resto[re]pair

don't count on this being regular but i felt inspired today. last night my friend stephen had an extra ticket to the OKGO show at the Old Rock House. it was a fantastic show and has had me thinking since last night, mainly because i just came from church and so the difference and similarities of concerts and worship services where standing out. hopefully those thoughts will come on paper one of these days.

anyway the band that opened really caught my attention. The Booze is from Atlanta and is straight up rock 'n roll/soul/blues from yesteryear. they had a great lighthearted approach and tight sound. you can find their stuff on iTunes or Amazon.

check out the slideshow and the review from the RFT.

(photo courtesy of Jason Stoff)

all i have is Christ

2010-04-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

we are all theologians

2010-04-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

Check out this 2-minute trailer for Josh Harris's book Dug Down Deep, on why theology matters:

DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.

from theresurgence.com

how to build a god

2010-02-24T13:06:00.003-08:00

this was sent to me by my good friend kelly beth, amazing

Cam Huxford from the Mars Hill Downtown Seattle campus created this beautiful video to tell of his idolotry. It's amazing to see how each of the Mars Hill campuses are growing in maturity, in skill, and in the gospel. I'm thankful to be a part of this movement.

switchfoot rocked my face off

2010-02-15T21:14:00.000-08:00

some sweet friends of ours, the konieczka's, bought us tickets to tonight's switchfoot show at the pageant. first let me say that the pageant is my absolute favorite place to see a show in st. louis. it is big enough for good sound but small enough to still be intimate.

second let me say switchfoot, oh switchfoot! they put on one of the best shows i have seen in a very long time. it was meshed from beginning to end with ridiculously awesome, but simple lights, old and new songs, and an energy and passion that i have almost never seen. i knew we were in for a treat when i got my hands on their new album months ago. it was filled with passion and raw energy that i had not heard since the beautiful letdown. and tonight hello hurricane did not disappoint.

the best thing about tonight was the hope and conviction that lead sing jon foreman sang and most importantly spoke with. the Gospel was present and real in his words. he talked of hope, redemption, salvation, and grace. tonight i saw what it meant to be a Gospel-centered rocker. i say that somewhat in jest but there were moments that i was overcome with overwhelming thankfulness for Jesus' mercy.

it was a great gift and an amazing show. i am so thankful to see the Gospel being played out in the lives of others doing different things than i am. i am and will continue to be a huge switchfoot fan. i pray God uses their music to plant the song of the Gospel in the dying world's ears. (photo courtesy of Todd Owyoung)

i'm taking a break

2010-02-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

from what? i have come to the conclusion that the social media platforms (facebook and twitter) that i use are simply not good for me at this point. i have composed a list of reasons.

I spend more time on twitter and facebook than in the word and it prayer
I dont explore other options of communication and dialogue with people
I am too dependent, it is first thing i look at in the morning
They have moved from enhancements to self sustaining idols
I have not been posting anything original, I have become an observer
I spend more time thinking about people in these realms instead of praying for where God has put us and the people around us

i am going to coincide this break with the lenten season but i may extend it.

i am praying that God uses this as a time to further my understanding of the Gospel.

eric samuel timm on christmas

2009-12-21T13:43:00.000-08:00

merry christmas

2009-12-19T05:41:00.001-08:00

here is a copy of my version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little
Christmas", enjoy http://bit.ly/8Rn8d9

city living: the taco stand

2009-07-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

God has smiled and placed kim and i right in the middle of a vibrant and growing food culture in st. louis. we live less than a mile from so many great places. as one could assume working in a great local coffee shop food often leads to conversations about restaurants. my co-worker and friend told me about La Vallesana. it is an amazing little taqueria located at the corner of california and cherokee in benton park west. fresh, authentic, takes me back to being in mexico. here is what river front times had to say:

If you grade on a cost-benefit curve, La Vallesana might be the best restaurant in St. Louis. For less than $5 you can have three tacos al pastor: smoky pork, grilled pineapple, onion and cilantro on corn tortillas. Give each a squeeze of fresh lime and a slather of fiery red or green salsa, and you have the perfect meal. Can't live by tacos al pastor alone? (What's wrong with you?) Try a taco made with meltingly tender barbacoa or earthy beef tongue. Burritos are very good, especially with spicy chorizo. For a messy, overfilled delight, torta sandwiches deliver the goods and then some.

you should really try it some time, but you have to take me :)

keep yourself out of it

2009-07-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

this quote from oswald chambers struck to the core of my depraved heart:

quit praying about yourself and spend your life
for the sake of others as the bond servant of Jesus

this has to come from a man who understood and practiced 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." i realize this may be a bit of a rehash of the devotional oswald himself wrote but this quote forced me to reevaluate my fervor for the Gospel. do i really preach, live, and teach the Gospel for the benefit of others or solely to cover my own hide?

city living: genesis

2009-07-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

as kim and i start this venture of planting a church in st louis i hope to try and chronicle as much as i can. so as you can tell by the title of this post this shall be called "city living". catchy, i know.

today we have lived in soulard for a week and two days, with much time spent running to and fro to litchfield to wrap things up. we did the proverbial wrap up this past sunday with and amazing day spent honoring Jesus with our family and friends. as i reflect on what happened sunday i am thankful and amazed. it was an amazing day and i am thankful to everyone who was involved and so pleased with how Christ honoring it was. litchfield will be a special place for us to remember and know that we are always welcome to come back. the ordiantion service and events was amazing with my father, grandfathers, uncles, mentors, and best friends there. again thank you to all who made it a day about Jesus.

so far not too much exciting has happened here in the city. i swore never to return to walmart after we left litchfield and found myself there the day we moved in, oh well. the next day kim and i explored and found some places in soulard that i think we can go to instead of the house that sam built, though i have the feeling that the places we found were a little more like sam had imagined in the begining.

kim is adjusting to her new setting at work and commuting once a week back to litchfield. she has an amazing view of clayton, mo from her new office window. she is already in love with the market and enjoys shopping at vincent's market literally right down the street.

we are praying everyday that the Gospel would go forth in the way we live our lives and that we would take hold of the opportunities that Jesus gives us to share the Gospel and share about what is going on with August Gate. momentum is building and we are so excited about what God is doing and is going to do for the Kingdom in st. louis.

are you kidding me?!?!

2009-07-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

saw this little blurb on foxnews.com:

Johnny Depp Doesn’t Watch His Movies

Johnny Depp is one of the finest and highest-paid actors in Hollywood, but the "Public Enemies" star doesn’t even watch the films that he spends so many months making.

"If the movie does well out there in the world, that's great, but I can't pretend to know anything about it," Depp recently told Tarts. "Once my job is done, they wrap me on set and I've done my character I walk away. I mean 9 times out of 10 I don't even see the movie."

c'mon johnny, i know you are weird and all, but seriously?

making a come back

2009-07-09T05:48:00.000-07:00

kim and i are officially st. louis, mo residents!!! it has been a long road and we have even longer of one to go here as we partner in the work of the Gospel with many people. i am going to try and get back into the swing of things with blogging so that i can collect my thoughts on city living and our adventure of planting a church. hope this pleases all five of my readers :)

some days i totally feel like this

2009-01-29T07:14:00.001-08:00

moving plea from john piper

2009-01-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

Conservatives Upset With Episcopal Church Break Off, Form Rival Religion

2008-12-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Conservatives within the Episcopal Church angered by the liberal views of the church's leaders plan to form a rival denomination.

The new Anglican Church in North America will include four Episcopal dioceses that recently split from the U.S. church, along with breakaway Anglican parishes from Canada.

The announcement comes after decades of debate over what Episcopalians should believe about issues ranging from salvation to sexuality. Tensions erupted in 2003 when Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop.

