Offenses

Had something interesting happen last week.  A group of college students is using our church to host a worship festival called "Broken."  The local band that is leading worship is not pentecostal, but simply because it was being hosted at our church a youth pastor in town was concerned if it would be too pentecostal and if some who weren't pentecostal would be offended.

I don't understand this, excuse me while I rant a little...why is it that people are only concerned if people who are not pentecostal get offended?  Why doesn't anyone ever think that pentecostals could get offended because it is to NON pentecostal?  

Please understand I am not incredibly pentecostal, I am a pretty conservative person, I grew up baptist, but have been pentecostal since high school so I can understand both sides.  But why is it that within the Church we are only concerned about offending the non-pentecostals?

Just a thought...

Pride...

Gary Fowler had a great post about forgiveness today based on a teaching from Charles Stanley...I love the line "pride tells us that we are better than the person who hurt us."  Check it out...it is a GREAT READ!

Swimming Upstream

Yesterday I drove to Columbus for a planning meeting for an event coming this summer. As we sat in the meeting discussing several things I kept bringing up some different ideas about a couple of the sessions, only to be met with some resistance. I will admit that it became a little frustrating that one person in particular in the meeting constantly opposed by ideas.

Allow me to say right know that I didn't nor do I think that my ideas HAD to be followed, or where necessarily the best. It became quite clear though that this person and I approach ministry from two different perspectives...neither of which are wrong...just different.

I don't know why it is, but I feel like I find myself constantly swimming up stream, constantly going against what is common. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to come across as some kind of maverick know it all...I am not! I just have a tendency to get tired of the status quo...the "we've always done it like this" mentality. But this is exactly where my dilemma comes in...

I don't claim to be the most creative person, but sometimes I feel that I/we tend to ministry/events out of memory more than out of imagination (I think that is a M. Batterson line). I wish I was a more creative person...I wish my own ministry didn't operate with such routine, but I guess in the busyness of ministry that is what becomes the easy!

Does anyone struggle with the frustration of status quo with things your involved in, but at the same time you find your personal life or ministry immersed in it?

34 years ago...

Well today is my 34th birthday, but it doesn't really feel much like a birthday. Meg is out of town at Original (she gets home tonight! I can't wait to have her back!), I had to go into the office for a couple of hours this morning to cover for a couple of volunteers that couldn't be there to take our Angelfood orders. Then at 2pm I have to be back at the church to attend one of our board members renew their wedding vows. Then I have to run a couple errands in preparation for tomorrow morning service...needless to say it feels like just another Saturday...not that I am looking for a bunch of pomp and circumstance...just wish I could of had the day to do what I want...anyway...got to go...later!

WE DID IT!!

I am pretty tired this morning, I stayed up till 1AM watching my Jayhawks win the 2008 National Championship! It was an incredible game! Both teams played each other very well and neither had anything to hang their heads about!

I thought we had lost it when we were down 9 with just a couple of minutes left, but with Chalmer's miracle shot with 2 seconds left to send it to overtime I felt like the momentum and advantage swung our way! What a night!! I am so happy today!!


ROCK...CHALK...JAYHAWK

Not Since 2003

I still remember sitting in Damon's restaraunt in Mentor Ohio with my good friend JT watching my Jayhawks as they lost the National Championship game against Syracuse (they had a no name player named Carmelo Anthony).

Well it is now 3 years later and I am in a similar place. I am going into a National Championship game with hopes of my Jayhawks coming out a winner, but as with Syracuse they are going against an incredible team with an incredible record and player in Derrick Rose.

This year is a special year as it is the 20th Anniversary of KU winning the 1998 National Championship with Danny Manning (who is an assistant coach on the current KU team). I pray that God will look down upon my Jayhawks and bless them with another Championship...I know that God doesn't probably care much about B-Ball, but it would be so awesome to see them win!

So join me as I watch and pray that I can get up tomorrow morning with the thought of "Kansas Jayhawk's...National Champions" on my mind!!

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK

What if?

I was surfing through some of the blogs that I check on a regular basis this morning and I saw this story on Anthony Coppedge's blog about a church in North Carolina called Kinetic Church...rather than me telling the story I will let the blog, video and website speak for it self...but as you read and watch, just think "what if this happened to me?  How would I respond?"  I have to be honest...not sure that I would respond in such a manner!  I would love to hear your thoughts!