Monday, September 29, 2008

Sunday Reflections

I really appreciated the choir and praise team combining for a song. They not only did a great job, but it was very moving ~ thanks to all.

Kudos to Pastor Doug for his message about climbing the ladder of joy. He even climbed the ladder, it was thought provoking and engaging.

Remember for the next 8 weeks we will be talking about the Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5:1-12. This week will be Matthew 5:3.

Consider what it means to be blessed according to your definition and according to God.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS

I found a great link for the book I will be talking about. If you want to read the book online by Andrew Murray, called ABIDE IN CHRIST, then click on the title of click HERE and you can read the book online. Now there are no excuses not to read this great book about what it means to abide in Christ.

Or if you don't want to click on the above two links, just click on the website below. Now you have 3 options to get to the same page ~ ~

http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/murray/5f00.0562/5f00.0562.c.htm

Friday, September 26, 2008

$85 Billion Ooooops

I was just corrected and tha tis what I get for not adding someone else's work. . . as my boys say, "My bad!"

$85 billion / 2oo million = a whopping $425.

I guess they were using new math, and I didn't check their arithmetic.

Sorry for getting your hopes up. I guess now I'll have to drown my sorrows with an extra double fudge brownie sundae delight (whatever that is).

$85,000,000,000

WOW! That's lots of money and that is part of the AIG proposed bailout . . . 85 billion dollars.

Here is an alternative plan ~

This idea sounds just crazy enough to possibly work, so naturally it won't be given serious consideration -- bureaucracy!

Could it work? What do you think??

Are you for the $85,000,000,000 bailout of AIG?

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000. (Sounds good already!)

Give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

So let's assume a tax rate of 30% (remember the only certainties in life are death and taxes).
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500 in their pocket.
A husband and wife have $595,000.
What would you do with $297,500 to $595,000 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads.
Put away money for college - it'll be there

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Invest in the market - capital drives growth!
Buy a new car - create jobs.

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves.
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000 ("vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult US Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.

Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.

And remember, this only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Now go and have a party!!

Friday Humor

You can only laugh at the demise of the Chicago White Sox . . . or you can cry. I choose to laugh . . . so here is some Friday morning humor . . .

The Picnic
A Jewish Rabbi and a Catholic Priest met at the town's annual 4th of July picnic. Old friends, they began their usual banter. 'This baked ham is really delicious', the priest teased the rabbi. 'You really ought to try it. I know it's against your religion, but I can't understand why such a wonderful food should be forbidden! You don't know what you're missing. You just haven't lived until you've tried Mrs.Hall's prized Virginia Baked Ham. Tell me, Rabbi, when are you going to break down and try it?' The rabbi looked at the priest with a big grin, and said, 'At your wedding.'

The Usher
An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps, 'Where would you like to sit?' he asked politely. 'The front row please,' she answered. 'You really don't want to do that,' the usher said 'The pastor is really boring.' 'Do you happen to know who I am?' the woman inquired. 'No.' he said. 'I'm the pastor's mother,' she replied indignantly. 'Do you know who I am?' he asked. 'No.' she said. 'Good,' he answered.

Show and Tell
A kindergarten teacher gave her class a 'show and tell' assignment. Each student was instructed to bring in an object to share with the class that represented their religion. The first student got up in front of the class and said, 'My name is Benjamin and I am Jewish and this is a Star of David.' The second student g to up in front of the class and said, 'My name is Mary. I'm a Catholic and this is a Rosary.' The third student got in up front of the class and said, 'My name is Tommy. I am Baptist, and this is a casserole.'

The Best Way To Pray
A priest, a minister and a guru sat discussing the best positions for prayer, while a telephone repairman worked nearby. 'Kneeling is definitely the best way to pray,' the priest said. 'No,' said the minister. 'I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven.' 'You're both wrong,' the guru said. 'The most effective prayer position is lying down on the floor.' The repairman could contain himself no longer. 'Hey, fellas,' he interrupted. 'The best prayin' I ever did was when I was hangin' upside down from a telephone pole.'

Goat for Dinner
The young couple invited their elderly pastor for Sunday dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having. 'Goat,' the little boy replied. 'Goat?' replied the startled man of the cloth, 'Are you sure about that?' ' Yep,' said the youngster. 'I heard Dad say to Mom, 'Today is just as good as any to have the old goat for dinner.'

