the bobblehead gospel

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working with david delk on a new series called "the bobblehead gospel". not sure if we'll keep that title. it's based on the concept that too often we create this watered down version of the gospel that is basically designed to sound good. it's not really about following jesus, but about using him to make us feel better about doing what we want to.

here's a couple of videos for the song 'plastic jesus'. one is just a bobblehead jesus with billy idol singing the song in the background. great version of the song. the other is from one of those all-time classic movies, cool hand luke, where paul newman's character sings it when he finds out his mother has died. not sure what the connection is between the song and his mom - maybe it was her favorite...but i digress.

i'll write some more about each of the lies of the bobblehead gospel we are teaching about. who knows, maybe you'll see it in a book some day. enjoy the videos!

Sing it Billy, Sing it!

What a great piece of movie making

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how fascinating!

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love this video from pop tech. benjamin zander talks about music and life. the best part of the whole thing is his approach to handling a mistake. rather than saying, "oh, dang! i messed that up!" he urges us to look at mistakes as a splendid opportunity to learn. to say, "how fascinating!"

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men follow leaders

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I spoke at a men's retreat for Trinity Lutheran Church in Midland, MI last weekend. Did the Seven Seasons of a Man's Life seminar for them. I woke up Friday morning for my flight and knew I was sick. Sore throat, sinuses. By the time I got up Friday night, I was pretty stuffed up. Somehow (HS, of course) I made it through the weekend. The guys were awesome. And the most awesome was their pastor.

Gerald Ferguson has a heart of gold, and you can see it in his men. I've been to many churches, and it's amazing to me how often the men are a reflection of their pastor. If the pastor is aloof, the men are too. If he's arrogant, his men are not fun to be around. But when he is kind, considerate, and visibly loves Jesus, you can tell it from looking at his men. Men follow leaders.

Like Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians:

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

I would add a corollary: If you are in a position of leadership, follow the example of Christ, because others will do as you do.

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the unshakeable kingdom - the fascinating ways God works on us in crisis

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my pastor's sick, so i taught our ironman men's bible study tonite at willow creek. we talked about crisis and how men deal with it. the guys were awesome.

ways guys deal with crisis that they came up with, with bibical examples:
anger - like naaman
blame - like adam
shame - like david
lying - like esau
withdrawal - adam again
isolation - still like adam
denial - can't remember which biblical character we came up with for this one
violence - like peter

pretty deep and emotional stuff from a bunch of "ironmen". good, honest stuff.

why does crisis happen? we looked at hebrews 12:

7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

for one thing, discipline. but just as an earthly father's discipline brings us what they think is best for the time we are on earth, the heavenly father disciplines us for what will always be our own good, so that we can be holy and have a harvest of righteousness. cool stuff! oh yeah, and it's painful. great.

later on in the chapter, the writer of hebrews (apollos, perhaps?) tells us what this discipline is accomplishing in our lives:

25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."

that last bit refers to Deut. 4, where the israelites are being warned against worshipping idols! so, the shakable kingdom is a life where you worship anything other than God. "making money is what it's about." "i have to have this job to be happy." etc. these become idols in our lives.

the unshakable kingdom though is a life built on worshipping, trusting, relying on God alone - like the man who builds his house on the rock.

so, in a crisis? remember, our God is a consuming fire. if you are living in the shakable kingdom, he loves you so much that he will burn away the idols so that all you have left is him. not so fun in the short term, but eternally exhilarating!

if i am in a crisis and i am losing things - my house, my car, my job, my cable, my ability to send my kids to private school - it's worth asking yourself, "is this God loving me so much that he's willing to move me from the shakable to the unshakable kingdom?"

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"i'm taking jake to the hospital!"

