Fed vs. Feed

I just got off the phone with a very wise person that I talk with alot. We were talking about a recent decision that I had made not ask any of our graduating seniors to be involved with the Axiom staff following graduation. Allow me to say this, the decision had nothing to do with the students that graduated, rather it had everything to do with where we are at as a youth ministry and youth staff.

Anyway, we were discussing people involvement in churches. So often when someone gets invovled in a ministry they go in with the attitude of 'what can I get out of this?' rather than one of humility and service. In the past I have had people come to me and say they needed to be involved in something were they could get fed more, because that wasn't happening in the youth service. I have always tried to respond understandingly, and encouraged them to seek growth somewhere else.

This whole conversation reminds me of a few meeting/talks that we have had as a staff here at FMC. We intentionally do not design our sunday AM services to 'feed the saints.' Our goal in the those services is to reach out to the guest and those newer in there faith. This poses a problem for the people who do there 'religious duties' on sundays. They have a tendency in their minds to leave not feeling like they got anything out of the service...which they probably didn't, because they are more mature in their faith (to a certain degree).

To often the majority of people who attend church regularly get this mentality that sunday mornings are the times to get fed. They don't read much of their Bible during the week, they don't attend any wednesday night classes or any small groups. So there for they are 'spiritually' eating once a week...turning the vast majority of those people sitting in our sanctuaries on sunday mornings into 'spiritual anorexics.'

If you are involved in a ministry, don't look at through the lense of how can I get fed...learn to feed yourself on a daily and weekly basis by reading the Bible and praying. Then when you go into a service you can well nourished; ready to feed someone else and help them grow in their relationships with God.

axiom purpose

I am really excited about tomorrow night as we continue the series illuminate. Last week we talked about the first part of the axiom purpose statement "Reach," and tomorrow we will unveil part two! Make plans to be at axiom tomorrow night...you won't want to miss it!

I do need to apologize that we have not got the message audio uploaded to the axiom website. For some reason the server is not letting me upload it. I am in discussion with our host trying to figure out what is causing the problem, so hopefully we will get if figured out soon!

See ya tomorrow night!!

Indy 07

We got back last night from Indianapolis. Beth, Tona and Kaleb did very well! They both got Superior scores, but they have nothing to hang their heads about...the worship team did an incredible job...the judges were very very tough...there was only 11 or 12 worship teams that recieved 'superior with honors' and were called back for a second round. I don't know the exact number of over all worship teams, but their were three days full, so quite a few!

Below is video that I shot of both performances...you can also check it out on our new 'axiomlive44870' youtube.com channel. Enjoy!

National Fine Arts

Well we are Indy for National Fine Arts, but have to be honest...haven't really done anything! We got here yesterday afternoon, went downtown and registered...and got the kind of bad news...Kaleb doesn't go until tomorrow at 2:40 with his human video solo. Then our worship team doesn't go until Friday at 10:00am.

This kind of causes some headaches, because the check out time of our hotel is like noon, and by the time we find out if they are called back and get back to the hotel then we may have to stay or just leave and get charged for the night...have to wait and see how it all works out...

In my heart I have this feeling that these guys will make it past the first round. If they can get up there and have a solid performance and most importantly be anointed by the Holy Spirit, then I know they can make it to the second round. They have such a unique sound, I am sure the judges will hear a bunch of bands with all these instruments and they will be great. Then our team will get up there with 2 great voices and a guitar...it will be awesome!!

Keep up to date on how things are going, check out the results website...

Why do we do what we do?

Bill Hybels was asked to speak at a gathering of local medical doctors. It was required attendance for every doctor that was connected with a certain hospital system. As the meeting began with all the preliminaries, he noticed that really none of the doctors were paying much attention. They were all text messaging, looking up sports scores and who knows what else on their blackberry's. Needless to say this didn't make him (Bill Hybels) very motivated to speak to these doctors.

As he approached the lecturn he set his notes and and scan the audience to see how many were actually paying attention...none really. So he began by asking, "Just out of curiosity, how did you end up in the medical field?" A few eyeball looked up at him, then he said, "You folks look like pretty intelligent people. I bet you could have picked a career that was alot more lucrative and alot let demanding!" He continued, "I marvel at your ability and your desire to get up every morning and find solutions for peoples whose bodies are diseased, injured, mangled and dying."

He continued to share his theory of "Holy Discontent." How that there must be something within them that continues to drive them day after day. Maybe they were raised around someone who a chronic illness or they had a grandmother with altzheimer's or parkinsons disease. Something caused them to say, "I just can't stand it anymore!"

What about you? Why do you do what you do? Is it just to get a paycheck and pay the bills? Do you love what you are doing in life right now? I challenge you to begin to look at your life and see what it is that gets you boiling on the inside...that makes you stand up say, "I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!

What Can't You Stand?

Moses, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Billy Graham and Dr. Bob Pierce (Founder of World Vision) all had one...A Holy Discontent. Moses was bothered by the oppression of the Hebrew people. Martin Luther King was sick and tired of the discrimination of blacks, Mother Teresa couldn't stand to see the poorest of the poor living without hope and dying without dignity...and the list goes on.

In his book: "Holy Discontent" Bill Hybel's uses the story or analogy of Popeye and his eating spinach. When he would finally have enough of what ever was going on in that epsiode he would say, "I can't stands it no more!" Then he would pop open a can of spinach and get huge forearms and take care of whoever or whatever it was that was causing trouble. And that is the question that keeps getting asked in this book...What can't you stand?

How do you answer that question? What takes place in this world that everytime you see it you just want to explode? For me several things come to mind: people that misrepresent the Church, the name of Christ or Christianity in the Media. Students blinded by the enemy and missing out on a relationship with God. Finally, I would say it would have to be Christians in general who do not care about missions. I guess that my list could go on and on, but those are the first few that come to mind.

I love what he says about Mother Teresa and this REALLY challenged me...he said, "Mother Teresa didn't devote herself to this casue because of a fat paycheck every month; she served the under-resourced people in her midst because her holy discontent had her by the throat and wouldn't let go."

Am I living out my life with my holy discontent grasping my throat not willing to let go? Or am I simply going through life collecting a paycheck and doing a job? I don't know where you are at in your life right now, but will you join me in asking God to help us identify our holy discontent? But lets not stop there...lets get off our butts and do something about it!!

Holy Discontent

Currently sitting here in my office reading a new book that I got earlier in the week, it is called "Holy Discontent" by Bill Hybels. I first heard about the book through Mark Batterson's blog, (its kind of an old post, but I got real behind this summer reading blogs). Anyway...Highly recomend it...I will share more shortly about what God is challenging me with through this book.