Thursday, September 25, 2008

The Church and Fleas

An interesting video, even though it is about Play Station 2, can this also describe the church.

Just watch . . . click on the link below ~

http://churchmedic.com/church/life-is-like-a-flea-are-we-just-like-this/

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Football and Joshua

Tonight Joshua finally understood more about the joy and pain of sports. He scored his first touchdown ever. He also started at quarterback and was the featured player. He must have run for close to 150 yards. Took some good hits, made some good tackles and at one point came out of the game totally winded.

His touchdown came on an 80 yard quarterback bootleg. He faked the handoff to the right and then turned left and outran everyone. One guy, the best player on the other team caught him, but Joshua put a little move on him and was gone.

Later he almost broke another one, but stepped on the out of bounds line. Eventually, his team lost 20-18. If they had scored on one of their three two point conversions they would have tied. They had the ball late in the game and one of their players had a long run but was tackled.

Many of the kids had tears, it was tough on them, but a character builder. He'll be sore tomorrow. I tried to encourage him and remind him, he never would have thought he would be a starting quarterback. I was proud of him.

I must admit as a parent and coach you get so wrapped up in the game, you forget it is about growing the kids into young men. Winning isn't everything, but . . .

There were some poor calls by the officials and the timekeeper was atrocious. But I learned they really are flying by the seat of their pants. So, I will try to write some rules for managing the clock. Because at times he never turned the clock off, then during the last quarter he stopped the clock after every play. The kids were exhausted by the time it was over. Also, the officials were high school kids who really do not know the rules, which is not fair to them or anyone, and makes the entire game very frustrating for everyone . . . since they don't know what to do and what to look for.

Anyway, Joshua did great!! He gave a great effort and is learning and growing. I know this will add character to him and years to Debbie and I.

Deadliest jobs

I was checking out the headlines and came across the top five deadliest jobs in the USA. It kind of surprised me what they were . . .

The deadliest job is . . .
  1. Fishermen. WOW!! Ever watch "The Deadliest Catch" on Discovery. You'll see why. I enjoy watching it and it is hazardous, when you do it for a living in the cold of the Atlantic and beyond.
  2. Loggers. Not tree cutting services, but those lumberjacks.
  3. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers. I didn't think the safety record was that bad!? Gulp.
  4. Iron and steel workers. It's too hot in there for me anyway.
  5. Farmers and ranchers. WOW!! Another surprise. As we move into harvest time, keep our farmers in prayer.
The 10th deadliest was what I thought would be higher, sheriff and patrol officers.

Far more men than women die on the job. Of the 5,488 who died at work in 2007, 5,071 were male and 417 were female. For men, the deadliest occupations involve transportation and material-moving (pilots, bus drivers, crane operators and sailors), while administrative-support duties (couriers and stockers) claimed the most working women.

Just extra Tuesday information.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sunday Reflections

Our ladies were so good today!

Each woman who spoke had a great message about life and faith. They did great, I was proud of them all.

For the next 9 weeks we will take a look at the Beattitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.

Football and Church

Debbie bought 2 tickets for the Colts game today! What a blast, the crowd was amazingly loud, the fans were rowdy, the guys in front of us would take their shirts off and wave them. We had to stay out of their way a little.

The Colts lost on a last second field goal. Very disappointing. They were outplayed the entire game. Jacksonville had the ball for about 42 minutes, Indy 18. Hard to win when you don't have the ball.

My analysis of the game is similar to the way I view church. . . You need to attack and the Colts did not attack. They played a very passive and soft defense, gave up tons of yards and 3rd down conversions. They had many, many chances to win, yet never attacked the Jacksonville offense. My style of football is to be aggressive. Maybe it comes from growing up in Chicago with great defenses who always attacked, but I see that as a metaphor for church, as well.

Too often we sit back and wait for things to come to us, and when they do, we somehow are not prepared. satan loves for us to sit back and wait. Then he attacks and attacks and we are always on the defensive, putting out fire after fire, but the Christian life is not about that, it is about attacking life by living life, by embracing the beauty and the joy life offers us.

But too often we sit back and complain that life stinks, when it really doesn't. Just a Sunday night thought after yelling and yelling.

Football Weekend

Yesterday (Saturday) was opening weekend for football for Joshua and Zachary. Pictures to follow at a later date.

