(re)made

This guest blog post is from a friend of mine, Matthew Paul Turner. You can also find him over on twitter as, @JesusNeedsNewPR. He’s written a ton of awesome books and his new one, Hear No Evil, is no exception. He’s here to explain what extravaganza is goin down. Just check it folks.- Adam//

Greetings in the name of Amy Grant!

My name is Continue Reading…

Hey everybody. First day of November. I just can’t believe it. Well anyways, @pastortim1 is a great guy with a great heart. He’s been an awesome friend here on twitter who always makes me think. We need more of those type of people on twitter.
Adam

When I was a kid we had several fresh water aquariums in our home. Angel fish, Tetras, Catfish, Algae Eaters and more filled the tanks, marking their days swimming from one end of the tank to another. I even remember the distinct smell of the flaked food I would pinch between my fingers rubbing them carefully together to get the pieces just the right size for the little fish to consume.

Lately I’ve been feeling like one of those fish. I swim freely in my own little world, one carefully crafted to meet my “needs” and enjoy life. I drift up to the surface of the water to pick out a morsel of food and then dive back down to circle around the plastic plant for the millionth time.

As I move around the tank of life I can’t help but feel that there is something more outside the glass walls just beyond my reach. Whether it is intuition or vision, I am sensing there is even more that God wants to do in and through my life, but my vision is blurred and the images are not distinct. Even working in ministry the images of what lies beyond are not always clear. Pressing on to clarity requires exercising the faith God has given and developed within me.

Like a fish in a bowl, I can see a world beyond my own, but it is distorted by the barrier between us. But is this barrier real? This is a question with which I have been wrestling of late. I feel like Daniel as he was waiting for an answer from God for guidance (in Daniel 10). After 21 days the angel appears to him and brings him God’s message. Why the delay? Warfare in the spiritual realm is what the angel tells Daniel.

But is that what I’m facing? Is this a prison of my own design? I am trapped here or simply choosing not to leave? I need clarity. I am getting glimpses of the possibilities beyond the barrier and they are captivating. So I press on, in faith, trying to wait patiently as each new pixel of life comes into focus.

Like the fish we carefully chose and placed in our aquariums, I know God has placed me here for a purpose. My life has not been randomly created by some impersonal undirected force of nature. I am here because God created me and called me to a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ.

My lack of clarity tells me that realizing this life is just beyond my reach, but is that true?

Determining the answer to that question is driving me to seek God more, to apply faith, and to seek out others who can help me not only get outside of my “fish bowl” but to thrive by God’s grace once I get there.

@GCCofJesus is a great dude with a great topic here on jackalopekid.com–”Halloween”// buwahaaaaa. It’s happening soon, so what are your thoughts on this?
Adam

Why is it that everyone spends so much time and effort in preparing for Halloween?

Why is it that everyone spends so much time and effort in preparing for Halloween? It’s simple everyone enjoys the spooky holiday.
Everyone likes to do different things throughout their life as individuals, but we all have one thing in common and that is we all like to do stuff we enjoy.
Take reading a book or watching a T.V show for an example, if you are interested in a particular book or show you most likely will want to continue reading or watching to the end.

With that being said, if we voluntary participate in the activities we enjoy then we must ask ourselves a few questions.
Why is it that we profess to be followers of Christ Jesus, but don’t participate in fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ?
Do we not truly understand what it is to be followers of Christ?
Are we stretched to so thin by the activities of our individual lives that we have forsaken Christ and allowed the things of this world to come before the creator of this world?
Or could it be that our personal agendas give us more enjoyment than seeing souls saved and lives changed by taking our part in fulfilling God’s plan?

Those are some tough questions to ask ourselves, but are very important to fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.
First of all if you desire to make an impact for Christ and to see souls saved and lives changed around you, then you must identify your position in life and you must determine what your priorities are. Is God number one in your life? Or do you set Him aside to when you only need Him?

