The Pastor's Blog
Have you ever been so distraught you couldn't think straight?
Devastating news reaches your ears...or a harsh criticism...or the reality of a relationship...and the feelings swirl in your head so furiously, you don't know quite how to express them.
Or how to pray...
That's one of the reasons I thank God for the Psalms. Many of these ancient, Spirit-inspired songs are not three tidy verses with a simple refrain. They are raw. Emotional. Gritty.
Parenting should come with a straight-jacket.
I've heard parents say they wish their kids would have come with a manual. I wish mine would have come with a helmet. Not for them (although that's not the worst idea...), but for me. At least once a week I want to bang my head on the drywall.
Warning! What follows is incredibly nerdy, ridiculously anal, and may explain why I didn't get a girlfriend until I was 19.
Unless you're an extreme "type A" personality. Then it will be awesome beyond belief.
Imagine this scenario: You come to faith in Jesus and experience his amazing love and grace throughout your life. You witness God's goodness and experience things that seem to have no natural explanation. You share those stories with your children and they listen, mouths hanging open. From little on, you see a joy and excitement in their eyes when you teach them about Jesus, his cross, and the real meaning of Christmas. They grow both physically and spiritually. Nothing makes you happier.
Most Christians know they should read the Bible. In theory, reading the Scriptures every day is something all of us in the "Jesus Camp" would agree is a wise practice.
But...most of us don't.
For many Christians, that's because they fell off the Bible-reading horse and didn't get back on. Has this every happened to you...
1. You tried reading the Bible cover-to-cover.
I've spent the last 336 days talking about money in our church.
Coincidentally, I'm the only one who shows up on Sundays. Just kidding...
2011 was the year of generosity at Eastside. We focused our sights on what the Bible had to say about what God gives to us and what we can give to others. One of our goals was to talk about giving/money like Jesus did and as often as Jesus did. If you're not well-versed in the Good Book, that's a lot. We talked about money a lot.
I thought I'd share 3 things I learned on the way:
The Apostle Paul would not do well in a 21st century church.
Maybe I’m wrong about that theory, but I can’t help but imagine that a modern-day congregation would be very comfortable with Paul. Every time I read his letters in the New Testament, I think, “I could never get away with that!” or “Whoa! I wonder what they said when he wrote that!”
Here are 3 things Paul did that would make me nervous to do at Eastside:
1. Call people stupid.
Porn is a problem.
It's no surprise to hear a pastor make that statement. A quick read through the Bible will prove Christianity and pornography weren't meant to be together. Jesus graphically warned crowds about the danger of lust (Mt. 5). The Apostle Paul grouped people with no sexual self-control together with the folks who had no faith in God. Moses made a long list of sexual do's and don'ts in the Old Testament and listed stoning as the prescribed punishment.
I need your help.
Our church leadership team just decided on our new vision for 2012. But before we unveil it and cast a vision of where we'd like to see Eastside go to the glory of God, I need to do some research.
That's where you come in!
I have a lot of trinkets in my office.
There's the neon orange "Tough Mudder" headband, a token of the crazy race I ran and survived to tell the story.
Nearby is the Martin Luther bobblehead, which allows the namesake of my denomination to agree with everything I say with one simple flick of my finger.
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