"Go to the Ant you SLUGGARD!"

The bible is filled with all sorts of weird phrases. Solomon is writing in proverbs about sloth, or laziness, and what to do about it. He calls the lazy person a sluggard and instructs the person to consider the ways of the ant. I love Solomon's tone in this passage. He's comparing a lazy person to an ant and saying that an ant is SUPERIOR! Kinda makes you feel like you're worthless for sitting around all day watching TV, and simultaneously checking your facebook/twitter accounts, playing games on your iphone, while neglecting your responsibilities. Oh, wait. Maybe all that stuff is worthless? (sorry, sometimes when i write i end up feeling convicted)

As I thought more and more about this I realized that there is a balance to this whole lazy sloth thing. Sidebar - does anyone ever use the word sloth anymore? I realized that laziness leads to neglect of responsibilities. On the flip-side a being a work-a-holic can lead one to neglect other responsibilities such as being a loving husband, and father, taking care of things around the house, playing with your kids (if you have them) and your relationship with Jesus.

So is there a balance? What about the age old disciple of Sabbath? Can we really slow down, cut out distractions and rest for one whole day? Where do we find the balance, when do we know when its time to stop, unplug, turn off the cellphone, rest and simply be with loved ones and Jesus Christ? These are the thoughts that we will be pursuing in our life groups.

life groups at PULSE

We've had two successful weeks so far with life groups! Its been great to split the group up and listen to them talk about life, family, scripture, Jesus, music, games and the latest in high school dating drama!

One lesson that I've learned so far (and is difficult for me) is to talk less and listen more. So much happens when people stop talking and start listening. Its powerful! After a great conversation with someone I can't help but walk away feeling, loved, cared for, respected, and the joy and confidence of knowing that I have friends who are there for me.

Which do you do more of: talking or listening? If you're anything like me you've missed some great opportunities to hear the stories of others. I'll finish with a verse that has been important to me.
"... Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," James 1:19

Toy Story 3

First off, I absolutely loved this film. I thought it was brilliant. Seriously, its a great movie. I'm not saying that this is my favorite movie or that its on my top 10 list of all time favorites. Then again, it might be. Below are just a few reasons why I enjoyed this film.
1. Clever use of humor. The thing I enjoy the most about the Toy Story franchise (and Pixar for that matter) is that thier films have hilarious stuff in them. I really respect people who can tell clean jokes and use humor is a positive way. With all the dirty comedians who use the "F-word" like the word "the" and every other joke is about sex, its nice to laugh at something that is simply funny, and not degrading.

2. The Characters were bounded by love. A constant theme through the movie is family, brotherhood, and a sense that under no circumstances would they separate. They were in the adventure as a team, weak or strong, and they would live or die as a team.

3. There was a spiritual overtone throughout the film. The following is a quote from Donald Miller. "The Toys want to be reunited with their owner. Their owner loves them. Something has come between their owner and they are confused about whether their owner still loves them. It’s powerful stuff, and it’s relatable because it’s true."

I simply enjoyed a good movie that made me laugh, reflect a little bit on life, relate to the characters, and most importantly, it didn't make me cry!

1 last camp spot?

YES ITS TRUE THERE IS ONLY ONE LAST CAMP SPOT.

I will do my best to get more but it is never easy. Please do not wait until the last minute to turn in your money to save a camp spot. The time is now.

If you have any questions please contact me at the church office and I'll be happy to answer any questions of yours.

Whats a Vuvuzela?

By far the world's most annoying instrument,The Vuvuzela has given many soccer (football for you die hards) fans head aches, permanent hearing loss, and a hatred for any form of competition where a large crowd may gather. The vuvuzela has been the subject of controversy, with a sound pressure of 120 dB which is the threshold of pain, at one meter from the bell. In response to the controversy, a new model has a modified mouthpiece that reduces the volume by 20 dB.

In response to criticism of the horn's use, President of FIFA Sepp Blatter commented, "I have always said that Africa has a different rhythm, a different sound. I don't see banning the music traditions of fans in their own country. Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?"

On June 19, 2010 at a Major League Baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida, the first 15,000 fans were given miniature vuvuzelas as part of a promotion.

Personally I find the horn to be rather interesting. If I were to watch a soccer game and not hear the horn I would feel like my experience in somehow incomplete. Its like going to a baseball game and singing Take Me Out To The Ball Game.

I personally would like to see more vuvuzelas pop up more places where people gather. What would happen if we brought them into our staff meetings, company picnics, town hall meetings, and our places of worship? What if instead of clapping after a worship song when the worship leader says, "lets give Him some praise" we all took out our vuvuzelas and played those as loud as we could? I for one am totally into the idea!

An Interesting Chapter

I was reading a chapter from Mark Driscoll's book, Vintage Jesus and I thought I'd post a blog asking for your feedback. Here is the premise of the chapter. Jesus came to earth and revealed himself to us in each of these three ways; prophet, priest, and king. "As prophet, Jesus confronts us and calls us to repentance of sin. As priest, Jesus comforts us and comes to us to save us from sin and enable new life. As king, Jesus commands us to relinquish authority of our life so that every facet of our life is under constant sanctifying transformation." Below are general statements about these categories taken from his book.

1. Prophet + King - Priest = Jesus of Fundamentalism. Its weakness is that Jesus is cold, distant, stern, harsh and even cruel. This lacks the peace, mercy, and forgiveness of sins.

2. Prophet + Priest - King = Jesus of Evangelicalism. Its weakness is that people call Jesus Lord, call his Word true, and then do whatever they want in their "personal life" (including sin) because they are king, not Jesus.

3. Priest + King - Prophet = Jesus of Liberalism. Its weakness is that Jesus is seen as someone who would never offend us, raise his voice, hurt our feelings, speak harshly, or command individuals to repent with a sense of urgency.

My question is, which one of these three categories do you find yourself in? Personally I find myself in the second category. Sadly, I love to do things my way. Whenever I come across a difficult passage in scripture such as the sermon on the mount, I tend to flip right on by thinking that someday when I'm really "holy" and a "great Christian" I'll be able to live a certain way. So, where do you stand?

Prayer Night

Tonight is the 3rd night of our series, "Taking Responsibility For Your Life" and light bulbs beginning to flicker inside the minds of our students. Tonight's focus is on prayer. If you're a Christian, you have a responsibility to pray.

Many of our students struggle with prayer. They feel like they are talking to themselves or a wall. Daydreaming and loss of focus is another common experience they face. They also ask the question, "If God knows everything, including my thoughts, then why do I have to pray"? My favorite response is a simple one. We pray because Jesus prayed.

While I struggle with prayer in some of the same ways our students do in prayer I have been able to grow largely because of two great books. Bill Hybels book, Too Busy Not To Pray, and Philip Yancey's book, Prayer: Does it make any difference? I simply want to pass these to books off to you and hope they will help you with prayer and connecting with God.

My prayer is that our youth group will be one that takes responsibility for their lives and prays boldly!