Bishop Robert Duncan, who leads the breakaway Diocese of Pittsburgh, is the proposed new leader of the new North American province, which says it has 100,000 members.

"The Lord is displacing the Episcopal Church," Duncan said in a news conference in Wheaton, Ill., where the proposed constitution for the new province was drafted. He noted that membership and worship attendance in the U.S. denomination have been declining for years.

"We are a body that is growing, that is planting new congregations, that is concerned to be an authentic Christian presence in the U.S. and Canada," Duncan said.

The world Anglican Communion is a fellowship of churches with roots in the Church of England. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the United States. But the new North American church says it represents true Anglican beliefs.

The Episcopal Church, in response, issued a statement Wednesday affirming its position as the Anglican Communion's "official, recognized presence ... in North America," allong with the official churches in Canada and Mexico.

"And we reiterate what has been true of Anglicanism for centuries: that there is room within The Episcopal Church for people with different views, and we regret that some have felt the need to depart from the diversity of our common life in Christ," the Rev. Charles K. Robertson said in the written statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

from FOXNews.com

Maryland Woman Charged With Stealing Neighbors' Christmas Decorations

2008-12-02T17:27:00.000-08:00

from FOXNews.com

MANCHESTER, Md. — A Carroll County woman is facing misdemeanor theft charges for allegedly swiping Christmas decorations from her neighbors' lawns.

The county sheriff's office says 51-year-old Gabriele Markert was found Monday in her Manchester home with decorations from at least three area homes.

Authorities say the investigation began about 4:30 a.m., after a woman reported a loud noise and discovered her 4-foot-tall Santa and snowman had been taken from her yard. After deputies went to her home, another neighbor who was walking her dog reported that she, too, had been targeted.

Markert was awaiting a bail review hearing Monday

florida man arrested for attacking father with christmas tree

2008-12-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

from FOXNews.com

PARRISH, Fla. — Authorities say a west Florida man who lives with his parents has been arrested on a felony assault charge after he used a Christmas tree as a weapon to attack his father.

According to the Manatee County sheriff's report, 37-year-old Thomas Edward Lackie was arrested last week after he threw a 3-foot Christmas tree at his father. The tree missed, but Lackie then tried to use the steel base from the tree to strike his father.

His father and mother were able to grab Lackie's arms to prevent the attack. Deputies say the tree could have caused serious injuries because the metal base weighs about five pounds.

Lackie was charged with felony assault. He denied trying to strike his father.

a capella arithmetic

2008-12-02T10:59:00.001-08:00

what are you reading?

2008-11-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

i recently deleted all of my feeds
i am looking for new stuff to read
what are you reading?

bingo! jackpot! yahtzeeee!!

2008-11-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Developer strikes it rich with iPhone game by Brandon Griggs

(CNN) -- With its glassy touch screen, powerful graphics, crisp sound and tilt feature, the iPhone is more than a smart phone for some users -- it's a portable entertainment system.

It's also become a potential gold mine for entrepreneurs who create games for the device. Just ask Steve Demeter, developer of the popular puzzle game "Trism."

A former ATM software designer for a large bank, Demeter created "Trism" in his spare time and pitched it to Apple last spring. The company made the game available for download with the July launch of its App Store, an online provider of applications for its iPods and iPhones.

Priced at $5, "Trism" earned Demeter $250,000 in profits the first two months.

"It's done phenomenal business," said Demeter, 29, who lives in the California's San Francisco Bay area. "I'm very honored that so many people would enjoy my game. I get e-mails from 50-year-old ladies who say, "I don't play games, but I love Trism.' That's the coolest thing."

It can take dozens of professional developers and millions of dollars to create a video game for a traditional console such as a PlayStation or an Xbox. But the iPhone and the App Store have helped democratize game development by opening the field to any software coder with talent and a clever idea, industry observers say.

"A single one of these titles can be turned around for pennies by comparison in just weeks by a single hobbyist working in their off-hours," said Scott Steinberg, publisher of DigitalTrends.com and author of "Get Rich Playing Games." "The overhead and barriers to entry are so low that virtually anyone can afford to take a crack, if not several, at hitting a home run."

Demeter took his crack after attending an iPhone conference in the summer of 2007. He spent months afterward brainstorming, by himself and with friends, about how to create an original game for the device. Once he got the idea for "Trism" in February he spent another four months coding the game on nights and weekends.

The result is a puzzle game, like "Bejeweled," in which players manipulate a colorful grid of triangles. Players score points by lining up three or more like-colored triangles in a row, with an iPhone twist: The triangles rearrange themselves depending on which way the player rotates the phone.

"I did the game myself, basically. I had a buddy of mine who actually came up with the name 'Trism.' I paid him a couple of grand. But other than that it [was] just me," Demeter told CNN. "It's a very simple-to-learn, hard-to-master puzzle game. It wasn't as hard [to develop] as a 3-D, gun-and-battle kind of game. But for the one-man team that I was, it was definitely a challenge."

Demeter quit his bank job two months ago and has launched a company, Demiforce, to develop more electronic games. Now he has a salaried staff, five games in development and two coming out by Christmas, including a spinoff to "Trism" called "Trismology."

"Apple has made it so easy to put [game publishing] in the palms of developers," he said. "You just make it and then you submit it to Apple. If you have a relevant, fun game or application, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be approved."

Developers earn 70 percent of App Store proceeds from the sale of their games, with Apple taking 30 percent.

The field is getting crowded, though. There now are more than 1,500 iPhone games available from the App Store, up from about 900 two months ago.

"It's a rich and promising vein that several independent game publishers have been able to successfully tap," said DigitalTrends' Steinberg in an e-mail interview. "However, success stories remain the exception, not the norm -- as with any gold rush, what we're presently seeing is a massive number of prospectors looking to stake their claim.

"Many of the overnight successes we've witnessed enjoyed the benefits of timing and visibility, advantages quickly being eroded due to market oversaturation," Steinberg added. "Let's put it this way: I wouldn't tell anyone to quit their day job just yet. As with any Cinderella story, chances of recreating this kind of success are few and far between."

now this is news

2008-11-24T09:59:00.001-08:00

Police Want to Know Who Left Piano in Massachusetts Forest

Monday, November 24, 2008

HARWICH, Mass. — Harwich police have a musical mystery on their hands: Who left a piano in the middle of the woods? And why?

The Baldwin piano discovered in the Bells Neck woods appears to be in perfect working condition and had a matching bench as if it had recently been played.

The piano was discovered Saturday by a woman walking along a path inside a conservation area at the woods.

Another question police would like to answer is how the piano got to such a remote location. The piano is heavy and it took more than a half dozen men to load it onto a truck to remove it.

Police said they've notified other police departments in the area to see if anyone has reported a missing piano.

new choir special

2008-11-18T08:53:00.001-08:00

counseling 101

2008-11-17T11:29:00.001-08:00

hahaha....ouch

2008-11-10T12:04:00.001-08:00

Justification by Faith

2008-10-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:10

I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.

The salvation that comes from God is not based on human logic, but on the sacrificial death of Jesus. We can be born again solely because of the atonement of our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creations, not through their repentance or their belief, but through the wonderful work of God in Christ Jesus which preceded all of our experience (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 ). The unconquerable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We do not have to accomplish these things ourselves— they have been accomplished through the atonement of the Cross of Christ. The supernatural becomes natural to us through the miracle of God, and there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done— "It is finished!" ( John 19:30 ).-Oswald Chambers

august gate: harvest the city

2008-10-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

after what seemed like a long time of waiting and dreaming, kim and i are part of a church planting team that is going to be planting in the soulard/lafayette park/benton park area of st louis, mo. we will be moving to the city in late summer of '09. more details to come

big news coming....

2008-10-18T11:16:00.001-07:00

7 Implications of the Book of Job

2008-10-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

(Author: Abraham Piper)
The following implications of the book of Job are adapted from John Piper's sermon "Job: Reverent in Suffering."