Since I help coach Joshua's team, we'll start with his game. They lost 14-0, two blown plays and that was the game. His team actually moved the ball, but didn't stop the quarterback bootlegs on two plays. Joshua played well, he missed a couple of tackles he should have made, but he got in the way which helped. He did get in on a couple of tackles, made some good blocks and caught 1 pass and ran about 40 yards before he was tackled. I'll take the credit on that play since I told the offensive coach to call this type of pass. Overall it was a good start.

I was only able to see Zachary's game from the High School field, and watch at a distance. Debbie was with Zach and we called one another to give updates. Zachary scored 3 touchdowns, 2 on runs and one on an interception. He kicked off once and kicked it over the other teams heads. He felt really good about the game and himself, which is the key.

This week Joshua has a game on Tuesday, Zachary on Thursday. It's so much fun to be out there, it's great to see the kids when something connects for them.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Angel Food

Since our church has been approved as a host site for Angel Food, we will be taking Angel Food orders for the month of October.

We are wanting to see how it works with our own folks, get some of the kinks out before we open it to more people in the community.

There are a few menu options. One is the regular menu - $30; there is a seniors menu - $28; and there are special order packages - $21.

If you want to view the menu click on the link below:
http://www.angelfoodministries.com/menu_0810en.asp

Also, all orders must be placed by October 9, and distribution date is October 25 (always a Saturday).

HERE are the MENUS

REGULAR BOX
For fourteen years, Angel Food has provided balanced nutrition and variety through its regular box, with enough food to feed a family of four for a week.
1.5 lb. Ribeye Steaks (4 x 6 oz.)
4.5 lb. (Avg) Split Chicken Breast Family Tray Pack
26 oz. Heat and Serve Meatloaf and Brown Gravy
1 lb. Chicken Breast Fajita Strips
1 lb. Boneless Center-Cut Pork Chops (4 x 4 oz.)
1 lb. Fully Cooked Meatballs
1 lb. All Meat Hot Dogs
1 lb. Frozen Sliced Carrots1 lb. California Blend Vegetables
1 lb. Pasta
28 oz. Marinara Sauce
48 oz. Hawaiian Punch
32 oz. Borden 2% Reduced Fat Shelf Stable Milk
12 ct. Corn Tortillas
One Dozen Eggs
One Dessert Item --- $30.00

SENIOR BOX
Ten perfectly seasoned, nutritionally balanced, fully-cooked meals -- just heat and serve. Each meal has been developed with dietary needs of senior citizens in mind, and contains 3 oz. of protein, a starch & two vegetables or fruit.
BBQ Chicken; Slow roasted chicken diced and served with Western Flavor BBQ Sauce. Served with southern-style Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens and Cinnamon Apple sauce.
Meatloaf with Brown Herb Gravy; Traditional Meatloaf topped with Herb seasoned Brown Gravy, served with Sweet Potatoes with brown sugar & maple, green peas, mushrooms and green beans.
Sweet ‘n Sour Chicken; Slow cooked chicken chunks served in a sweet ‘n sour sauce over steamed Rice with Steamed Broccoli, Mushrooms and Wax Beans.
Meat Patties with Country Style Gravy and Onions; Lightly Floured and Seasoned and served with a rich Brown Gravy and Onion. Creamy Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli with a sprinkling of Cheese along accompanied by Diced Beets.
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce; Spaghetti Noodles served with a rich traditional Italian Meat Sauce. Seasoned Italian Green Beans, Diced Pears and an Oatmeal Cookie.
Salisbury Steak with Brown Mushroom Gravy; Traditional Salisbury Steak Patties with Brown Mushroom Gravy; Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Carrots and diced Pineapple.
Thyme Baked Chicken; Slow cooked chicken chunks served in a savory Thyme Sauce with Parsley Potatoes, Three Bean Salad and Diced Peaches.
Creole Baked White Fish; Delicate White Fish baked with a Creole Sauce served with Red Beans and Rice, Creamed Spinach, and a Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Chicken Curry With Vegetables; Cooked tender chicken with Cut Green beans and Yellow Corn over Seasoned Onion Broth Rice with Broccoli Oriental Vegetables and Diced Pears.
Ground Beef Stroganoff; Tender Ground Beef in a rich Stroganoff Cream Sauce served over Parsley Egg Noodles, Green Beans and Onions, with Fruit Cocktail. --- $28.00

MENUS and order forms will be available at church.