God desires us to walk with Him and talk with Him to experience true joy and happiness. The activities of this life will soon fade away, and the enjoyment is only temporary. God offers us an eternal life full of joy, which is available to all who believe in Jesus.

We must start focusing on what God has called us to do and set aside the things of this world that waste our time and effort. I wonder what would happen if the men and women of God would put the same amount of effort and time into doing God’s will as much as we put into our so called “fun” activities of this life that are just plainly a waste of time?

Well again, I’ve known @MattBowman for a while now here on twitter. A cool cat indeed who loves the Lord and is a great friend. And of course, a great writer. Check it.
Adam

I’ve been in church most of my life. I grew up in a church where our pastor screamed & yelled to the point that we all feared that he would have a heart attack. I’ve been to camp, sung the songs, raised my hands, & done all of that stuff. As a pastor, I’ve even lead those camps. Yet a few years ago, I asked myself, “Is this really what Christianity is?” Is Christianity nothing more than going to worship, and if you are really holy, going to your small group every week? Or is there something more? Could it be that we’ve been called to a life that is bigger than worship services, Sunday school, & potluck dinners? I found the answer in an unlikely place: the words of Jesus!

In the book of Acts, Jesus blows away all of His disciples’ ideas about what it meant to be associated with Him. They were thinking about marching on Jerusalem & throwing the Romans out. Actually, they were thinking about Jesus doing that; they would just be there to share in the spoils of victory! They were expecting a revolution that would set them free from the Roman oppression over Israel. Jesus had something very different in mind.

Jesus envisioned a revolution too, but it was a revolution of faith not politics, And Jesus wasn’t going to be the one to take it forward. It was going to be left in the hands of this rag-tag bunch of disciples who had a loud mouthed fisherman named Peter as their leader. Not only were they going to be the ones to take this thing to the next level, Jesus said they would take it global. Think about that; global? Most people in the first century weren’t going to travel more than a few days from home, & these guys from the backwoods of Israel were going to take a story about a Jewish carpenter into places like Rome & Athens? Yet these guys believed it. Not only that, they actually did it! Within a few decades of Jesus’ words, His followers had managed to take the gospel to every corner of the known world. These guys believed in the revolution. They believed that Jesus really wanted to change the world through them. Now years later, I wonder how many of us actually take Jesus seriously here. Do we really believe what Jesus says?

Do we really believe that we are the agents of this revolution? Or are we content with simply “doing church”? Jesus says that by the power of the Holy Spirit we are going to be a part of a revolution that is global in scope & eternal in significance, yet so many of us live lives that are consumed with me, myself, & I & the here & now. Do we think that Jesus was just giving us a pep talk before he went back to heaven?

If we want to be a part of something more than just a religion, if we want to be a part of a movement, a revolution of faith, then we have to embrace the words of Jesus. We have to let go of the excuses. The excuses have to melt away in the shadow of the power of His Spirit. We have to be consumed by a call that challenges us to leave an impact on the entire world, beginning right where we are now. If you find yourself doing religion & not participating in a revolution, throw off all of your preconceptions about what Jesus can do or wants to do in you & simply start being the agent of Christ in this world.

What excuses do you need to abandon? Where do you need to be that agent for Christ? How can you be a part of Christ’s global, eternal revolution?

This next blog post is a special one by @nicolewick. She is a XXXChurch blogger and a 40 Days blogger, so she’s quite experienced with the whole blogging deal. Nicole has been a bodacious friend on twitter. I can only imagine she would be just as super if I were to meet her in person. She spent a long time thinking about this blog post and of course it’s wonderful. Yes, I did use bodacious, super and wonderful to describe her. Enjoy peeps!!!
Adam

We all have a story. I do, you do, my weird neighbor who shovels the snow off of his lawn does – we all have a story. I’m a storyteller and a story lover. I didn’t used to be. I thought that my story was dark and ugly. It scared me and made me think of cold nights and loneliness. I never believed that it was a story worth sharing. Who would want to hear it? Not only did it scare me, but I was sure it would scare others too. Rather than share my real story, my authentic story, I recreated one that I thought people would like better. One that would make people like me better. I became a living, breathing, in the flesh Pick-A-Path book.