4 Theological Implications of the Book of Job.

1. Satan's aim is to destroy our joy in God.

He uses two weapons: pain and pleasure. He uses pain to make us feel that God is powerless or hostile. He uses pleasure to make us feel that God is superfluous.

He had failed to turn Job away from God in the days of his pleasure and prosperity. So he attacks Job's God-centered joy through pain. He fails again. But there is no doubt what Satan is after in our life: his aim is to destroy our joy in God and to replace the treasure of God with the earthly treasures of wealth or family or health.

2. God aims to magnify his worth in the lives of his people.

The great aim of God in creation and redemption is to preserve and display the infinite worth of his glory. The way he does this is by redeeming a people who love him above all earthly treasures and pleasures.

The mirror he has chosen for the reflection of his worth is the indestructible joy of his people. They will not trade him for anything this world can offer.

3. God grants to Satan limited power to cause pain.

In 1:12 God says to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand." And in 2:6 God says, "Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life."

God sets the limits of Satan's power to cause pain.

Our God is not frustrated by the power and subtlety of Satan. Satan cannot make a move without the permission of God almighty. He may be a lion. But he is a lion on a leash. And God reins him in or gives him slack according to God's own sovereign purposes.

4. Satan's work is ultimately the work of God.

Did you notice that in the two heavenly scenes God handed Job over to Satan's power?

But when Satan had done his work of taking Job's wealth and family, Job said in 1:21, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Job says that it was ultimately the Lord himself who took away his family and wealth. Then the inspired writer of the book makes a comment to avoid a misunderstanding. Lest anyone say that Job should not have attributed Satan's work to God, he writes, "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong" (v. 22).

It is not sin to say that what Satan did, God ultimately did, because God rules Satan.

Similarly in the second heavenly scene God says to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life" (2:6). Then verse 7 makes it very explicit that "Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord, and afflicted Job with loathsome sores."

But again in verse 10 Job says, "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" In other words Job again goes all the way up to the sovereignty of God over Satan and says that his sickness is from God. Satan may have been the nearer cause, but ultimately it is from God.

And again the inspired writer warns us not to criticize Job here. He writes at the end of verse 10, "In all this Job did not sin with his lips." It is not a sin to say that a sickness that Satan causes is "from the Lord."

Job's rock of refuge and hope when everything else seemed to be crumbling was the absolute sovereignty of God.

Therefore, 3 Personal Implications of the Book of Job

1. Let us join with Job and affirm with all our hearts the absolute sovereignty of God.

Let us say with the psalmist, "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases" (115:3).

Let us say with Daniel, "He does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What are you doing?'" (115:3).

Let us make the absolute sovereignty of God the rock on which we build our lives and our churches.

2. Let your tears flow freely when your calamity comes.

"Job arose, rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon his face" (1:20).

The sobs of grief and pain are not the sign of unbelief. Job knows nothing of a flippant, insensitive, superficial "Praise God anyhow" response to suffering. The magnificence of his worship is because it was in grief, not because it replaced grief.

And let the rest of us weep with those who weep.

3. Trust in the goodness of God, and let him be your treasure and your joy.

Even if God had let Satan take Job's life, we know what Job would have said. He would have said Psalm 63:3, "The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life."

minimilast beauty

2008-10-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

the sad reality of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi skyscrapers

2008-10-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

to read about the grave cost at which these architectural marvels are being built, click here.

cheapest gas ever!?!?!

2008-10-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Dozens get gas in Wis. for 35 cents after mistake

1 day ago

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (AP) — Sure, gas prices have come down lately. But to 34.9 cents a gallon?

That's what Kelly Joosten and dozens of other motorists paid at a Citgo station Monday. The sign advertised $3.43 for a gallon of premium fuel, but the pump cost read $0.349 a gallon.

"That was amazing," said Joosten, who normally spends about $100 to fill up her 1998 Ford Expedition.

Joosten proudly showed off her receipt for 25.36 gallons at $8.85. She said she saw other motorists filling gas cans, too, at the discounted price.

Station owner JP Raval says the attendant on duty couldn't figure out why the station was suddenly so busy.

Raval estimated 30 to 40 customers fueled up at the incorrect price — between 200 and 300 gallons worth — for about 90 minutes.

"People kept coming, so fast," Raval said. "Everything was crowded; it was like a fairground."

top five....

2008-10-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

i wanna know your top five artists/songs/albums for fall
a list of five with the combination or not of artists/songs/albums
let's hear it!

creativity at its best

2008-10-16T10:20:00.001-07:00

update

2008-10-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

i have not really written on here in quite some time so i figured i owed an update. lots of happenings and changes going on right now that will soon to be updated here. kim and i have some really cool stuff to share about our future plans and we will be doing that within the week. i know i have really slacked on the weekly roundup and i think as of right now i am going to have to let it go for a while. it is really time consuming i have other things that are just much more of a priority. i am going to be posting more often soon.

O Praise the Gracious Power

2008-10-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

Older hymn that we wrote a new melody to
First of hopefully many

the cardinals featuring ryan adams live at the fox #2

2008-10-06T07:54:00.001-07:00

the cardinals featuring ryan adams live at the fox #1

2008-10-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

chew on this

2008-09-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

While it's simplistic to say that worship is love, it's a fact that what we love most will determine what we genuinely worship-bob kauflin

The Great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it: The Lord sees and judges the heart; he has no regard to outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite importance, to have the whole heart engaged steadfastly for God.-isaac watts

weekly roundup re:start

2008-08-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

it has been a while and i apologize to my regular readers (all 5 of you). so here we go again. enjoy!

theos
The Shelf Life of God
Be careful not to join Judas when you judge people for how they spend money for Jesus.
Dying Protestantism
So when do you contact a local area pastor?
Defining Church
10 Things To Do When No One is Saved
10 Ways To Make Your Spiritual Invitation Stronger
Theology as pastoral care...
Missional Margin: Too Busy Not to Evangelize? (Part 1)
Meaningful Church Membership
The Grace of Discipline
good bumper sticker theology, for once

good sights and sounds
Malaysian Government Pulls Lavigne Concert
Oasis Rocks Loudly, Proudly On New Album
Dave Matthews Band's LeRoi Moore Dies At 46
What’s Next For The Police After Final New York Show?
Artists to Watch: Six Acts Defining Rock and Pop in 2008
Coen brothers get Serious about new film
Star Wars: The Clone Wars

around the world
Bigfoot hoaxers say it was just 'a big joke'
Blasts rock Pakistan arms factory

over-payed amateurs
Report: IOC investigating Chinese gymnasts' ages
Rams' Jackson gets big new deal, then practices
IOC chides Bolt for lack of respect to sprint rivals
Griffey ties Sosa on HR list to pace ChiSox's win
NCAA bans horse-collar tackle from college game

shiny things
Apple's next-gen iPods just around the corner, full of rainbows?
Microsoft enlists Seinfeld, Gates to battle "Get a Mac" ads
Palm Treo Pro unboxing and hands-on at Engadget Mobile
i.engadget.com - Engadget for your iPhone or iPod touch
American Airlines goes live with in-flight WiFi service
Fusion CA-1P500 Is the First Head Unit That Hides, Docks Your iPod
Writing Spoon Turns Your Coffee Into Ink
Preview of Facebook for iPhone 2.0: More Like Real Facebook
Apple Sued Class-Action Style for "Defective iPhone 3G"
Peek Handheld: No Phone, No Frills, Just Email

sad day for NFL past, present, and future

2008-08-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

gene upshaw died today
read about it here

story from relevant

2008-08-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

great blog from cameron strang here

whoa, did that really happen!?!?!