Are you like SHAMU or NAMU?

Remember Shamu and Namu, the killer whales, I heard a talk which referred to them as an example of the Christian life.

Here are some thoughts ~

1. Are we like Shamu or are we more like killer whales?
2. Are we living the life of a tamed creature that is put in a box (cage / aquarium), or are we fulfilling our God designed purpose?

If we want to be more like killer whales,
We must be in the ocean. We need to be connected to the culture. We need to be connected to the real world.
When you stay penned up away from the world, it will make you sick and kill you like it did Namu. Jesus went out into culture. We are not called to critique culture but to create it.

We need to overcome our fears.
The killer whale has no predators. He has no fear. Sometimes Christians need to grow a pair. Fear is one of the devil’s great tools to keep us from doing God’s work.

Action is not only rewarded, it is demanded.
A killer whale kills because he has to eat. He has to survive. Action is what is important. Make sure the work that you are doing is work that will impact people and not just yourself. Figure out your passion, talk to others, as a whale communicates where the next meal is, so should we communicate with one another to swim (serve) in packs or schools.

Shamu has an easy life.
A killer whale feels pain. Our lives will experience some pain. It is the reality of the work and the world we live in. Pain and struggles are normal.

At the same time we are to be as creative as the killer whales and not Shamu’s. We must risk, dream, imagine, envision . . . doing it all with faith and trust in who God is calling us to be.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Formatting and Reformatting . . .

Yesterday, I sent in my final copy, 236 pages for formatting, and today I received an email with 7 more things I needed to do.

  • Did you know you can't have underlines and italics in the same document, it's one or the other.
  • Scripture references must be in a size 10 font, not 12 which is what everything else is written in.
  • Tables cannot have bold for titles.
  • Any reference in a parenthetical reference must have a corresponding entry in the reference list.
  • There can be no bulleted lists, like this one, instead they must be numerical lists.
  • All fonts, even exhibits, must be in Times New Roman.
  • No asterisks are allowed.
  • and on and on it goes.

I have now sent it in again, hopefully there will only be a few comments from my formatter. I just can't figure out why I'm spending 100's of dollars to have him, have me do the work. Then again, he's the smart one, he's making the money and having me do the work. Hey! I'd like a job like that one . . . not!!

Anyway, I think I'm almost there. Maybe two more weeks before he is done and turns in the project to the doctoral office. Then it goes to the library, then to binding, then I'm on to graduation.

I'm tired and Debbie is sick, time for me to get a little shut eye as well.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Sunday Reflections

Being able to meet with missionaries is a unique perk of the job. To talk to Reuben and Mauricio about their ministry, what is normal (as opposed to our view of normal) is very eye opening. To imagine walking 2 hours to get to church so you can worship speaks of a dedication most people do not have. Think about it, how far would you walk in order to get to worship, even drive?

I appreciated Reuben's comment about our music, Pastor Doug is doing a great job blending together different styles of worship and utilizing the talent in our church.

It was great to be able to pray for one of our members who is going into the mission field, so it was cool to have missionaries speaking. Actually, in hindsight, they should have joined the prayer, since they better understand the ins and outs of missions work.

Next Sunday is American Baptist Women's Sunday. I look forward to the new learnings we can gain from our women.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Some questions to ask yourself ~

● When was the last time you came to church and begged and pleaded with God to have Him
reveal Himself to you?
○ Or . . . is it your goal to get in and get out?

● When was the last time you prayed over your food and GENUINELY did so with a thankful
heart?
○ Or . . . is eating your right, without regard to what you waste?

● When was the last time you prayed before reading the Scriptures and asked God to get
personal?
○ Or do you read the Bible to try and see what is wrong with “those other people?”

● When was the last time you allowed God to place HIS passion into you?
○ Or are you to busy trying to instill your passion into Him?

● When was the last time you encouraged someone else?
○ Or are you to busy trying to make others recognize and praise you?

● When was the last time you looked around you and thanked God over and over again for the
amazing blessings and abundance you already have?
○ Or do you take all that you have for granted, and it is owed you, anyway?
Notwithstanding the question about robbing God's storehouse with leftover offerings.

Enough with the questions, the key is how we answer

We see what we are prepared to see!

