Adolescence - Mark Driscoll

This is good stuff. Maybe a stretch connecting it to John the baptizer, but good non-the-less. It's a little long, but hang with it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

"This Sh_t Is Awesome!"

One of the blogs that I follow is by a pastor named Perry Noble. Here is a recent post of his that is worth reading and pondering. Check it out.

This Shi_t Is Awesome!

Congo War Refugee Rescue

I'm a part of pastor prayer group in Iowa City/Coralville/North Liberty called EPIC. We meet each Tuesday to pray. Over the last year our group has had a couple join us for prayer, Justin and Binua Matiyabo. They lead a church in the Coralville called, King of Glory Church. The Matiyabos are refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has been and continues to suffer horrible atrocities. Thousands of people are killed on a daily basis and there continues to be thousands of refugees trying to find safety and shelter (If you have seen the movies, "Blood Diamonds" or "Hotel Rwanda" that gives you an idea of the evil that is taking place in the Congo now). Justin and Binua still have family in the neighboring country of Benin who are currently living in a refugee camp. We want to rescue them and others. Check out this video and consider how you can help out in bringing these people to safety.

Being A Disciple Also Includes Unity

For the last several weeks I have been reading up on my heritage—more specifically my church heritage. Let me explain what I mean. For a number of you reading this, you grew up in a particular church, tradition or denomination. Those experiences influenced you greatly in who you are now, probably both positively and negatively. A lot of who you are now as a Christian is related to your church heritage.

My specific heritage comes from a movement called the Restoration Movement and it encompasses primarily churches that you would know as Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. Without getting into an overly detailed account, the movement began in the United States in the early 1800’s as the country was beginning to expand westward. On the frontier there were many people coming together to form new settlements and communities. With these new communities came the issue of people wanting churches but there were not always a lot of preachers, ministers or pastors...in fact there was a huge shortage. And if there was a minister there were usually variety of denominational hurdles that got in the way of people being a part of a certain church. So what happened was there were some leaders in a variety of areas along the frontier who rose up and said in a nutshell, “Can’t we just be Christians, united under Christ with the Bible as our authority on how to live as Christians and operate as a church?”

That idea resonated with a lot of people and it began to spread like wild fire through the areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee as well as other states and territories. So what happened was there were Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and non-Christians coming together to just be Christians only and do church in a new way, based not on creeds or denominational guidelines, but on the authority of Scripture. That’s the basis of the Restoration Movement. That’s my heritage. That is where I come from.

In reviewing my heritage, I have discovered that often times if have overlooked the desire for unity and instead have sought to be right, or maybe righteous is a better word. I have probably overemphasized doing things "exactly" like the Bible teaches and not spent enough time extending friendship to those from different Christian heritages. This is becoming more and more relevant for all of us who are a part of IC Church of Christ. As you worship Jesus on Sunday morning you are surrounded, more than likely, by people who don’t necessarily believe what you believe regarding certain aspects of the Christian faith. More than likely there are people around you who are not even interested in following Jesus…at least not yet.

So what that means is, while you always need to follow Jesus and be faithful to his Word, you also need to engage in relationships with those who are different from you; whether it’s a difference in skin color, socio economic background, denomination, or their interpretation of Revelation. Jesus wants his followers to be united, he’s wants his people to be one. How do I know this? Listen to the prayer he prayed on the night before he was arrested.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” ~ John 17:21,22

Why does Jesus pray for the unity of those who believe in him? Jesus prays this prayer because he sees unity as the key to accomplishing the Great Commission (even though technically the Great Commission hadn’t been given yet). So as we move forward as a church and as you move forward as a Christian always keep Jesus at the center of your life, humble study the Bible and do what it says, and always work toward the unity of all those who believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God.

Christianity, Christian, or Disciple

This comes from Rob Bell in one of his podcasts...I need to do my own research to back it up. So according to Bell's research:

• The word "Christianity" is not used once to describe the Jesus movement.
• The word "Christian" is used three times.
• The word "disciple" 263 times.

What are the implications of this research?
Which one better describes you?
Does a Christian look different from a disciple?

Something to think about.

Help! I'm Going To Jail!