2008-08-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

so it has been a while, a long while since i have written. anything remotely resembling a schedule in my life has not been present and therefore i have not written and has i have recently discovered (thank you chad and kelly beth) people actually read my blog. so here i go again and as i type that inevitably whitesnake pops into my head. this week i will restart the weekly roundup and i have learned alot in the last few months that i will slowly but surely begin to unpack, as well as continue some things that i previously began. this is an exciting time for kim and i and i cannot wait to reveal things as they have happened and as they happen.

i'm back

2008-07-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

back to life
back to reality

as a man thinketh

2008-06-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

a man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. and as he adapts his mind to that regulating factor, he ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use then as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of discovering the hidden powers and possibilities within himself. -as a man thinketh, james allen

why doesn't anyone write like this anymore?

life is catching up

2008-06-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

as you can see, i have not posted a weekly roundup for last week and it is halfway through this week. i am going to take a hiatus for a couple of weeks while things at church are crazy and i am serving at two weeks of camp. hopefully i will be able to post other things between now and then and i will get back to the weekly roundup in a couple of weeks.

perfect day

2008-06-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

this is...

2008-06-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

baseball heaven
enjoying the game today with girl and some dear friends

instrument of what?

2008-06-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

i have been thinking about sin alot lately. from the fact that it so easily entangles us and can carry us far from where we need to be and also how, even as hard as it is, we can resist it and travel upstream, if you will, against it with the ever enduring power of grace. the scriptures that keep coming to mind are 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 and Romans 7:7-25.

in the Corinthians passage Paul instructs us to look at the children of Israel and not to follow in the path of their idolatry. this was essential for the Corinthians to hear in their context as well for us to hear and understand. so often 10:13 is quoted and it should be because it is an encouragement that shows us the power over sin that grace gives us but i think verse 14 is just as important. Paul says flee from idolatry, he does not say to stick around and see what happens, or in reference to 13 he does not say get out from under it but stay close to see if you can stand it. he is clear, flee.

and then the passage in Romans is a clear and confusing depiction that we have with our fleshly desires. doing what is bad and not doing what is good and wanting the converse, it is a confusing and raw yet simple and clearly real piece of prose that Paul presents us with. but with all he has to say about how the law is not sin but shows us sin and goodness, is all very confusing and hurts my brain unless i get the point of verse 25 that our mind needs the law (grace) of God but our flesh needs the law of sin. this means that we must live out in our hearts the fact that there is such a thing as grace and we can never be perfect but our flesh needs rules and needs to what it can and can't do and where it can and can't go. these two processes are married, they cannot be separated they must work in harmony for us to see that it is God's desire for us to sin less as we mature and rely on him.

so now i am confused, you are confused. these two seemingly unrelated passages appear to have gotten us nowhere and i am wishing that i would just stick to the weekly roundup and not issues like this where i can be critiqued, but i have already written too much to press delete. where does this all come together fleeing and serving the law of God with our minds and the law of sin with our flesh. i believe that Romans 6 has some answers.

on sunday i was enlightened with verses 13 and 14. here is what they say:

13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

do not present your members as instruments for unrighteousness but as instruments of righteousness. the light bulb clicked when i read this. this helps realize the tangibility of grace and how we must make the effort to live in that grace by desiring righteousness in our lives. so in the Corinthians verses and the Romans 7 verse this all comes together under the principle of striving for righteous living. fleeing and submitting to the law of God is simply longing for his righteousness. now this may sound simple to most of yo and you may have already gotten this but i needed to hear this, that grace worked out is me being righteous, saying that i do not deserve to be righteous but through Jesus, God has given me the ability to be that way. so when i am faced with temptation i am able to get out from underneath and and when i am confused about what is good for me and not good for me i know to look to the shining beacon of righteousness in my life that is Jesus through his word and then i can be and instrument of his goodness.

i love the fact that this life of following Christ is a journey. that i can know more tomorrow than i did today. that i can see Jesus differently next week than last and that in two months when i come across these passages again they may not fit together and they may have a whole different meaning for me. i want to be an instrument of righteousness, knowing that i will never be perfect in this life but knowing that there is hope that i can sin less.

don't jazz up the Gospel

2008-06-16T12:34:00.000-07:00

from the buzzard blog

"We do not need to jazz up or somehow enhance a weak gospel. We need to faithfully teach and preach the biblical gospel and see to it that identifiably faithful men will take the unadulterated gospel to the next generation. That is how to grow a church biblically."
-Steve Martin, p. 310, Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry

mutemath plug

2008-06-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

musical bliss in my city

2008-06-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

the avett bros + st. louis= amazing-me=sucked

weekly roundup 6.7-6.13

2008-06-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

this week will be a special edition with two new categories for two big happenings. first will be the southern baptist convention and the other will be the iPhone 3G. also if you love st. louis, america, and/or beer, go here. happy reading!

theos

southern north of the mason-dixon

good sounds and sights

around the world

over-payed amateurs

iPhone 3G do i need thee?

shiny things and geeks

** i do not agree with everything that i post but i believe that it may be relevant to issues that we are facing today.**

chew on this

2008-06-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

"to charge someone with the spiritual oversight of a church who doesn't in practice show a commitment to hear and teach God's Word is to hamper the growth of the church, in essence allowing it to grow only to the level of the pastor. the church will slowly be conformed to the pastor's mind rather than to God's mind. and what we want, what as christians we care, are God's words. we want to hear and know in our souls what He has said."
-mark dever
9marks of a healthy church
ch.1, pg.42

i started reading this a couple months ago and lost track of it so i am starting again and as i was reading this it jumped off of the page at me. this is one of the most convicting statements i have read in a while. this affirms to me that we must, above all, proclaim the word. i pray it is convicting and encouraging for you as well.

age old question

2008-06-10T17:40:00.001-07:00

to go with an undershirt or not? let's hear your thoughts

delight

2008-06-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

as I sit out here and play ball with sophie on an amazing summer
afternoon, I can't help but praise God for how wonderful he is and how
such a thing as my dog can help me delight in Him. he indeed is a
wonderful creator!

imago dei

2008-06-09T08:26:00.001-07:00

connection time after the first preview service @ imagodei.cc
very cool

could have been disatrous

2008-06-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

this week i had issues with my beloved apple products
on monday there was a fumbled exchange between owen pye and i (he was not at fault)
this is what happened to my iphone:then sunday i was charging my macbook where i probably should not have and it fell to the floor from a distance of over 4 feet. here is what it looks like:
but we made it through and everything is functioning normal except for me. needless to say i have been a little edgy around gadgets. kim wouldn't even let me drive.

weekly roundup 5.31-6.6

2008-06-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

first of all thank you for the feedback from the first ever weekly roundup. i am beginning to realize that this is a large undertaking but i am going to press on and do it. i have decided to make it easier to sift through i am going to make sections and each section will be broad and hopefully self explanatory. if there is any more feedback, i would really love this. i am sure this will be ever changing in form so tell what you like and what you don't like. so here it is for this week:

theos

good sounds and sights

around the world

over-payed amateurs

shiny things and geeks

** i do not agree with everything that i post but i believe that it may be relevant to issues that we are facing today. **

summer is...

2008-05-31T19:21:00.001-07:00

here

big day for kim

2008-05-30T12:10:00.001-07:00

kim and I before her two big interviews, please pray for favor so my
wife can have a change of pace that she really needs.

weekly roundup: the begining

2008-05-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

i have decided to do a weekly roundup on fridays of all the stuff, good or bad, that i come across while reading blogs and the such. i will go saturday through friday, weird week i know. i hope it is helpful and if there are some feeds that you think that i need to follow let me know and will try to keep up.

weekly roundup 5/24-5/30

now after doing that i am rethinking maybe going to a daily roundup or two a week. i dunno? i would love some feed back and maybe some ideas on formats?

john piper on the cost of knowing and showing Christ

2008-05-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

piper posted this today at the desiring God blog:

I suspect Paul's experience when he was caught up into paradise, while not absolutely normative, is at least a caution: Count the cost before you want to know Christ deeply or show him clearly.
"He heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (2 Corinthians 12:4). But there was a price to be paid for this extraordinary knowledge.

