Lecrae -Beautiful Feet

I love this song.

A challenge to have beautiful feet for the gospel. Also an exhortation to not ignore or forget about the hood.

While we are talking politics...

In the car last night, I heard Sean Hannity on the radio. Very disappointing.

The words that came to mind as I listened to him:
Rude
Arrogant
Demeaning
Know it all
Doesn't listen

Those are just a few. The sad thing is that I agree with some of the positions that he holds, but I would never want to identify myself with him. Why do Republican talking heads have to brand themselves as such elitists who disrespect and demean anyone who doesn't agree with everything that they say? Think Hannity, Limbaugh, and the like. They call themselves "great Americans", but I would say that this attitude represents everything wrong with America.

Can we get a humble Republican?
Can we get a Republican who doesn't know it all?

Is the Republican party racist?

Leonard Pitts suggests in his article Grand ol' bigots? that the GOP is the "repugnant party" on issues of race. Pitts' article points to numerous examples from just the past year where the GOP has dropped the ball to say the least as it relates to how they view "others" and especially black people.

Is it any wonder black people have such a hard time voting for a Republican?

Do you think that the GOP is bigoted in it's essence?

What do you think of Pitts' suggestions about the GOP?

Treasuring Christ

You have to check this out!

I attended the Don't Waste Your Life tour last week in my hometown of Lima, OH. The concert opened with this video.

Convicting. Inspiring. Great reminder.

Gospel Intentionality - Part 2

A few days ago, I posted a quote from the book Total Church. Today I found one of the authors (Tim Chester) fleshing this concept out on his blog. I thought it was very helpful.

CHECK IT OUT

Let me know what you think?

House churches

In case you missed it, THIS ARTICLE was in the Chicago Tribune today. I felt that it gave a fair reporting on the house church movement.

What are your thoughts about the house church model?

Gospel Intentionality

"Most gospel ministry involves ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality."
Tim Chester & Steve Timmis - TOTAL CHURCH

I love this quote. We the people of God need to approach all of life with gospel intentionality. We are the church mission strategy. We are the outreach program.

Reading the Gospel of John

This past week, I spent time reading through the Gospel of John with a group of people in one sitting. It took about two and half hours. Here are a few observations:

There is something good about hearing the scriptures read out loud.
There is something good about reading the scriptures with others.
There are a lot of things you notice when you read a whole book at a time.
There is something priceless about hearing your kids want to read the scriptures with you.
I spend too much time reading other books in comparison to THE book.
Too often, I find things that are trivial to do when I could be redeeming the time.
I highly recommend having a Bible reading party.

Thanks Lisa, Shayna, Joshua, Matthew, James, Marcus, and Lamar for sharing this experience with me.

Small Group Bible Study - ILLEGAL

Have you caught wind of the story in San Diego of a small group Bible study that was being shut down because it was a "church". The gathering of 10 to 15 people was under investigation for operating without a proper permit. You can find the story HERE.

It is worth watching how this story unfolds. If something like this were to set a precedent, it is hard to imagine where this might lead.

Can you imagine the implications of home Bible studies being regulated by government?

Does this concern you at all when a government is getting so involved in someones personal religious life?

Reading the Bible

I have been thinking about how we approach the scriptures and came across these thoughts:

These are the differences between INFORMATIONAL READING and FORMATIONAL READING.

Informational seeks to cover as much as possible. Formational focuses on small portions.

Informational is linear in process. Formational is in depth in process.

Informational seeks to master the text. Formational allows the text to master us.

Informational sees the text as an object to use. Formational sees the text as a subject that shapes us.

Informational is analytical, critical, and judgemental in approach. Formational is humble, submissive, willing, and loving in approach.

Informational has a problem-solving mentality. Formational has an openness to mystery.

Do you read the Bible for information or for transformation? What do you think about these observations?

Race and Anger

Have you ever wanted to talk and learn about race with someone who is of a different race and felt that they just got angry?

How did you feel? Where you made that they were angry? Did you listen to try to understand where the anger was coming from?

2009 Legacy Conference "Sola Scriptura"

DON'T MISS IT!

Sun is shining

7'9" Chinese basketball player has his sights set on the NBA.