Category: Christian Living

Christian Living, Ministry

Worship Followers

Chris

I watched a movie this afternoon about a small military unit trapped under enemy fire. When the officer in charge refused to follow the advice of a subordinate, she soon found herself in the middle of a mutiny. While she regained control of the unit, it wasn’t until after she was wounded, and her most trusted man joined ranks with the mutineers.

Afterwards I was going about my own business, getting ready for work, when my mind started to think about church and other matters floating through my head. (You don’t want to look in there, trust me.) I think that because I’ve been thinking about my next worship leading schedule, my thoughts were suddenly stuck on the worship track. This phrase came to mind, and I think it is something to think about for churches who have more than one worship leader on their teams.

Continue reading “Worship Followers” →

Christian Living, Ministry

Cheer `Em On

Chris

Isn’t it amazing how, regardless of the location, you rarely find empty seats in an Olympic venue? Here we are, a few days into the 2010 Games, and I can’t help but think of some implications the place we make for the Olympic Games versus some of the other elements of life.

Maybe it’s because football season is over, but do you take notice of the efforts spectators make to cheer on the representatives of their own countries? Thankfully we don’t see much of the shirtless, painted face variety that NFL stadiums attract. We do, however, see country colors, flags, and “official” Olympic gear. We hear chantings, screams of joy, and cow bells. We cheer on our favorite individuals and teams, and at times, we cheer on the other guys, too.

Because of “stuff” going on, I am reminded of a scene from a number of years ago. It holds a special place in my heart. It reminds us that sometimes the cheering of the “crowd” can motivate, encourage and breathe life into those in our church who often go unsung.

Continue reading “Cheer `Em On” →

Book Reviews

Sidetracked by “Forgotten God”

Chris

If you check the block on the sidebar, you see that I’m reading a book on leadership. Well, I’ve tried not to do it too often lately, but I’m suddenly in the middle of another book at the same time. I picked up Francis Chan’s “Forgotten God” and happened to crack it open while waiting for a vehicle inspection on Thursday. I haven’t been able to stay away from it.

As usual, I’ll have a book review on it when I finish reading it. But the title alone begs for comment. How guilty are we of “forgetting” God?

Continue reading “Sidetracked by “Forgotten God”” →

Book Reviews

Sunday is Coming…Are You Ready?

Chris

Sunday the 24th we finished the “Life’s Healing Choices” series at our church. LHC was produced by Rick Warren and the Purpose-Driven crew, based around the book by John Baker. The series takes you through eight choices that, when put in place, help us find “freedom from hurts, hang-ups and habits.”

I heard about LHC through Rick Warren’s regular e-newsletter. It wasn’t long after first hearing about it that I felt we needed to bring LHC to our church. As assistant pastor I often recommend ideas to the senior pastor, and I put this one to him as soon as I felt confident of the need. A day later I received an email from him stating that he had seen something about it and was already considering LHC for the fall. With my email it became plain that God was leading us in this direction. We did have one hurdle to LHC. We were in the middle of a home group program we devised that was supposed to relaunch that fall. It was not a light decision to forego that program for LHC.

As we prepared to launch LHC, we announced it every Sunday, made 11 x 17 posters, hung a banner on the front wall of the sanctuary, put it on the website, and made special bulletins. We went all out. We announced that God was leading the leadership of the church to this program to help with some of the major issues in our local body. We announced that it was so important that other programs we were dedicated to would take a back seat to what God had led us to for the fall.

I received a call from the pastor just the other day. He mentioned an email he received this week from a member of our church. As the sermon closed on Sunday, this person realized that LHC was over, and they had missed the opportunity to really listen and respond because they had attended with no expectation. Now they were in a place where they wished they had listened and participated. Thankfully we have a plan to revisit LHC in the near future, and we keep recent sermons available to listen to online and on iTunes. But for this person the first crack at LHC had blown by without impact.

Sunday is right in front of us. What attitude will you bring to the table? What are you prepared to hear? Are you prepared at all for what is coming as you enter God’s house?

Do not let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass you by. For the hour or two that you will spend inside those doors, the music, the sermon, the altar call will only fit together in this way this one time. God will bring something new next week. But for this Sunday, He has put together a particular message for your heart. Will you be attentive? Will you heed what is placed before you? Or will you walk out unchanged, missing the point, only to find out later that you needed what was given that day? The choice is before you. Hopefully you get this warning in time.

Book Reviews

Book Review: “The Pursuit of Holiness”

Chris

God tells us in Scripture, “Be holy, for I am holy.” Many of us struggle each and every day with what it means to be holy. Do we follow a list of do’s and dont’s? If so, whose list do we follow? If not, how do we live holy? “The Pursuit of Holiness” by Jerry Bridges helps answer these questions and does from a realistic and Scripture viewpoint.

Continue reading ‘“The Pursuit of Holiness” by Jerry Bridges’ 
(This link takes you to a different site, the Christian Book Lounge)

Christian Living

Contagious

Chris

Have you had your flu shot this year? Millions line up each winter to protect themselves against the flu, and this year’s H1N1 pandemic has multiplied the need and the panic. Like the common cold, influenza is spread by a virus. As we walk through malls, enjoy a meal at our favorite restaurant, or travel to and from work, we find ourselves walking through clouds of air that might be filled with the flu virus.

If you skipped the flu shot this year, chances are you find yourself ducking away from those who are coughing and sneezing around you, and they seem to be everywhere you are. You’ve probably got a handy bottle of anti-bacterial hand sanitizer in your purse or coat pocket, and you can’t wait to get hold of a bottle of Lysol.

The flu is one of those illnesses that can cycle through a household for a number of weeks. My mother-in-law lives behind us with my wife’s sister, her husband and their three children. It seems the common cold lasts several months instead of 7 to 10 days, since it’s repeatedly passed from person to person to person. Everyone’s contagious, and everyone is susceptible to the virus.

I was paging through a magazine recently and came across a familiar advertisement for the book, Becoming a Contagious Christian. Its message is about showing how simple it can be to share your faith, but today I couldn’t seem to keep the thought of being contagious out of my mind.

Continue reading “Contagious” →