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7). The way this thorn worked was to "beat" Paul (hina me kolaphize). That's the meaning of the word in each of its other four uses in the New Testament.

But Paul concluded that it was doubly worth it.

First, he did not regret the revelations.

Second, he discovered the price of knowing Christ deeply was also the path of magnifying him clearly.

Jesus told him, "My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). So Paul rejoiced and said, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Neither knowing nor showing Christ is cheap.

it is truly a magnificent and scary thing at the same time. i pray that we have the attitude that knowing Christ surpasses any other thing that we could conceive in this life.

this is hitting me

2008-05-29T21:54:00.000-07:00

i have been pondering on this statement for the last couple of days. every time i think on it, it brings a different emotion to me.

"the danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense. but if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worth while." oswald chambers

i pray i never boil the word down to common sense, but i fear that is what i have done far to often and because of that i have lost a sense of awe and wonder with it. it is not common sense rather divine life-giving nectar that flows from the author and perfecter of my faith. it is meant to give, grow, and sustain me so that i can share it correctly and with energy and enthusiasm. if it becomes nothing more than common sense then i become easily bored and try to move on to the next thing. and there is the problem, there is no next thing.

paradigm shift: methodology

2008-05-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

how do we put legs on this shift? I am a guy that likes practical things that I can do in situations that seem to be a little abstract. in further discussion of this I was presented with three factors of a method for this shift by bill faulkner. my plan is to do a brief overview of these three steps in this post then to take each of them individually and explain them a little more in depth in separate posts. the methodology of a paradigm shift has three factors: the unchanging text, the ever-changing culture, and the capacity of your context or congregation. I don't know about you but these three factors turned on what seemed to be a hundred light bulbs in my head. I am going to do my best to unpack them and I would love any feedback along the way.
the unchanging text: I think that it is safe to say that the number one problem in evangelicalism today is the lack luster, inadequate approach and love for the Word of God. like I said in the introduction, biblical living will never become traditional because the more that we sink into scripture the more it changes us. we must remember the text never, never, never changes but that does not mean that our methods in using it have to stay the same. scripture is living and progressive, where it is the source of all that it is done, life will flourish.
the ever-changing culture: this is somewhat of an understatement because it seems like things are always changing around us. the feat of trying to stay up with the latest and greatest will drain us of necessary energy that is needed to preach the Gospel. but that does not mean that we should not keep tabs on what is going on around us. granted, culture seems to move faster other places than some, nonetheless we must have a finger on it watching what is going on so that we can engage with it and interact efficiently.
the capacity of your context or congregation: speaking critically of myself, this is what I miss the most. I want to blaze trails and move forward sometimes at the cost of those around me. if we are going to effectively shift things to where they need to be we need to understand how much we can handle and how much those around us can handle. don't let this stifle personal growth but on the other hand don't be so far out in front of people that they have no idea where you are or where you are coming from. tap into the heartbeat of your context.
over the next three posts I will be unpacking these individually with scripture and examples. I hope that we can see that things need to change but we have a God of order and not chaos and above all there is nothing we can do when it comes to change. it has to be all about Him. life flows from God.

theological word of the day

2008-05-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

for those of you striving to stretch your mind theologically, i have found a great site that gives you a new theological word each day. click here to go there.

why twitter matters

2008-05-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

i came across this article from business week when i saw it in the news feeds in my gmail inbox. i have had a few people ask me "why twitter, what does it do?" all i could tell them is try it. this article provides some great insight. read it here.

think about this

2008-05-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

The Reformed faith provides the strongest and noblest motive for evangelism. Love for unworthy self and love for unlovely man are indeed worthy motives, but neither of these is the ultimate motive. The ultimate, hence the most compelling, motive must be for the altogether adorable God.

The Reformed faith presents the purest and most comprehensive message of evangelism. It emphasizes with unswerving consistency the Scriptural teaching of salvation by the grace of God. On that most significant score it is at complete odds with modernism, but is also surpasses Lutheranism, with its synergistic conception of salvation, and Arminianism, which makes God dependent on man in the personal appropriation of salvation. And it embraces ‘the whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27), the seemingly contradictory, yet to the mind of God perfectly harmonious, teachings of particular divine election and universal divine love included.

The Reformed faith proposes the highest aim for evangelism. It is not the salvation of souls. Nor is it the growth of Christ’s church. Nor yet is it the coming of Christ’s kingdom. All those aims of evangelism are important, even of inestimable importance. yet they are but means to the accomplishment of that end for which all things were brought into being and continue to exist, unto which God does all that He does, in which the whole of history will one day culminate, and on which the never-ending ages of eternity will be focused–the glory of God.

In short, the Reformed Christian, of all Christians, ought to be most zealous for evangelism. If he is truly–not just nominally–Reformed, he will be.”

- R.B. Kuiper, God-Centered Evangelism (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2002), 184.

k.o.g. media

2008-05-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

just came across the site of a person who left a comment on here. if you have a chance check it out. he reviews movies and does a great job at it. check out k.o.g. media here.

encouraging story

2008-05-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

here is a story about last year's heisman trophy winner, tim tebow. i did not realize he was a believer. i got give him props for living out his faith. read the story here.

don't waste your pulpit

2008-05-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

new sermon series

2008-05-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

we started a new series at church today. i am really excited about seeing where we are going to go. we are going to try some new things. today we did what we called "meditations on grace". we broke up the service into five parts with tim explaining each facet of the acronym g/r/a/c/e. this was how it went:

Praise & Worship
Your Grace is Enough

Welcome-Pastor Tim

Praise & Worship
Doxology

Pastor Tim-God’s

Praise & Worship
Come Ye Sinners

Pastor Tim-Riches

Offering

Praise & Worship
You are My King

Pastor Tim-Christ

Praise & Worship
Jesus Paid it All

Pastor Tim-Expense and recap

Time of Commitment
Center

he wanted to lay down a very basic definition as it pertained to salvation. i am so glad we are starting here but also going past this. it was a nice refreshing way to do the service. alot of people really seemed to like it and we are going to be trying different variations of this in the future. let me know what you think of the graphic i created for the series.

Kim's Birthday Dinner

2008-05-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

@ jbuck's with the fam

sophie...

2008-05-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

sophie loves my macbook

wonderful discovery

2008-05-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

i may be a little behind but i just found out how to post from my
iPhone. this is awesome! expect frequency and pictures.

paradigm shift: introduction

2008-05-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

until we change the culture inside, we will never change the culture outside -bill faulkner

i have been thinking about this statement alot this week. i have been thinking how we must change the culture of the church back, back to one that is biblical and not traditional. because what we must remember is that traditional and biblical are not equivalent. you see the bible can never be tradition because it is ever changing the way that we live our lives. it never changes itself but it should always be changing us as we learn to become more like Christ using scripture. i am convinced that unless we start this shift we will continue to see churches dying and this "christian sub-culture" become more and more unbiblical.

