Saturday, April 05, 2008

My New Custom Made Toys


Yes I finally did it! And, yes they are all here. Now the real task is finding time in such a busy schedule to find my "chops" again. They sound sooo good. I just wish I did right now. It will not take long.

Either way, "This is my act of worship." I can totally get lost in the worship of Him when I am playing. Pray that I force myself to spend the time. If nothing else, my son Schyler has a great inheritance ahead of him.

Friday, April 04, 2008

How Are We To Respond To God’s Goodness?

Repent of our unbelief and ingratitude –

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? (Romans 2:4)

Rest in His goodness when encountering adversity.

How great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast stored up for those who fear
Thee, which Thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee, before the sons of men! Thou dost hide them in the secret place of Thy presence from the conspiracies of man; Thou dost keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. (Psalm 31:19-20)

Risk stepping out in faith like never before!

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11

It is my prayer that we all will lavish in and respond to God's Godness in the preceding ways. I challenged each Common Grounds participant to journal a leap of faith in which they will take before our next small group meeting. If you are willing, take the leap with us and jounal God's generocity. Feel free to comment.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

What to Do With Old Youth Ministry Hula Hoops
Architecture & Activity
Beautify the Landscape around your Church and Create a unique Youth Activity.

Check it out...mass studies architecture studio created a temporary installation for the 25th Anniversary of Storefront for Art and Architecture Gallery in New York City. The installation was created from about a thousand hula-hoops zip-tied together to form a massive dome structure.

If we could just figure out what to do with old Rubick's Cubes!

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

3rd Graders Plot to Kill Teacher

Officials in Georgia have thwarted a plot by a group of third-grade special education students to kill their teacher.

Officials at the Center Elementary School in Waycross, Ga., learned of the plot on March 28, when a student told authorities about the plan before the start of the school day, the Waycross Journal-Herald reports.

The plot by as many as nine boys and girls was a serious threat, Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner said Tuesday.

The students allegedly brought to school a broken steak knife, a roll of duct tape, handcuffs, ribbon and a crystal paperweight in a bid to kill their teacher, Belle Carter, the paper reports.
"We did not hear anybody say they intended to kill her, but could they have accidentally killed her? Absolutely," Tanner said. "We feel like if they weren't interrupted, there would have been an attempt. Would they have been successful? We don't know."

The children, ages 8 and 9, were apparently mad at the teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, Tanner said.

"It’s our understanding that she did in fact discipline one of the students, and they did not like it, he told FOX News. "After that, she began to plot revenge on the teacher."

What is possessing this culture to take things into there own hands? What makes them think that their actions do not have consequenses? We cannot continue to soften or neglect issuing consequenses in our school systems. At this time, teachers and administrators have no authority in the classroom. Why have we allowed this to happen? We are reaping what we have sown. Maybe we need to teach more Old Testament where the Israelites were not spared the rod.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Customer Service

"...are the people we deal with in church environments more like customers or more like employees?"


"It’s much easier to cater to everyone’s personal preferences than to challenge people to a life of service and accountability."


What would life look like if we all chose to be employees rather than customers? To serve rather than consume? It’s backward from our human nature and especially the Western mindset. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Kingdom ways often seem upside down and inside out. But when employed properly, it changes the world. I don’t know about you, but that’s a gig I’m signing up for.


Erik Cooper
Lakeview Worship

Monday, March 31, 2008

I read a sentence from "The Knowledge of the Holy" by AW Tozer. Tozer states, "The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God." This statements forces us to ask ourselves and our congregations, "To you who is God? What is your perception of Him?" The response can directly affect wheather our churches grow according to this statement. I think most churches are holding on to the perception that Jesus was sent to make us happy...which causes many churches to decline in number and Spirit.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Great Points from Ministry Mutiny by Greg Stier

God works more in the whisper than He does in the big, the loud, the fiery, and the blustery.

How do I hear from God?
Get alone with God.
Read His Word.
Pray.
Listen.

Too many times our devo time is a mechanical time of forced reading and a prayer list. We need to…
Take much time to read His Word.
Think through what the Spirit of God is teaching us.
Spend time in silence, reflecting on how it applies to our lives at that very moment.
Discern the whisper of God during times of reflection.

When we listen for God’s whisper, we learn how to deal with teenagers more effectively because we are being sensitive to God’s Spirit. We impact more lives because God is making a maximum impact precisely through you because we are listening for His direction. The quiet revolution comes about when we spend time in quiet reflection and then act on what God is teaching us.
1Kings 18:17-40