iOutlet Cover

Christy sent this to me to look at. It just makes sense, and we will have them in the near future!

The Real Church… Worthy of His Calling

We are currently in a series called “The Real Church.” This past Sunday, July 22, 2012, I had the opportunity to preach a sermon in this series called, “Worthy of His Calling.” The message was based on 2Thessalonians 1:11-12 that is Paul’s prayer for the church. In order to be the real church acts like Jesus, active with promptings, acts with power, and actions glorify. To listen to the sermon, click here.

Tips For Teaching

Teaching is not easy, in fact it can be rather challenging to present a lesson and lead discussion for your peers. There is something else that is true about teaching, it is impossible to teach a good small group lesson if you do not put the necessary time in to prepare. It is a disservice to yourself, your class, and your Lord you represent. The following are 3 simple tips for teaching a Bible study:

1. Preparation – preparation is the key to teaching a good lesson; if you do not put the necessary time in to preparing to teach you class, do everyone a favor and step down; think through questions to get people thinking about the topic and involved in the conversation.

 

2. Patience – when asking questions be patient; assume silence means people are thinking; if silent for long enough, people will eventually talk; 

3. Practice – practice makes perfect; before you get to the classroom setting, practice your lesson (this is part of preparation); teaching is a skill that is learned, do not quit if it takes a while to get good at it!

The 5 "Be's" of Evangelsim (by Mike Bergman)

I saw this post today from Mike Bergman at SBC Voices and decided to share an abbreviated version of his post with a link for those desiring to read the whole thing. Basically, these are 5 tips for evangelism that are a little different from most evangelism pointers, here they are:

1.     Be talkative – if you are going to share, you’ve got to talk

2.     Be friendly – the Gospel is offensive, you cannot be

3.     Be authentic – be yourself and share with your personality

4.     Be different – a saved person is transformed, be different than a non-believer

5.     Be prayerful – the Holy Spirit calls, pray they receive Jesus

These are 5 good tips I hope you found worthy of thinking about as well.

Great Wall of China Travel Tips

After visiting the Great Wall of China, I decided it would be good to share some travel tops for those reading this that might be traveling there soon. While this list is not the greatest list of travel tips ever assembled, this list is made up of things I wish I would have known before I got there. Here are my tips:

1.     Wake up early and get there early – we waited until 8:30 to leave the hotel. It took about 90 minutes to travel to the Great Wall, and I feel like we wasted time unnecessarily. Had we left at 6:30 or 7:00, we would have made it back to the Forbidden City in time to make that tour in one day. 

2.     Take the gondola up – save your legs, it is the easiest way up.

3.     Head West (to the alternate ways down) once you get to the top.

4.     Wear comfortable shoes for walking, with ankle support if you need it... I wore decent shoes, but should have brought better shoes!

5.     Take drinks and snacks with you – It seemed a though we walked about 2-3 miles on rough terrain. They sell water and snacks, but if you like to save money, bring your own.

6.     Take the sled (slideway) down. This was really cool. It is a sled that you ride down. It has a handheld break, it goes as fast or as slow as you want, and is definitely a unique experience.

7.     Purchase souvenirs after you come down from the wall – vendors will hustle you on the way up, but there is no reason to waste your time on the way up (most people already know this)

8.     Bring $1 bills (US) – you can buy most everything for just a dollar. There is no need to exchange your money here, and your money will go further this way.

9.     Have fun – this is an incredible site to see, enjoy it and have fun with the experience. You will get tired, hot, and sweaty, so make sure you have fun seeing this site!

My Trip to the Great Wall: June 8, 2012

According to Chinese folklore, I became a man on June 8 as I scaled the Great Wall in China. It was a truly incredible experience to see that huge structure built by mere men over 2,000 years ago.  My friend Jess & I rode a gondola up to the get on top of it, and spent about 3 hours walking/climbing on it. There are some obvious areas where the wall has been updated, but the base seems to be in tact. There are holes where soldiers would shoot arrows, there were replica cannons, and even a watchtower you could scale. 

It spans nine provinces and its total length is 6,700 km (3,948 miles). The first portion was built on 221 BC by the Qin dynasty; the last portion built concluded in 1911 in the Qing dynasty. There have been numerous repairs throughout the years, which are ongoing. 

Throughout the duration of my time on the wall, I really only had one thought going through my head. I know men built it, but God placed a Scripture in my head, “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Psalm 24:1 tells us that whether or not man gives God the credit, they and everything they make are a gift from our Heavenly Father.

Book Review: Quitter by Jon Acuff

Quitter by Jon Acuff was a good book, easy to read, with really good insight about dealing with your day job and progressing into your dream job. For many of us, there are times where we find ourselves struggling with the job we are in for various reasons, and we dream about the job we would one day like to have (it is not a secret that I would love to senior pastor one day). 

Acuff talks about the counter-intelligent “wisdom” some people have to quit their day job to truly pursue their dream. While that may make sense, it is not very wise because we all have bills to pay, families to provide for, and responsibilities. With this, he encourages a focus on falling in like with you job – focus on the things your job does provide you with, and learn to appreciate all of those things. Refocusing one’s attention on the good, instead of what we are missing out on, was a great nugget of wisdom from this book.