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth,
and he said to him, "Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
matthew 9:9-13 esv

this is a great example here of Jesus shifting the paradigm in his Rabbinical Jewish culture. he was not supposed to do this. he was supposed to condemn these people and play the game of "who is more religious" with the Pharisees, but he did not. and as always he offered beautiful commentary on the whole thing. we have to remember that we are not here to boast our large religious egos rather in all humbleness we are to preach a saving message to a dying world. church services should look like rebuke sessions and training centers and not ego-stroke sessions. we need to be priming our congregations to venture out into the world that they are in everyday, living their life with no question of who they are living for and then ready to answer when they are asked what is different. we cannot expect sinners to come to us. just like Jesus we must be willing to go to the table with them.

i know this is scary for most of us. "what will i say, how will i act, what will they think of me, do they bite?" these are all questions that run through are head. here is the deal: with the word in our hearts and on our lips and the sensitivity of the Spirit in our heads, we will be fine. we must remember that this is not about us, for us, or because of us. that is a great pressure reliever. we are just simply to go and disciple. that is our call. we must begin to examine the culture of the local church and the global church. we must see the things that need to change and the way we do that is to use scripture as our measuring stick. if it does not measure up to scripture, we change. i am not talking about be a bull in a china shop, but i am talking about instigating and facilitating true, honest, God centered and fueled change.

i am going to explore this in a number of posts to come. i am going to unpack some scripture and some practical steps that have been passed on to me. on a micro setting we must take this statement and change the culture inside our heart so that others can be change as we encounter them. i want to see change in the name and for the sake of the Gospel. who is with me?

derek webb and sandra mccracken in st. louis

2008-05-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

from the journey's website:

On Friday, May 9th at 7:30p.m. Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken will be performing a benefit concert to support Refuge of Nations. The concert will take place at the Journey's Tower Grove campus in the sanctuary. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets will be on sale for $15 at the door on Friday or following the services at all Journey campuses. Please plan on purchasing tickets in advance due to the popularity of the event. Any questions regarding group ticket sales or promotional material can be directed to concertsTG@journeyon.net.

Refuge of Nations is a non-profit organization that works with immigrant and refugee families in the St. Louis area. Refuge of Nations seeks to walk with these families and build relationships that can model what it means to live in a multi-cultural community. Counseling, training, and other support is often provided; recognizing that the needs of our city are often best dealt with using a cross-cultural perspective. More information on Refuge of Nations can be found at the link above.

Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken are touring to support their latest EP, Ampersand. This is the first CD collaboration between the married couple, though each has made several solo albums and Derek is well known for the time he spent with the band Caedmon's Call. Sandra is from St. Louis and much of her family still lives in the area. They are both extremely excited to play in St. Louis and to support Refuge of Nations.

the new restorerepair.com

2008-05-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

let me know what you think of the new site. i am really excited about it!

musical bliss!!!

2008-05-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

chris vieth, a friend of mine, told me about this great website. it is subtitled the music genome project and it is great! you put in your favorite songs, artists, or genres and then it picks things intuitively for you. and on top of that it is all free!! this may be old news to some but i am loving it because i am learning about new music. now the only problem is resisting the temptation to go and buy what i hear on itunes.

a change is a comin'

2008-04-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

this week we are having our spring refreshing services. they are going really well and i am getting to be in the presence of alot of cool people. preaching this week is dr. bill faulkner. bill is the executive director of missions for the greater orlando baptist association. he is an excellent communicator and expositor. i am really enjoying listening to him. i also get the privilege this week of working with chris vieth as he leads worship. chris is the minister of worship and music at tabernacle baptist church in decatur, il. he is such a blessing and has really encouraged me and taught me alot about leading a blended contemporary service.
our theme this week is "let it rain: a time of refreshing". it has already been that and much more. chris has done a wonderful job of picking songs pointing to the dependency and supremacy of Christ and bill has been urging our congregation to be more missional, scriptural, and totally centered on the Gospel. so all of that to say this...
bill was preaching out of matthew 9:35-38 and john 4:31-42 on becoming and being a missional church. he was talking of the importance of sowing seeds in out communities and not in our church buildings. so as we were in a time of reflection and commitment at the end i felt the Holy Spirit urging me share a dream with the people that i had on march 13th. i had not shared this with anyone, only notating it on my phone with a short paragraph. so i did and this was the dream: i was at a wedding and dressed for it. and for some strange reason it was my wedding. but it was not my real wedding, as in not the one where i got married to kim, this was a new wedding. a new venue with new people and a new bride. kim was there and i remember feeling terribly awkward but in a saddening way she was okay with it and in a saddening way i did not really want this but i was going through with this marriage anyway. i felt terrible anxiety about the whole situation. then i woke up.
i got up and decided to ponder this and i half jokingly asked the Lord what this dream meant, not really expecting anything to come of it. but he answered. i was prompted to go to revelation 2:2-5. this was a verse that i have used many times on other people with a sense of pride, thinking that i was better than them. this is what it says, "I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4But I have this against you, that you have abandoned he love you had at first. 5Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." after reading this i knew it. i knew what i was guilty of and i notated this, "i am a fierce contender for the Gospel. i love it and live for it with all that i am. but many times i am good at nothing more than lipservice." and for whatever reason i stored this away, until tonight.
i have felt over the last month and a half or so a change coming in my heart. i am feeling what paul describes in romans 2 as the kindness of the Lord leading me to repentance. i look at this dream and i know that i have put so many other things in front of my relationship with Jesus and have neglected knowing him through his word. and i have been expecting some sort of harsh punisment for this. but the Lord has been changing my heart through his kindness. i am experiencing brokenness through simplicity and God revealing my faults subtly. i have a renewed passion for knowing God through his word more and more. i have a renewed passion for leading my wife in knowing God through his word. i am amazed how this dream and its affirmation in scripture have not disturbed me to the point of depression but rather the gentle hand of my Father has guided me to repentance. i am truly amazed at this!
so a change is a comin'. pray for kim and i as we start to seek the Lord and his direction for our future. everyday i am more and more confident of the calling on our lives to plant a church and specifically for me to preach and teach the Gospel with my life and words. we are not really sure what this looks like right now and we are learning so much in litchfield right now. we have found a home town and a church family for life. i cannot say enough how much we feel loved here and how much we want to love here. it is a great place for us right now for however long the Lord will have us stay.
a change is a comin' in my heart, to be well studied and disciplined and to let the word live out in me and to teach this and translate it to my wife so that she can teach it and translate it to others. i praise God for his gentle hand of love that disciplines me with the most astounding outpouring of love. we serve the God of all gods who desires for us to know him fully and he has given his word so that we might draw close to him.
even though i feel that this dream was a personal warning, i feel that it also can ge translated into a warning for the body of Christ as a whole. there has been a loss of our first love. we have abandoned Jesus for programs, books, and status. we have whored his glory in the precious facade of our own gospel so that we might be lifted up for our sake in his Kingdom. i am so guilty of this but i pray that the Lord continues to stir the hearts of those that he has called, that we all might feel the weight of the Gospel in all we do.

david ford-"go to hell"

2008-04-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

pretty sweet video done with looping
i don't know anything about this guy
but i thought this was pretty cool

ponder this

2008-04-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

if you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work he has placed closest to you, and until you have learned not to be obsessed with those exceptional moments he has given you.
-oswald chambers
my utmost for his highest, april 25th

more on idol

2008-04-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

one who is older and wiser than i chimed in american idol's singing of "shout to the Lord".
here is what bob kauflin had to say:

As a pastor and professional musician, I find American Idol interesting on a number of levels. It’s fascinating to see how a simple idea can capture the attention of millions, how people respond to evaluation, how people can be so misled about what they actually sound like, how ordinary people handle massive fame, the difference between gifting and hard work, and more. I also appreciate how some of the contestants have used the platform to bear witness to their faith in Christ. Melinda Doolittle, from last season, stood out for her humility, modesty, and joy.

Yesterday, I had started a post on my response to Wednesday night’s program. It was American Idol’s “Give Back” show. You may know (or maybe not) that it was a two and a half hour mix of music, comedy, and humor, with the expressed goal of raising as much money as possible to aid those who live in poverty, both inside and outside the U.S. A worthy goal.

