the interaction before and after the service amounting to a few minutes.

Typically, unless there is a previous interaction before the service – as with a friend co-worker or family – little or none is experienced in the service itself. This is where the Lifegroup comes into play. In a group people come together for the sole purpose of getting to know each other and talk about each others lives.

Before you ask, no, you don’t come the first week and divulge your deepest secrets only to be shackled to the group because of black-male. Believe it or not, I have had people – maybe not in those blatant terms – say basically the same thing. Lifegroups are about living life. They are about living life together with other people- not alone. How many times do you think about going out, but don’t because you don’t want to go alone. With a group there is always someone doing something with someone else.

And it’s not just for partying. When you need someone to listen or keep the kids while you go to the hospital or bring you dinner when you come home from the hospital – you’ve got your group. Life with a group is undeniably one of the most rewarding investments you can make for your family’s future and health. Talk to Dan, who heads up our Lifegroups, and start doing life together!

Categories: Life, Lifepoint, People

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