He also encourages individuals to pursue their dream outside of work time, as not to rob from your current employer and to actual do something to pursue that dream one might have! The final nugget of wisdom he talked about was for those pursing a dream (job) to create a list of rules for a new job. He was talking about personal/family boundaries, but I think it is fair to apply it to creating a list of requirements a future job must have.

Overall, Quitter was a very worthwhile read. I would strongly encourage anyone facing discouragement in their day job to read it. While it is not a theological work, it does provide great wisdom and insight for people with dreams. Acuff uses humor, personal experience, and learned lesson to guide people who are where he is to do what he has done. This was a really good book.

Book Review: Plastic Donuts by Jeff Anderson

Plastic Donuts by Jeff Anderson was given to me by my friend and mentor, Paul Taylor. Paul actually setup a meeting between Jeff and my pastor’s accountability group where he showed up and told us about his book, his work, and the ministry God has called him too. While Jeff Anderson is not a household name, he does have a great heart and a great story.

This book was based on a true story where his daughter came and gave him a little plastic donut, along with some other plastic foods. The gifts, albeit unnecessary, brought his daughter great joy to give him and also put a smile on his face. This little exchange gave the author an insight into how he believes God receives gifts from us. While God does not need anything from us, it brings Him pleasure to see His children giving their things to Him. It is a fresh perspective for this reader, and one I appreciated as well.

Throughout this book, there are many insights and challenges into giving. Personally, I was challenged greatly by Jeff’s story and testimony throughout the book. He challenges the reader to pray about what they give and to allow God to guide the amount and destination of one’s gifts. For me this was a challenging read spiritually, and a book I would recommend to anyone wanting or needing to be challenged in the area of stewardship.

Prime Your Spiritual Pump

Today I had the privilege to preach a sermon called "Prime Your Spiritual Pump" based out of 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24. The message focused on addressing our actions, attitudes, and acceptance of God's truth. The main illustration was based upon one of my mentor's talks, "Prime The Pump." It was a great Sunday, and always good to reminisce about time spent with Mr. Ziglar! Click here to listen to the sermon.

So Good It's RiDQulous!

Love the new DQ tagline... so good, it's riDQulous!

11 Helpful Tips for Mission Trips

I read this article today and found it helpful and interesting, so I am sharing an abbreviated form of it here. For the full article from the original source, click here for Jeremy Parks post.

1. Know the difference between Missions vs. Ministry: Ministry is about loving people. Missions is about loving people so that His kingdom might expand into the hearts and minds of people. Mission teams usually need to be about missions, not ministry.  

2. When in Rome, Eat as the Romans Eat: Eat what you are given, when you are given it. Never refuse, make faces, joke about, or make a big deal of what’s offered, it is typically their very best they have to offer. Eat like your grandmother was serving you your meal.  

3. Flexibility: You’ve go to go with the flow in regards to your schedule, job changes, tasks, and inconveniences… go along and get along.  

4. Just accept it: Don’t critique the choices that the missionaries make: food, shopping, clothing, schooling, driving, how they spend their money, how they educate their children.

 5. Don’t be high maintenance: Consider not going if you are diabetic or hypoglycemic, an extremely picky eater, if you must have air conditioning, or if you are a vegans, vegetarians, and gluten-free eater… leave your diet at home too!  

6. Minister to the missionary: Financially, personally and vocationally, do whatever you can to encourage others. Remember that you could very well be the only American Christian they see and spend time with all year, always be a source of encouragement to them.  

7. Practice your testimony. Be able to share your story in 3-4 minutes.  

8. Learn the Language: Make an attempt to learn the basic of communication with nationals, whether through gestures common to the people or through some basics words, but do it without constantly asking the missionary.  

9. Partner: Unless you possess a special set of skills that is needed in a variety of locations, find a missionary, a strategy, and a people group with whom you can partner for a few years.  

10. Think: Show a willingness to use creativity and the wealth of resources we have in the United States in order to present high quality work and projects.  

11. Learn: Most missionaries are forced to use out of the box techniques for reaching people for Christ, pay attention to what they do and apply it to your work back home. Go with your cup empty, not full!

Baby Sleeping Positions

This is funny, because it is true... thanks to failblog.org for the find!

TRANSFORMAITON: A Look at the Life of Peter

TRANSFORMAITON: A Look at the Life of Peter, was a sermon based on the highs and lows of the Disciple/Apostle Peter. His experiences following Christ shows grace in our own failures and successes. Most of all, they show that transformation is a process where God never gives up on His followers!

Father/Son Campout 2012

 Coleman I got to experience our first camping adventure together Friday night… this was my first time camping since college, 2^nd time ever! We attended a father/son campout hosted by WYLegacy. This group was founded by Bud Baab and has been creating opportunities for Fathers to intentionally connect with their children for over a decade. During the weekend we got to:

Setup Camp

 

Fish

4-Wheel

 

Play Sports

Bond

And Making Memories

 

It was a great overnight adventure and I hope we can do it again!