I was working at my computer under headphones for most of the show, but as it ended, I caught the eight remaining Idol contestants stepping forward and belting out the worship song classic, “Shout to the Lord,” by Darlene Zschech. Only they replaced “My Jesus” with “My shepherd.” I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. Isn’t there a disconnect between shouting to the LORD on American IDOL?

But before I finished this post, I saw the beginning of last night’s show as the entire group of Idol contestants sang “Shout to the Lord” again. Only this time, the name of “Jesus” was clearly proclaimed.

I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. What is going on? Is this an advertisement for Hillsong Church? Who chose this song? Do they even know what they’re singing? Who made this decision? Worship has hit the big time! What made them change “Jesus” to “shepherd” the first night and bring back “Jesus” on the second tonight?”

After the dust in my mind cleared, I had two thoughts:

It’s amazing that this happened. My next thought was, it’s concerning that this happened.

Lest you think I’m schizo, let me explain.

The Bright Side
In the positive column, someone watching”Shout to the Lord” on American Idol might be led by God’s Spirit to download the song, or even to start going to church again. They might hear the Gospel and be gloriously converted, all due to hearing “Shout to the Lord” in one of the most unlikely places. For that potential, I praise and thank God.

One blogger pointed out that there are many countries you’d never hear a clearly biblical, Christian song on prime time TV. Instead, you’d be persecuted for even mentioning the name of Christ. That’s reason to give thanks, and to pray for those less fortunate. Also, hearing a Christian song on American Idol might remind a Christian that they don’t have to be shy about their faith. It could provide an evangelistic starting point around the water-cooler or at the lockers. It’s also possible the producers of Idol recognize the Christian contingent to their fan base, which may lead them to include other Christian references and more “all-contestant” worship songs.

On the Other Hand
But there’s a dark side. There’s something paradoxical about worship songs being sung on prime time TV by people who don’t know why Jesus came. Does the world see any difference between what’s taking place on American Idol and what we do on Sunday mornings? Has worship become part of the entertainment culture? It’s unsettling when Christian songs or worship leaders are acclaimed by the masses. Jesus said in Luke 6:26, “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” He also said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mt. 15:8). Both verses temper my unbridled enthusiasm.

This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.

American Idol, for all the good the show is seeking to do, will never be a platform for worshiping a crucified Messiah. The Gospel has to be gutted of a bloody cross to find a place on prime time TV.

It’s doubtful that most people who heard or sang along with Shout to the Lord were aware of its implications. The Savior they were singing to was crushed for the sins of every person who would ever trust in him. He is Jesus, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, and the One who gave his life as a substitute to pay the punishment for our transgressions against a holy God.

Two Responses
So I had two more thoughts. First, we need to do everything we can to sing and promote songs in the church that clearly, biblically, passionately, and faithfully proclaim the one and only Savior - his work, his words, and his worthiness. Along with songs that express our love for the Savior, we need to sing songs that “teach and admonish” ( Col. 3:16), that celebrate and rehearse the foundations of our faith and fill out our vague conceptions of God with clear, theologically informed biblical truths.

This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.

Second, we we need to live in such a way that it’s clear being a Christian is more than giving money to worthy causes and being emotionally moved as we sing songs of every genre together. We want to do all we can to ensure that those who walk into our meetings see clearly that we’re not a local version of American Idol.

A Reason to Pray
Hearing “Shout to the Lord” on American Idol is an opportunity to pray that God would use this event for his glory and fame, for the advancing of the Gospel, and the building up of his church. It also motivates me to pray for purity, discernment, and holiness in the church, and that we would reach out to those who don’t know Jesus without embracing worldly values or godlessness.

Would it be great to see more Christian worship songs sung on American Idol? Sure. But when a Christian song receives national attention or reaches number 1 on the charts, it’s no clear sign one way or the other that the Gospel is advancing or the church is having more of an influence on our culture. It can just as easily be a sign that the church is being swallowed up by the culture because it’s indistinct from the world.

As Christians, may we be known more for lives lived worthy of the Gospel than our songs. May God’s Spirit work through us to enable those around us to turn from their empty idols to serve the only living and true God ( 1 Thess. 1:9-10).

This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.

bob is Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries and blogs at worshipmatters.com.

twitter

2008-04-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

i think i have found a great tool on keeping connected with out having to maintain something big like a blog, facebook, or myspace. check it out and find me.

idle worship

2008-04-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

on april tenth's episode of american idol, the final eight contestants sang that famous praise and worship anthem of modern times, "shout to the Lord". now i am faced with many emotions at this point. i am sure that there are some of you out there that it gave goosebumps and chills to and for some of you it might have even brought a tear to your eye. before i go on i want you to know that i believe that God's word, spoken or through song, does not return void. the gospel was proclaimed through song in front of perhaps millions of people and i am guessing that most of the television audience had never heard that song. praise God for that!

here is my dilemma: i witnessed something that i feel that i fight every Sunday morning, idle worship. all of the singers were working on their stage presence, they did a good job conveying the song with their posture. i really want to know if they knew what they were singing. did they really take this song to heart the way they have taken countless other songs to heart this season, or was it just another performance? as the performance was coming to the end, i found myself tearing up. tearing up not because i was overwhelmed at the song but because i was overwhelmed at the fact that i do not know if those singers really know to whom they were singing. how can you really convey the line, "nothing compares to the promise i have in You", if you do not know of that hope?

here is my point. i feel that we as followers of Christ tend to do the same thing when we find ourselves in a corporate worship setting. we become idle in our worship. we sing songs like this with a prescribed emotion. we know how we are supposed to act, when we are supposed to raise our hands, or shout amen! i am desperately in need of a refreshing. i believe the Church is in desperate need of refreshment. i think as a whole we have become idle in our worship. we have become idle in that following Christ is holistic and not just singing or amening on Sunday morning. it is a vibrant walk that stretches us but always renders us speechless when we are faced with the greatness of a sovereign God who in fact has allowed us to participate in His plan of redemption. shout to the Lord indeed! shout of His goodness and mercy.

Jesus i pray that you send a freshness to our hearts so that we may worship you actively in all that we do.

welcome to miami...err

2008-03-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

well i am here in hollywood, fl with my friend noah and his wife heather. i am going to be speaking at an event that he is putting on for his youth group. i am excited to preach and excited to see heather and noah. pray for that i would speak what the Lord would have me and that these kids would gain an urgency for the Gospel

almost like being there

2008-02-22T11:20:00.000-08:00

if you are like me an really wanted to be at this year's National Resurgence Conference: Text & Context, but just could not swing it then you are in luck. they will be streaming it live at theresurgence.com/live. so if you got nothing to do and want to watch guys like john piper, mark driscoll, matt chandler, cj mahaney, and jim gilmore in your underwear eating cheerios, then you are in luck!

currently reading

2008-02-21T11:59:00.001-08:00

right now i am reading making disciples of oral learners, that was put our by the international orality network. it is a very good and practical book that is talking about how most of the world's peoples are oral and even though they may have a written language that most of their ideals and values are shaped orally. it is a good short read that is very practical. i will review it in detail when i am done but you should pick up a copy. it is a good look on how to communicate the gospel in context of your location.

the past

2008-02-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

i was watching a movie tonight that reminded me of another time in my life. honestly, it was quite amusing and not painful at all. so many times we are taught to forget the past and to move on, but tonight i had an idea: past mistakes help me to marvel in present grace. i don't know how original this is but i am going to run with it. the fact that what i did five years ago has no bearing on the fact that i am still loved and lead by Jesus Christ. i am not proud of this sin in my life them and even though i may still feel some of the residual effects and consequences of past sin, i get the privelige of his present and even his future grace. i am in awe. i am blown away that Jesus loves me so much that he forgives my rebellion and idiocy. paul tells us in romans five:eight that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us and this is what i am feeling tonight, a grace that is beyond compare, a grace that allows me with all of my flaws to boldly proclaim the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ. so i will look to the past when it comes to mind and rejoice in His grace!

amazing prank

2008-02-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

From FOXNews:

Manager wants to see you.