Do you remember those? Each story had multiple endings, and the outcome of the story depended on the decisions that you chose for the main character at different points in the book. I loved them. As I moved through my young adult life I would pause at all of my critical decision points trying to decide which path to take. Should I be true to myself and the life, family, and circumstances that God had given me? Or should I pick a different path – an alternate ending? The choice was usually quite simple: I wanted a different story. Frankly, I wanted someone else’s story, and at each of those decision points I would hold my breath, turn the page and step away from my adventure and into my fantasy. In the fantasy, I would be the perfect wife, the perfect mom, and the perfect woman in the perfect church. I picked the path that would allow me to hide orphanhood, abandonment, addiction, abuse and all of the other parts of my story that I believed were ugly and unflattering. I picked all of the outward adornments that I thought would make my story look beautiful – braided hair, gold jewelry, and fine clothes were my path (1 Peter 3:4).

Somewhere along the way, my perception of my story changed. It wasn’t the result of an altar call or flashing lights or tragedy. I think it was just the stuff of life — the process, if you will. Other authentic people started sharing their lives with me, and the paths they picked — paths full of hurt, misery, restoration, and rejoicing — weren’t ugly or scary. They were vibrant and beautiful narratives that made my fake, paper doll life look flat and boring. Then my story started to change and become re-formed. I started to see what the Spirt could do in authentic community. It changes lives and gives voice to our stories.

1 Corinthians 4:7 is such a well-known verse. In the NIV it says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power comes from God and not from us.” In the Message it says, “If you look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us.”

There is no power in my gaudy, self-adorned, made up story. But my unadorned clay pot tells the story of an ordinary life that has experienced tragedy and pain and has received forgiveness and hope from an incomparable, all surpassing, powerful God. I’ve come to understand that the dusty, dirty, broken clay jar path is much more beautiful than any other path I could have ever taken. I’m so grateful to be on this journey, this authentic adventure, in this old, broken down vessel. And I pray that you will see the beauty in your clay pot story too.

I’ve known @dwfaust here on twitter for a while. He seems like a great guy who loves the Lord. He always will have a conversation with you and really cares about what you have to say. So, here you go– enjoy.
Adam

This past Sunday our pastor made a profound statement during his message. He simply said that “you have as much of God in your life as you want”. It has taken a day or so for that to really soak in. But it is very true. We find time for things that we deem important. We brush aside the things that we value least. But where does God fit into our lives? I know that I am saved – I asked Jesus into my life many years ago. I know that I am forgiven because I have asked Jesus to forgive me – many, many times over.
Is that all I want or need?
Do I value God and the things of His Kingdom highly enough to pursue Him? Am I really satisfied with my relationship with God? Have I grown closer to the Lord since I met him? Am I leading others to Him, too? Or are those things no longer a priority for me?
Before answering, we should all take a few moments and look to see where we are spending our time and energy – because where we focus our time and our energy will show us clearly where our priorities lay. While it is true that we have daily “stuff” that requires our attention – “stuff” like family, job, bills and so on, it is also gravely important that we make time for the One who gives us life, and for the One who sustains our life.
Truly, we only have as much of God in our life as we want. He is standing on the sidelines waiting to be included. Take time today to make the Lord a priority.

Hey guys. This post is from @ktackel. I’ve been talking to him on twitter for quite a while now and he seems like a great dude. Probably, cause he seems just like me only smarter. Here you go peeps- a great post by a great guy.–
Adam

Today I was reading Acts 17 and it is amazing how Paul uses the local culture of the time to reach people. I think there is a big disconnect in churches about using the culture of the time in church. Well, ok, actually more than a disconnect, there can be major arguments on the subject!