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not what you want to hear your wife say when you answer the cell phone. our son fell out of a tree and busted his right arm - broke the ulna close to the wrist, and dislocated his elbow. we met at florida hospital south. they have a special pediatrics emergency department. they took good - if a bit slow - care of him.

his arm looked gnarly. i have pictures but it's just too gross. things are bending in the wrong place and his elbow is just wrong looking.

in the end, they drugged him up, kicked us out, and manipulated his bones back into place manually. i'm glad we weren't in the room for that part!

through it all, my 11 year old son was as brave as you could possibly expect a kid to be. he did everything they asked, suffered thru 2 sets of x-rays as they moved it all around, and told us when he needed more pain meds.

jackson is a stud dog. it's not that he was stoic or fearless - it was that while he showed his pain and fear, he didn't let it overwhelm him. he handled it with maturity way beyond his years. he asked us to pray for him a couple times during the afternoon as we waited for treatment - what a treat when your son asks you to pray for him in a public place.

my son and i have had a running conversation for several years about fear. it started when he was about 5 and learning to swim. we've always said that it's ok to be afraid, just don't let your fear keep you from doing something you want or need to do.

he lived that this week. he's my hero.

"have I not commanded you? be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not
be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

joshua 1:9

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most of the dudes are chicks

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one of the greatest frustrations i run into when i talk to guys about their churches is just how feminized it is. from love songs to jesus sung in the key of falsetto to a 5:1 ratio of women's activities to men's activities, to sermons about feeling better about yourself, a lot of guys are just tired of this "chick-ified" version of church. and the ones who like it, well...

here's great video with mark driscoll that points out how important it is to reach guys, and gives a little editorial on the state of men in the church.



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courage and victory!

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the kids competed at the american bouldering series florida regionals at aiguille rock climbing gym today. in the morning, jackson took 4th in his division and cassidy won hers in the youth competition. kind of a weird competition, where the kidsstay sequestered until its time to climb. they don't see the route til its time to climb it and then then have 5 minutes each to climb 5 routes with 5 minutes in between.

in the afternoon, they participated in the 'citizen's comp', basically, the adult competition with everyone who wanted to compete from around the state. jackson climbed himself into the advanced category (!).

cassidy entered the open division - basically, the best climbers in the competition. she made it to the finals, and finished in second place! my 14 year old beat every woman in the comp except the 24 year old who flew in from Kansas City for the event! what's more, cassidy has been sick all week and hasn't climbed since last saturday. she was in bed from sunday through thursday, and felt awful most of the day. she is amazing!!!

i'm so proud of them both. jackson for coming along so quickly, and cassidy for overcoming ridiculous odds and finishing second to someone with 10 years more experience, and beating everyone else. my kids ROCK (climb)!

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climbing comps and stuffy noses

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tomorrow's the big day - regional bouldering comp and then a citizens comp in the afternoon. cassidy's been sick since sunday morning. in bed sun morning to thurs morning almost non-stop. she made herself take a 1-mile jog/walk this afternoon to get her muscles going. she's either going to rock and roll or crash tomorrow! what an adventure!

jackson is determined to climb better than ever. he will, too. he's a stubborn kid. once he decides to do something, he gives it his all.

i haven't decided if i'll climb in the afternoon or not. 'game time decision.'

watching a movie with my family and in-laws this evening, i really had a sense for how much i am blessed. we get on each others' nerves sometimes for sure, but it's nice to be with a group of people who really love each other.

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jason castro is a follower of jesus!

someone sent me this website: http://www.iamsecond.com/

really cool site. they have a collection of videos of people talking about their faith. jason castro, the "over the rainbow" with a ukelele singer from american idol, has this incredibly cool testimony on it.

what an encouraging thing to watch today! a gift...

here's a youtube video of him singing 'hallelujah' on idol. watch his iamsecond video to see what he says about this song.

boulderpalooza!

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my kids rock!!! my son took 3rd place in his age group (beaten by a couple of boys with a lot more experience than him). my daughter took first in her age group, and beat a 17 yr old for first in all the girls.

they are so awesome!