Those few words are about as unnerving as they can get when you're a 23-year-old pitcher on a Major League Baseball team.

Kyle Kendrick of the Philadelphia Phillies heard those words over the weekend, and soon he was sitting in Charlie Manuel's office listening to the Phils' manager telling him he'd been traded.

To Japan. For a player named Kobayashi Iwamura.

Kendrick's jaw dropped.

"Do they have good food in Japan?" Kyle asked reporters in the lockerroom after learning of the trade. "I don't know what to think right now."

What the 6-foot-3 righthander didn't know was that it was a prank masterminded by teammate Brett Myers. Manuel was in on it. The team's assistant general manager was in on it. So were his own agent and a slew of other accomplices.

And, of course, it all got captured on video and placed on YouTube.

For the record, there is no Japanese baseball player named Kobayashi Iwamura, and getting traded to Japan is strictly forbidden in the Major Leagues.

Jesus Camp

2008-02-15T01:40:00.000-08:00

i just finished watching the wonderfully done, Oscar nominated documentary "Jesus Camp", and before i go any further i must say that production and editing were top notch and that you must watch this! it was directed by heidi ewing and rachel grady and i must say that these two ladies did a phenomenal job. So many times with documentaries the content is unique and intriguing but every other aspect of it is boring as all get out, making it something less than to be desired. but as for this one i must say that content and production worked hand in hand for a superb product.

to be brutally honest, the content of this documentary was shocking, sickening, scary, pitiful and sad. i am a harsh judge, but it really killed me. the movie is less than an hour and a half long but it took me over two hours to make it through because i kept on pausing it to rant and rave. first off the premise of this is an inside look at a movement that is sweeping many fundamental evangelical churches and groups. it is this movement of focusing everything they have on their children, more specifically pre-adolescent, so that they can raise them as the generation that is going to do something for the kingdom of God. they follow a few families and their children to a camp that is under the leadership of becky fischer, business woman turned children's pastor, who seems to be linked with many fundamental charismatic circles and it does not seem that she really claims allegiance to one particular church, ministry, or movement. becky puts on the camp "kids on fire" and we see glimpses of three children's lives pre-camp, at camp, and post camp.

here are my issues. i used to be one that proclaimed that God so desired to do something specifically with my generation, to the point that most times i would rule out the usefulness of anyone that did not fall under that umbrella. this is the large neon banner that this particular movement seems to go out under, one of many. here is the deal, when we claim specifically on one generation we put undue pressure on them to perform something that they are incapable of performing in the first place. i have learned in the past few years that it takes all types; young and old, innovation and tradition, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, it takes all type to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and work towards the restoration that we are meant. this exclusive club of generation is dangerous and based on many Old Testament prophetic texts that are almost always taken out of context. one generation cannot do it, we all must work together as followers of Christ.

my second issue is the huge lack of scriptural exposition and exegesis. all i heard from the leaders of this camp and others in this movement were aloof statements that were loosely associated with scripture. i heard of them telling the kids to read their bible everyday but i never heard anyone telling the importance of scripture as the number one authority of how we are to live as christians. i heard plenty of "you have to speak in tongues" or "you have to prophesy" or "you have to have visions". i never heard "labor in the words of Jesus" or "what is the context of this text" or "what is this saying to the original audience and how does that relate to us today?". i think that if we want to raise up a generation for Christ it must be upon the most solid foundation that we have, his word, and certainly not on loose interpretations of mystical verses so that we can feed our hunger for the unknown becoming known or the power of proclaiming that we alone posses the key to hearing the voice of God Almighty. the funny thing is that most of the people would tell you that they believe in the absolute authority of scripture, but the way in which they misinterpret and represent it say otherwise. just listening to the children try to explain biblical principles illuminated the fact they are regurgitating man made statements instead of scripture in context. this is a huge pet peeve of mine and it grates on me. we must use scripture correctly, the way that it was written.

next, much of their energy was pointed toward political issues. i hate abortion and i believe that homosexuality is a sin and that is because i believe in all of scripture but i will not and can not let those be political issues before they are scriptural mandates. lou engle made an appearance with his LIFE campaign, which i cannot say that i am totally against and honestly most of what he did was cool but he was politically charged. if i heard that we are christians i also heard we are fundamentalists and we can sway the vote. ted haggard said in the movie that we could sway any vote if all evangelicals voted. they had the children pray over a cardboard cut out of president bush for very specific political issues. don't get me wrong, i think that we should affect every level of culture we enter but they are teaching these kids to take a political stance instead of a biblical stance. i never heard any scripture brought out in these instances only that we have to bring america back to God. is that our call as evangelical christians, our sole purpose to bring a country back to God, or is it to see all of creation restored to its intended beauty. these people are very politically charged, patriotic and consider conservatism equal with godliness. i thought i was conservative before i watched this. it left me feeling like a hippie communist.

to break the griping chain, there were some positive things i saw. they did desire to instill a passion for Jesus in their children. i believe for the most part that intentions for these people are good but so are the intentions of mormons, hindus, and muslims. there was a strong sense of family, church, and community. there were many great foundational things there but for the most part the picture was missed. i feel sorry for alot of these children because in their present course i see them being set up for social horror because all they know how to do is interact with one kind of people. i did not see a huge element of grace in what they were teaching. sinners were not seen as people that needed the grace of God but rather as people who were others and were different and dirty and could be discerned because they were filthy and the only way they could know Jesus was through rudimentary methods that presented an air of superiority in which they could take much more credit than what they were due. i saw a large emphasis put on what the children could do and very little emphasis but on simply glorifying God in all that we do. there did not seem to be any dominant male leadership and i know i am being picky but not once did i hear scripture being taught, only precepts based on scripture. it also seemed like the mentality was definitely a pre-tribulation rapture, which i am not going into, that said get me out of this place as soon as possible and i will take as many people with me as i can, instead of working toward restoration in the here and now. it seems they really de-emphasized the work that we should do now which is a contradiction in itself if they truly want to reclaim america for God. and the last gripe that i have is that i saw children who were being funneled into growing up way too fast. Jesus speaks on the value of children and childlikeness for us as adults. a childhood is something that needs to be valued and not rushed because in it we learn how to have a faith that does not ask why.

the reason that all this upsets me is because i get lumped in with this group. i am considered one of them. and not only that but people who start out like this have a propensity of becoming the militant jerks who hold signs that say "GOD HATES FAGS" and those people get under my skin worse than any other. i need help dealing with my anger of these groups who are off the beaten path, who believe that experience and not the Word are the key to knowing God. it makes me so mad that not only do i have to fight to know sinners so that i can love them but i also have to fight pre-conceived notions that are set forth by these type of people. we need unity in the body of Christ, a balance that can only be brought through the Word.

Jesus is not a political movement, stance, or party. he is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, my everything. he came and fulfilled the law so that we may be free to live the life that he modeled and that he reveals through his Spirit in us. he impacted culture by meeting people at the point where they needed and did not expect them to come to him on any terms. he is love, grace and mercy. he is the Word and loves the Word. all i can say is live so that people can distinguish us from those who are distorting the Word and let us be open to rebuke if we try and distort it ourselves.

:bright:ideas:

2008-02-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

check out my wife's company: bright ideas

well said

2008-01-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. if hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned or unprayed for- charles haddon spurgeon

hit me

2008-01-24T13:57:00.001-08:00

new site!

2008-01-11T22:31:00.000-08:00

this is a collaboration of some of my best friends and brothers. i will be writing on there as well as here. please check it out.

mission:contend