Many churches are using secular songs and video to make a point in relation to a subject they are trying to teach. Now before we go further, I will say secular songs for the sake of doing them, to me has no point, but if they relate to a message I think there can be good reason backed by Paul in this case.

People often think that secular media in church can be seen as sin or just wrong to God but I believe that if we truly want to meet people where they are especially people that are not Christians then it needs to be considered. Starting in Acts 17:16 and onward Paul talks about how he walked around and saw the various idols and how distressed it made him. So I believe in reading that we can’t close our eyes to the world and what is going on, we can be distressed by it, but we should not ignore it.

In Acts 17:28 Paul even quotes a poet of the time to help people relate to his message. So what you say? Poets of that time are like popular musicians, or rock stars of our time. Meaning if a preacher uses lyrics from a secular band for example to make a point relating to the message I believe it is completely biblical, as long as there is a point and it points people back to Jesus.

Not everyone grew up in church, (I was one of them) so it is hard for some people to even darken the door of a church let alone sit through a sermon. Often we can use big words and sing songs that non-believers just don’t know or understand. Using a reference a person may know and understand to help drive a point home could be crucial to a person giving the church another chance and help them feel that, yes, this “Christianity thing” is relevant.

I know there are various arguments on both sides of this but that is where I fall.

I play electric guitar in a worship band and have led at times, but will I play a Maroon 5, Bon Jovi or Linkin Park song? Maybe not, but if the song is fitting like “Somewhere I Belong” (from Linkin Park) I may consider it. But let me say, I will not unless it was decided, not just because it could fit the message, but also if the idea was prayed about by the worship leader/pastor, etc.

For those wondering here is part of “Somewhere I Belong”:
“I want to heal/I want to feel what I thought was never real/I want to let go of the pain I’ve held so long/(Erase all the pain ’til it’s gone)/I want to heal/I want to feel like I’m close to something real/I want to find something I’ve wanted all along/Somewhere I belong”

I think that can be very fitting for a message and admittedly it is an older song but one that people may be familiar with. What about “Crash” from Daughtry? Or how about “On The Way Down” by Ryan Cabrerra? Numerous songs are out there that can fit very well with a message when you listen to the words.

I guess as someone that did not grow up in church, I do want to be reverent in worship, but don’t want to ignore an opportunity to reach someone by, at times, offering them something familiar. I also don’t want to allow old traditions or legalistic religious views to stop us from using the culture where appropriate, especially since it is biblical based on the scriptures above.

What thoughts do you have? Where do you stand? Leave a comment and discuss!

Keith Tackel
Twitter: @ktackel
Personal blog: http://tackelbox.wordpress.com
Also check out http://www.ministrytech.net a site I developed because of my passion to help ministries with technology.

Ok, so here goes “guest blog post week”. The first person up is @prudychick. I’ve been talking to her on twitter for quite a while and really enjoy her conversation. I hope you do, too. She loves Jesus and Starbucks so she’s good in my book. BTW you can find out more about her on her website, http://www.prudychick.com –
Adam

I’ve been trying to think on the cross more and the impact of it on my life. I can say with certainty that I would not be who I am if it weren’t for the work accomplished there.

The other day I was thinking of the cross and my thoughts turned toward the tearing of the veil in the temple. In Exodus God commanded that a veil be made and hung in the Tabernacle. Exodus 26:33 says “And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.” When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden they separated not only themselves but the rest of humanity from God’s presence. The veil was a tangible thing that reminded the Israelites of that separation. The only access to God they had was through another man.

At the crucifixion of Jesus separation from God was literally torn in two. Jesus death permitted us to enter His presence. Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need..” Not only can we come into God’s presence we can are able to come in boldness. and confidence. We no longer have to go through a man who is just as sinful as we are to “talk” to God. We can go directly to Him.

Have you entered the throne room of God lately? Do you approach out of requirement or longing to be near Him? I challenge you to enter boldly. It is at the greatest price that we are able to.

(All verses ESV care of www.youversion.com)