Now don't get too excited. I'm actually going to jail for a good cause. I'm helping out the MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) of Johnson County to raise money for research. What they are going to do is lock me up until I raise my bail money...so that is where you come in. I need bail money. If you don't know much about MDA, MDA is a national voluntary health agency dedicated to fighting 40 muscle diseases that impact millions of people in our country. In fact probably everyone of you knows at least one person who is affected by some type of muscle disease. If you would be willing to donate some money towards MDA research you would be making a difference in the lives of a lot of people as well as getting the preacher out of jail. And believe me it never looks good to have your preacher in jail for any extended amount of time. If you would like to help me out, you can go to this personal website and donate money there or you can give me a check made out to MDA. I would greatly appreciate it!

Highlights from 10.10.09

Here are a few highlight pictures from my weekend.


This picture actually took place on Friday. The hawk landed on our deck just outside our kitchen window. He or she was in hunting mode and actually caught a squirrel under our deck not too long after I took this picture. Once I saw the hawk on our deck I knew the Wolverines had no chance on Saturday!



My good friend Joel Milefchik went to Wild at Heart Boot Camp the first weekend of October and really had a life changing experience. One of the things that he was ready to do was to surrender his life completely over to Jesus and be baptized into Christ...the catch was he wanted to do it outside!

Not a big deal in the summer. On this particular day, October 10th, it snowed in the morning! At the time of baptism the temperature was a brisk 37 degrees! I could hardly talk it was so cold, but it was awesome! Joel sent some of the pictures to the Wild at Heart team and they are going to use one of them on their website.

The last picture speaks for itself. I got to hang out in the student section for the Iowa vs. Michigan game. What an environment and what a game. Any time you beat Michigan it's a good day in my book.

So all in all it was a fantastic weekend and all I can say is, "God is good, all the time!"

Making Disciples: Come-Build-Send

God continues to do some amazing things here at IC Church of Christ! As I articulated numerous times during the last message series, the elders and I feel very strongly that God has positioned us with his blessings to make a huge impact here in Iowa City, around the nation and around the world. God is up to something here at this church…there is no doubt. That is why we have revised our mission statement and our strategy so that we can better focus on using God’s resources to expand his Kingdom. With that being said, here are some thoughts I have collected since completing the message series, Making Disciples, It’s What We Do.
· If you don’t claim Jesus as your Lord, Savior, and Teacher…then whose disciple are you? If it’s not Jesus then who is it…Oprah, Bill O’Reilly, Barrack Obama, or maybe Dr. Phil? Why not choose Jesus? He’s the only one to die and come back to life—that’s a deal maker in my book.
· If you are a disciple of Jesus do you submit to him as Lord? Do you love him as a Savior? Do you listen to him as a teacher?
· If someone asks what IC Church of Christ is all about just tell them, “We are all about making disciples of Jesus who love God, love people and serve others.”
· I love our new strategy for making disciples…do you have it memorized yet? CBS—Come, Build, and Send.
· Everyone who is a part of IC Church of Christ should be able to see where he or she is in the discipleship process. For example, if you are still trying to figure out what you believe about Jesus, then you are in the “Come “ stage. (It’s all right to take your time. After hearing the testimony of the young man who was baptized a few weeks ago, I was reminded that we are to count the cost of what it means to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Salvation is free, but living your life in Christ costs you everything—it’s the most costly decision you will every make.) If you are new to following Christ, then you are in the “Build” stage. Lastly, if you having been following Christ for a while then you are in the “Send” stage. This is a great strategy to not only check your progress, but it also helps you help others along on their journey. You are now a discipleship expert!
· If you are a member of IC Church of Christ you should have a definitive, clear cut answer for each of the following questions:
o Who are you working on, praying for, and preparing to invite to IC Church of Christ so they can, come see Jesus? What’s their name?
o What are you doing to build yourself into a better disciple? What book of the Bible are you reading right now? How is your small group or A.B.F. class going?
o Where is Jesus sending you? What ministry are you a part of here at IC Church of Christ? What ministry or mission ambitions has God put upon your heart? How are you serving Jesus in your neighborhood, work, or family?

So now what? What are you going to do? What is your next step on the journey of following Jesus? Let me leave you with this quote: “Our life is not our project. Our life is God’s project.” God most definitely wants to shape your life into something incredible, he proved that by sending us Jesus. The big question now is this: are we going to allow God to build and shape our lives? Are we willing to surrender our lives into the hands of the great artist? The choice is ours, and honestly I can’t wait to see what he does!

As Seasons Change In Your Life Do You Adjust?