God isn’t playing some game of hide and go seek!!! He WANTS us to know HIM!!! Jeremiah 29:13 is a hint as to how! Click on that verse and pray it over and over again. God WANTS us to see Him!!! He WANTS us to grow in Him!

Maybe our prayer needs to stop being for Him to reveal Himself and switch to begging Him to let us see what’s He’s already tried to make obvious.

THAT WOULD BE LIFE CHANGING!

Why are we this way?

I received a very disturbing and sad email from a fellow friend and pastor who recently moved in order to take the lead at a church.

This is part of his email - - -

I will be retiring as of the end of Sept. This has been a difficult
church to deal with. This is a rural church consisting of several
several different families vying for control. It became a power
struggle with us in the middle. So, after much prayer, we decided
that we would not be able to continue doing ministry here.

Why do we do this to one another? I know the root answer is sin. Yet, in the midst of this my heart breaks for this brother in Christ. I am becoming more and more convinced of what Peter calls for in 1 Peter 1:22 ~ "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart."

What powerful words from Peter. Is that how we really love one another, with sincere, unhypocritical love, a deep, fervent, passionate love, from our heart?

Then John adds these words in 1 John 3:11-24 ~
  • 11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
  • 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
  • 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
  • 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
  • 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Remember these words are directed at those within the church.

Let the words of Peter and John sink in, then go an love one another!!

Doctoral Update

Yes, it seems that all is over. However, touching up the project, fixing page numbering and header margins, making subtle changes per readers, learning more about subheadings (first, second and third subheadings; more than I ever wanted to know) has become a late night adventure. I have spent lots of hours and now I am exhausted, but I think I only have about one -two hours left to finish up and send to my reader / formatter and get his feedback, which may be the most difficult aspect.

I have reduced my project by changing fonts (legal and at their suggestion) and cut out a large chunk of my appendecies. I am now down to a svelte 236 pages.

Monday, September 08, 2008

You're only a phone call away

The dad of a boy Joshua plays football with gave me a great honor tonight. The dad asked me to call his son (not the son who plays football with Joshua, but an older son). The son is going through some tough times and the dad thought I might have a few words to encourage him.

I am awestruck at the trust this dad placed in me. He dialed the cell phone and told his son, there is someone who wants to talk to him. It's not like I am Tony Dungy or anything, but a great honor to speak some words of enncouragement to this young man.

We need to be cultivating relationships in order to enter into these conversations. Who are you building a relationship with?

Buggy Nights

You remember that old song, "who let the dogs out?"

After tonight, it can be changed to "who let the flies out?"
I felt like we were being attacked by flies or gnats or whatever those things were tonight.
They were out in force all over the football field. It seemed like we were in a rendition of the movie birds, minus the birds, plus the flies.

Sunday Reflections

I am exhausted!

Today makes 6 out of 7 weeks someone came forward to join the church or accept Christ. Something's a happenin' at FBC. How cool!

I am still struck by Peter's words to "have sincere love, to love another deeply, from the heart."

Think about what that means, tonight we spoke about 1 John 3:10ff. John's call to love one another, and all of this is to love one another who are part of the church.

We also had a very good lunch and meeting with some folks who wanted to know more about our church. I think it is something we will do about every 2 months or so.

Well, I'm tired, I was cheering for the Bears and the Colts, at least one of my two favorite teams won!

29-13

WOW!! I certainly did not expect this. The Bears were all over the Colts. I guess if anyone is going to beat the Colts I would prefer it be the Bears, but the way the Bears preseason played out, they were terrible on offense and defense. In fact their defense was offensive.

Oh well! There's always next week for the Bears to show this was a fluke. I predicted the Bears would only go 4-12 for the year. I also predicted the Colts to lose their division to Jacksonville, but make the playoffs.

Anyone for singing . . .

Bear down, Chicago Bears,
make every play clear the way to victory;
Bear down, Chicago Bears,
put up a fight with a might so fearlessly.
We'll never forget the way you thrilled the na--tion
with your T-forma--tion.

Bear down, Chicago Bears,
and let them know why you're wearing the crown.
You're the pride and joy of Illinois,
Chicago Bears, bear down

Friday, September 05, 2008

Obama - longer version

I received an email from a friend on the blog, who directed me to the entire speech Obama gave when the quotes regarding the Bible were made. It is 13 pages, but easy to read, and the statements made in the you tube video can be found at the bottom of page 9, but read the entire speech.