Dealing With Your Critics (2 of 2)

10 Tips for Dealing with Critics: 

1. Determine if it is Constructive or Destructive
2. See the critic, not criticism – some people mean to help
3. Guard your attitude – don’t let the beat-down beat you down
4. Check yourself (spiritually) – be angry and do not sin
5. Prove the critic wrong in time – this comes from my competitive nature
6. Concentrate on your mission – don’t get distracted from what God has called you to
7. Change your mistakes – if there is truth in the criticism
8. Find the truth in the criticism – Even if there is just a hint of truth, typically you can learn from anything
9. Own your mistakes – don’t ever blame others or pass it off on others, own whatever mistake you made and apologize for them
10. Thank whomever criticizes you – if they meant well, you will affirm them; if they were being a jerk, you can kill em' with kindness

Dealing With Your Critics (1 of 2)

It really disgusts me when I hear preachers with nothing better to do than to pick on other preachers. As a former staff member of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX, I received a great deal of criticism from other pastors, seminary professors, and other seminary students. They really seemed to enjoy telling me how wrong we were for the size of our building, budget, and how we did church. It was always amusing to me to hear such criticism, because it was coming from people who had never been to Prestonwood and knew nothing about anything we actually did. Pastor Jack Graham, Mike Buster, Todd Bell and the other leadership were (are) godly men who wanted to reach that region for Jesus. Although thousands of people came to Christ during my years there, critics remained. Focus is the key to successful ministry and dealing with critics. We are called to preach the Gospel, not fight with other people who claim to know Jesus but do not like us. Perry Noble preached on this subject and cited advice from Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church, who gave him 3 insights for dealing with critics: 1. Out-love your critics. 2. Out-live your critics. 3. Out-fruit your critics. May we out-love, out-live, and out-fruit those who have nothing better to do than waste time criticizing others instead of fulfilling the calling Christ placed upon their lives. Mark 9:38-41 states, “John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." 39But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” May our focus be on Jesus and what He has called us to!

5 Tips for Buying A Used Car

It is a well-known fact to some, that I love searching for cars, although my time with this hobby is over for now! If you are looking for a used car, avoid the following mistakes. The best tip I can give you though is to ditch Kelly Blue Book altogether, it is outdated and I have found it to be worthless in buying a car, use the industry standard NADA!  

Mistake #1 – Not checking the vehicle history report This is a no-brainer when buying privately or from a dealer. You want to make sure the vehicle has never been in an accident, a hurricane, had the odometer rolled back, or was a rental unit! A lease return is ideal! There are two vehicle history reports available: Carfax.com and AutoCheck.com.

Mistake #2 – Not checking the vehicle inspection report Simply ask to see the mechanic’s inspection report on the vehicle you want to purchase.

Mistake #3 – Ignoring fuel consumption It’s more difficult to ignore a vehicle’s EPA fuel mileage rating when gas prices are at $4 per gallon. The best place to research fuel consumption is a user-friendly, government website: FuelEconomy.gov.  

Mistake #4 – Ignoring certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles You’ll pay a bit more for a certified pre-owned vehicle, but those benefits won’t diminish if you make a great deal on the selling price.  

Mistake #5 – Don’t comparison shop The Internet has changed how new and used cars are bought and sold, there are now ample tools online to comparison shop. Ignore Kelly Blue Book, just use NADA.com for pricing, then check sites such as Craigslist.org or Cars.com to see how similar vehicles are priced. Most of this was taken from yahoo, click here for the entire article.

Grounded in the Word

This sermon, Grounded in the Word, was part of a series called "Conquering the Flesh." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 was the focal passage. The idea was to share what a great resource God has given His followers in the Bible!

Bible Story-ing

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Storying through the Bible is a method/strategy to engage a group of people in learning Scripture. There is great flexibility in teaching this way and you could walk through the Bible from the Old Testament to the Cross, work through the Gospels, highlighting different aspects of Jesus’ life, or work through a specific book like Acts. In order to maximize effectiveness, a group should follow this general outline:

1.     Every week the small-group leader learns one of the stories to tell or they assign someone in their group to learn the story.

2.     The assigned storyteller learns the story so that he or she can tell it without reading it – not word for word but so the story remains true to the meaning.

3.     While the storyteller is telling the story, the small group reads along to see if the storyteller has missed anything.

4.     When the story is finished, the storyteller or the leader of the group will rebuild the story pointing out anything that was missed.

5.     The leader often asks someone to tell the story back to everyone without reading it.

6.     No one knows who will be asked, so everyone pays attention just in case he or she is chosen.

7.     Once the story has been told, rebuilt, and told again, the small group leader asks questions that draw out the important truths in the story:

·      What new thing did you discover in the story that you did not know before?

·      What did you learn about God?

·      What did you learn about people?

·      Which person is most like you in the story?

·      What will you take away from this discussion?

·      What will you do with what you have learned?

• If the leader is asked a question they do not know the answer to, they need to say, “I don’t know, but I will know by next week.”

This post was basically taken from Jim Putman’s Real-LifeDiscipleship (p. 158)