Life is composed of seasons. Solomon writes,

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

So as we move through life, just like we move through a year, we are faced with changing seasons. Why bring this up? Why state the obvious? I mention this because we forget. Now, obviously we don’t forget the changing of the seasons because we have to deal with them—falling temperatures requires us to put on a jacket. But what about the new and changing seasons in the rest of our lives? For me, I’m in a new season of life right now. My daughter Samantha just started Kindergarten and so now all my kids are in school…new season. We are now into the second full week of school and we are still tweaking our routine. My wife Suzi is starting a new schedule with her teaching (piano lessons and music classes). Oh and the deluge of activities are starting up for my kids; soccer, volleyball, lessons, and homework just to name a few. A new season and new adjustments need to be made.

Now, think for a moment. What new season are you in right now? Is it the empty nest season, the college season, the surgery/recovery season, or the harvest season? Okay, now that you have identified what season you are in, have you noticed how your priorities have been realigned? Things that use to be really important have slipped off the list. Let me give you an example. Early in my ministry I loved to play golf. When I was in youth ministry I played almost once a week. Just the other day Suzi and I were watching golf highlights on the news and she asked me,

“Do you miss playing golf?” I replied, “Kind of, but it’s just not a priority right now. Maybe when a new season of life comes down the road I might find more time for it. But not right now.”

I bring all of this up because as human beings we can really mess up our lives by not paying attention to what season of life we are in and adjusting our priorities accordingly. Let me give you my short list on how I filter through what is most important in life.

Loving God/Following Jesus – This is the most important thing for me each and everyday. I schedule my life around this priority. If I don’t carve time out of my schedule to connect with God in prayer and read my Bible to be a better disciple, then Jesus is not a priority in my life. Now let me clarify. Does God love me more because I pray and read my Bible? No, but I love God more because I pray and read my Bible.

Being A Loving Husband – I have made a commitment to love Suzi just like Jesus loved the church (Eph. 5:25-30). That is huge! If I’m going to carry out that commitment then it needs to be a priority.

Being a Dad – As a Christ follower it is my responsibility to lead my children to Christ and then make them disciples of him. So, I’m going to talk about God with them, pray with them, read the Bible with them, do devotions with them, and make sure they get to church. My kids also need to know that they are more important then any game, hobby or TV show. Children are an amazing gift from God and a priority.

What would you prefer? A child who grows up to be a star running back or a child who grows to follow Jesus all the days of his life? A child who becomes a concert pianist or a child who dedicates his or her life to serving Jesus? Children like that don’t just happen. Most often, children that follow Jesus are a result of parents who prioritized their lives to make sure their children connected with Jesus on a personal level.

Working Wisely and Diligently at the Job God Has Provided Me – Notice that being a pastor and preacher is not the most important thing in my life. My life is not defined by what I do to make a living. I am a Christian. I am a husband. I am a dad. God has called me into a very specific ministry where I am fortunate enough to provide a great life for my family. God is so good! It’s my responsibility to work wisely…not overloading my “plate” with more then I can handle. Too often we can over extend ourselves in our jobs and careers. Sometimes we can even justify doing it…right? We are trying to get ahead or work up the corporate ladder, but everything comes at a price. If your work steals time on a regular basis from the more important priorities in your life, then maybe it’s time to say no to a few things or find another job.

It’s also important to work diligently. It can be easy to waste time and work, thus prolonging tasks that really don’t take that long. If we were more diligent in our work habits then we might be shocked at home much more time we have to give to the other priorities in our lives.

Serving the Lord in My Church and In My Community – I am part of something that is much bigger than myself—I’m part of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. I have a role to play, a ministry to carry out. If the Kingdom is going to grow and expand then I need to be doing my part. So when I look at my priorities, I have to make sure that I’m serving the Lord in a specific ministry on a regular basis. So I specifically carve time out of my schedule each week to volunteer my time in the church and in the community.

So there you have it, my top five list. Now, I could easily list off a bunch more, but the point is you need to come up with your own list and here’s why? If you don’t prioritize your life then the different seasons of your life will control your life and you will never accomplish the purpose that God has given you for your life. Just a few hours I talked to one of the members of our church. This person is not liking the season of life he is in right now…in fact this season of life owns him right now and he desperately wants to break away. Do you find yourself in the same situation? Do you want to break away from the season of life that seems to be dominating your life right now? Well how about this? Instead of breaking away, why not take control and prioritize your life? Oh and why not start with this little tidbit from Jesus. Ready?

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” ~ Matthew 6:33