I think reading this speech will be very helpful to better understand his journey and his views.

Click on the link to direct you there . . .

http://www.citizenlink.org/pdfs/06-24-08-obama-call-to-renewal.pdf

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Zachary Update

He had a great appointment, no extra shots or blood needed to be drawn from him.

Actually during the day I cried about him. He is such a good boy, still a real child at heart, yet he has had to learn about the difficulties of life too early. When his doctor asked if he had any questions or comments for him, Zachary said, "I just don't want to have diabetes." He didn't say it in a wimpy, whiny voice, just an honest assessment of what he feels and desires.

At the same time that he is strong and resilient, he has been taking one of his stuffed animals from the foot of the bed, and moving just one and laying it on his stomach or putting it next to him when he sleeps. It's a reminder of the innocence and even purity of childhood, and a reminder of the trials and fires we all go through.

Obama on the Bible

I received this you tube video from one of our missionaries, and while I stay out of endorsing any candidate publicly, I will if made available share information about candidates. This is a 2 minute you tube video you can watch by clicking on the link below. Very interesting statements by Obama.

http://www.youtube.com/v/4FCNKwHRCQM

10 Questions to ask

Some general questions to think about as we plan and act on ministry ideas, especially as we come to the close of another year (more specific questions to come later) ~

1. What are we doing that we should stop doing?
2. What are we not doing that we should start doing?
3. Who is doing something we need to learn from?
4. What are we doing that has gotten stale?
5. What area of ministry is under-resourced?
6. Where have we experienced inappropriate spending or needless or wasteful spending?
How and who will resolve this and when?
7. Are we avoiding any problem issues?
8. What are our blind spots?
9. What ministries are struggling? What changes are we making to them in the next 30 days?
10. What do we have to celebrate?

Can you think of other questions to ask?

Doctor time

Remember Zachary on Thursday morning as he has his 3 month pediatric endocrinologist appointment. Usually they are not too bad, but I think this time they will be doing blood tests, which means more needle sticks, and in the arm. I must admit, at 8, he is such a trooper. A little boy at heart and a big boy all in one.

Monday, September 01, 2008

New Book

In an effort to beef up my preaching skills I am starting a new book on preaching called "360 Degree Preaching" by Michael Quicke. It comes highly recommended from my Oral Defense. It's not required reading, but I wanted to read something to improve my skills.

Dr. Quicke is considered one of the better preaching professors in the midwest, and is at my alma mater, Northern Seminary.

Allergy Blues

Allergy Alert!!

They are back in the Deutsch house big time. My eyes are ready to be scratched out. Eye drops and allergy pills are staples again.

Who's Job Is It?

I was in a discussion the other day about First Impressions when someone wondered aloud, "Who’s responsibility is it?" and "Who do I tell?"

Let me think (sarcasm) I wanted to say "why isn't it your responsibility?" but tried to be more gracious.

Here is the deal? Often times it seems as if it is always someone else's responsibility to do what anyone could be doing. You know what I mean. If we do not model what first impressions are, or what expectations are, how will anyone know what to do.
Here is a quick, short list of thoughts to think about as you walk through the church and the church campus. Maybe even it will help as you walk through your home, office or school.:

  1. If you can fix it, fix it.
  2. If you don't know how to fix it, tell someone, don't just leave something broken and walk away.
  3. If parking is an issue help someone find a place to park.
  4. When you see someone you don’t know, introduce yourself.
  5. Greet and help someone before they even enter the church.
  6. Take someone new under your wing for the day? Never walk alone.
  7. Don't let them walk alone.
  8. If someone looks like they need help, they usually do? Help them.
  9. When you find stuff laying around, remove it.
  10. If the trash is full, take it out.
  11. Pick up trash on your way in and out of church.
  12. Straighten signs if needed.
  13. If displays look messy, clean and straighten them.
  14. Help someone new find a seat before the ushers do. Have them sit with you.
  15. Be available to give up your seat up in a heartbeat.
  16. If we need more t.p. or p.t. let someone know.
  17. If the toilet is backed up, let someone know.
  18. If something is not working, let someone know.
  19. Look for people in need and serve them.
  20. Come early and stay late.

Just some random reflections on a Monday night.

Fun Kids Devotional

God Gave Us the Bible: 45 Favorite Stories for Little Ones is a very well done, hardcover introductory Bible for parents to read with thei...