Leadership nuggets

I'm continually reminded that leadership is both an art and a science....

Evolution

Proving that evolution is true..... Enjoy the hairstyles of yours truly

anything for the cause...

It's okay. Go ahead. Laugh. What do your freshmen pictures look like? I think it's a miracle that I didn't get beat up more....!? It think this was one time that my youth pastor had us doing some skit to illustrate one of his messages. My question is, what kind of message needed that to support it!?

All smiles

So, I've got to say...I think my son's gonna be quite the stud!

Grateful for Grace...

...so Dave's message this week, that contrasted the biblical characters Rahab and Achan has really got me thinking. It's made me incredibly grateful for GOD'S GRACE.
...see Rahab the prostitute experienced incredible grace while Achan the warrior was severely judged. From one perspective, doesn't it seem pretty unfair that the dirty whore in the story experienced grace and life while the diligent warrior was punished and experienced death because of one bad decision? It's crazy....Rahab's decision to obey wiped away a lifetime of sinfulness, while Achan's decision to not obey wiped out a lifetime of prior godly choices.
The whore became part of the lineage of the Jesus Christ, the Savior of the universe, while the warrior ends up dead. Rahab's choice brought new life to many, while Achan's choice brought death to many. I can't fully get my head around it...but it makes me incredibly grateful for God's grace.

Imagine where we'd be without it...

Maybe the one experienced grace because she was unknowingly doing what was wrong while the other was knowingly, willfully and defiantly doing wrong....maybe?

So, this is what I've been thinking about.
....How do I respond when truth collides with my life?

Do I try and deny it? Do I try and hide from it? Do I compare myself to others? Do I defend myself or submit to it?
So...May we learn to respond to God's truth collisions like Rahab - and may we experience true life and grace.

Spontaneous Melodic Eruption

There was this pretty cool moment that happened during the Connection worship service this past week. See, sometimes in worship there can be these moments of unpredicted spontaneous song and response - it's this moment when new words or unwritten melodies, that originate from the heart of a worshipper, are sung or played to and for our great Creator, God, and King.

In some circles it's referred to as prophetic songs, or spontaneous worship, or as a "song of the Lord." Because of my background, I might cringe a little at those titles, but I recognize that there is something pretty amazing, and I believe, often quite God-inspired in these moments. For some, this is a pretty weird idea, or at least a new idea, its really a type of worship that been around for quite a while....


One of the Hebrew words that's been often translated praise, "tehillah," refers to a singing a "spontaneous laudation, hymn, or song of praise." Another Hebrew word, "chadash," refers to something that is "new" and "fresh."
In Psalms 40:3 NLT it says, "He has given me a new (chadash) song to sing, a hymn of (tehillah) praise to our God." Then in Psalm 149:1 NLT the writer says (halal)"Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a (chadash)new song, sing his (tehillah)praises in the assembly of the faithful." These passages refer to a fresh, new or spontaneous song of praise to God.

Interesting...
So, what does a spontaneous song of praise to God look like to you?
How about when we think about how our lives are an act of worship?
What could a spontaneous act of worship look like?

So, may your worship be filled with moments of spontaneous melodic eruption and your life be marked by spontaneous acts of worship.

Hide and Seek

I'm not gonna lie. I'm going to have to work with daughter on the whole hide-and-seek game. Creative approach, but I'm not sure she quite has it down...

Smelling of Jesus

Do I smell like Jesus?
We can quickly pick up on when someone wears cologne, but when people get close to us, do we smell like Jesus?
A little while back, a former intern dropped by my office to catch up. As soon as they entered the room, I couldn't help but notice the strange aroma that began to fill my office. It wasn't a bad smell, just different. But, being the caring and proper pastor that I am (lol), I pretended not to notice it. But as we continued to talk, she excitedly shared that she'd been working at a horse stable - caring for, brushing, riding, and cleaning up after horses. For me that day, there was no mistaking that she'd been with horses.

It made me wonder, can people tell when I've been with Jesus? Do I carry the "aroma" of Christ?

Authentic Worship

Worship is dicey. It risky. It's really about living authentically, smelling like Jesus. We like to say that it is about much more than the songs we sing in our little 15 minute window of time on a sunday, (which is a whole other discussion..) but I wonder if we truely embrace and believe that? We'd like to think that we do, right? But, how would it affect our lives (and the lives of others) if we really embraced the fact that that all that we do should be an "act of worship" honoring our amazing Creator, Savior, and King?

I guess for me it comes down to a different question - Am I really allowing God to work in my life? Am I allowing God to change me? Does my life look like more like "me" or like Him? It also requires me to be honest with myself and honest with others - which can be kinda painful right? But isn't those the real questions? Because it's only when I am willing to let Him change me, heal me, lead me and love through me, that I can become a true reflection of Him. What if we REALLY believed that true worship, while it does include the songs we sing, is really about pointing others to the Christ that has touched, healed, provided hope to, and is transforming all areas of our lives?
Is all that I am pointing to the continuing work of the Creator? Does my life reflect Jesus?