Tuesday Question of the Week on Wednesday

I came across this cartoon on ragamuffinsoul.com.


It pretty much sums up how I feel about a lot of Christians and churches that I grew up around. One of the most important things we can do as Christians is to show Christ's love to others. You don't see Christ beating God's love into the people in the Bible. However, it is just as important that we defend our faith and stand up for what is right in the eyes of God even if it means disrupting society, just as Jesus did when He overturned the tables in the temple courts. This is why I get so conflicted over issues such as the one happening in California right now. I believe God intended marriage to be a union of one man and one woman for life. It is a sacred covenant and one that should be defended and respected. So here is my question of the week... brought to us by Carlos Whittaker at ragamuffinsoul.com

"How do we stand for what we belive in without standing in what we dont?

Make A Difference Monday: Thankful for my shoes

It's "Make a Difference Monday" and as usual I am always on the lookout for people who are trying to show the love of Christ to others in tangible ways. Here is an organization that started with a guy who just wanted to help after the Asian tsunami in 2004.



Right now Soles4Souls is trying to raise 50,000 shoes in 50 days. A one time donation of 5 dollars will purchase two pairs of shoes for kids in need. Please consider taking a moment like I did and help a child receive a gift that most of us take for granted. Just click the link below to participate.

Discipline

God has been working me over lately. One of the big lessons He has taught me over the past several weeks is that "discipline" is not just a form of punishment.

This idea was a new revelation to me. After all, "discipline" is a corrective action you take against a person who has done something wrong, or so I thought. I have always understood the premise of discipline as a habit in my mind but somewhere in the recesses of my brain the connection was never made between my mind and my character.

Discipline, I have discovered, is a habit of action that adds value to our character. Many of us lack discipline both spiritual and physical and the result tends to be disastrous. I have so much more to learn in this area, so much more to understand. I don't know how long it will take or what is yet to be learned but I do know that by the grace of God, He has surrounded me with people who are helping me little by little become more disciplined in both my personal and professional life. I thank God for the people God has placed in my life that constantly pour into my soul the value of discipline.

I also know God has both saved me and redeemed me and that through Him all things are possible. I am a new creation and everyday God blesses me with a new day to become better than I was the day before. Each day brings a new challenge and a new opportunity to add value to my character by becoming more disciplined. I hope one day I can become a person of substantial discipline and deeper character though I fear I it will be one of those things I struggle with for a while. Its hard to break 33 years of habit... but that's where discipline comes in.

Funky Fresh Sr. Choir

It's early Sunday morning and I am doing my usual routine of looking over the service orders, reading, watching the sunrise through my office window and spending some time with God. Not much was different about this morning, until I checked my email...



Is your Sr. Adult Choir this Funky Fresh?

Family Hang Out Night

A few weeks ago AP and I realized that our Thursday nights were out of control. Homework, basketball, football, dance, grocery shopping and about a half dozen other things all seemed to find their way in to our Thursday night schedule. We were running everywhere, trying to get everyone where they were supposed to be in a coordinated sequence of events that resembled a city wide game of musical chairs. We had become more fragmented as a family on Thursday nights than any other day of the week and for a family in full time ministry that means something.

We needed a way to rally Team Tibbles, so AP and I came up with the idea of a base camp. The concept was pretty simple, have a central location that we could set up and hang out while each of us accomplished our various activities and responsibilities. Usually, our shedules are so staggerd that I could run one of the kids to whatever thier commitment is for the evening while AP stays back at base camp. Then when I return AP is free to take the next child prodigy to the next event on our schedule. This process goes on until we run all of errands for the evening and all family members are back to base camp.

Not only has it worked out way better than expected, Thursdays have become one of my favorite nights of the week. For the past several weeks we have chosen Panera as our base camp. The kids get hot chocolate and I get wifi. We all look forward to it. Our night is still hectic but I get to spend quality time with each member of the fam.

Tonight I had a personal realization, there are a dozen places I am supposed to be and there are a million things I could be doing but there is only one place I want to be on Thursday nights...

Do you blame me?

My Glorious

I (like everyone at this point) am ready for the campaign rhetoric to stop. I didn't realize it until my wife told me that my 12 year old son was actually scared of Obama winning this election. I panicked! I did not realize until that moment, I got sucked in like everyone else. I was so consumed in election coverage of campagin rhetoric and electoral maps that I had somehow allowed my son to be convinced that a president could have such a dramatic impact on his life. That the fate of his future relied on the cumulaitve descision of the voters in our country. Honestly, I almost cried for my son.

The truth is that as Christians we should never be convinced either by others or by our own emotions that anyone can care for us the way God does. We should never find ourselves relying more on a president's promise than on God's faithfulness. God is ultimately in control (Romans 13) of our lives and by His word and power we are saved, not by a presidential candidate. No government program has ever saved our souls and no government program will bring us closer to the one who saved us. God is much bigger than any president or election (Colossians 1:6) regardless of the media hype or the promises of those running for office.

One of my all-time favorite worship tunes is My Glorious by Martin Smith.

God is bigger than the air I breathe
The world we'll leave
God will save the day
And all will say
My Glorious

The Chorus really sums up exactly how I feel about this presidential election.

Make A Difference Monday: "IT" Matters

I remember, several weeks ago, sitting in our weekly Creative Planning meeting and going over our upcoming services about community. One of our team members mentioned how tough it was for some people to feel comfortable committing to a small group. He began to describe it like a personal tug-of-war, constantly pulling against the demands of life in order to grow spiritually as a christian. Suddenly an idea was born. The team came up with a drama about a guy pulling on a rope that continually refused help because of his own pride.

The idea was great but there was a big problem, we do not have a drama team at FCC. That may have seemed like a deal breaker for most but we have an axiom we use a lot in our planning meetings, "Don't let logistics get in the way of a good idea." The team began to jot down names of people who might be able to pull this off and began the process of convincing them that they were the right people to make this happen. Here is the result.




I know there are a lot of Worship Leaders and Creative Arts people that read this so I want to take this opportunity to tell you, no matter what the obstacles you face, "IT" matters.
The time you spend in creative and planning meetings matter.
The evenings you give up to rehearse with your band matters.
The mornings you drive into the office before the sun even comes up matters.
The countless hours you spend investing into the lives of your volunteers matter.
The tech meetings matter.
Your hard work matters.
The lives you touch matter.
"IT" Matters... to God
God is so incredible. He has a way of taking the little things we do and turning them into major life changing moments. Thanks Mike for your amazing testimony!

Perspective

"Can you believe gas is $1.95"
This phrase has a completely opposite meaning than it did twelve months ago.