Pastor Mark

Left speechless by the drummer boy

The Dip

Just started reading a book by Seth Godin called "The Dip – a little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)".

The very first page has a thought that will revolutionize the way you live and lead:

Most of the time we deal with the obstacles by persevering. Sometimes we get discouraged and turn to inspirational writing, like stuff from Vince Lombardi: "Quitters never win, and winners never quit." Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.

What Would Jesus Really Do? [the CNN version]

As I was flipping through the channels after dinner, I was intrigued by the title of a special on CNN: "What Would Jesus Really Do?" The host, CNN contributor Roland Martin, asks theologians how they thought Jesus would respond to current political events. The first question I caught was directed to both a Republican and a Democrat and then "countered" by Martin himself.

The question was this: "How would Jesus vote on the Iraq war?"

The answers from both sides of the aisle were predictable, but Martin's answer was the one that actually disturbed me the most. "Jesus had enough power – He would just bring peace to the situation."

Interesting. Does Martin remember what was going on when Jesus was here on the earth? Rome was occupying His homeland and He did not bring peace to the region. In fact, He spoke very little about the situation and said nothing about His desire to change it. God directed His people to go to war many times throughout the entire Old Testament. There are just wars and unjust wars. To make a blanket statement like that was far too simplistic and incomplete.

As I watched the rest of the show I found myself frustrated by the entire concept and the question that drove the hour. I finally had to mute the show during its last segment when Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping choir took center stage.

After I read Martin's editorial, I realized that he has a true and abiding faith and passion for Jesus Christ as his Savior. He believes in many of the same things that I do. Unfortunately, the CNN segment leaned far too heavily on buzzwords, one-dimensional arguments and trite commentary culminating in yet another reason for the world to poke fun at Christianity. Tack the name "Jesus" on something to get the "Christians" to watch, and then prop up your guests' political diatribes with porous theology you can drive a truck through. Shame on me – I should have seen that coming. Essentially, it was a "tale told by idiots full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Come to think of it, the answers weren't the only things that were a letdown. The questions themselves were equally absurd. Of all the things I want the world to know about my Redeemer, "How would Jesus vote?" is not very high on the list.

Sigh. Jesus would have lunged for the clicker before the first commercial break.

Quotable Joe

WOW! If you didn't come to church this weekend, you MISSED OUT! Here's some my notes from Joe McGee:

• Get yourself a nap, get yourself some peanut butter, and get after it!
• You gotta grab an udder! (If you weren't there, this will make no sense, but it's the greatest illustration ever! Grab the podcast here or get a CD at church!)
• Pity doesn't move God. It moves people, but it doesn't move God. That's why we get confused sometimes.
• God needs you to believe and He needs your permission - He needs you to ask. It's a legal thing.
• Texas bumper sticker: "When two people are just alike, one of you is not needed."
• Humans hate surprises unless there's a big red bow attached.
• Think like a river, not like a pond.
• Don't forget your source or you'll think you are one.
• Run until you pass out, run until you pass out, run until you pass out, until you don't pass out no more!
• #1 problem is all marriages is selfishness.
• I can't do everything, but I can do something.
• You don't find something, you build something. If you find it, it ain't worth having. You BUILD a family. You BUILD a marriage. Jesus BUILT His Church and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it.
• Joe and his wife compiled a list of 40 things they wish they knew before they got married. Here are a few that he mentioned. As soon as I find the rest on his site I will link to it...
  • Great relationships are no accident.
  • The greatest gift I can give my spouse is my own happiness.
  • It is possible to hate and love someone at the same time.
  • The only rules in marriage are the ones you both agree on.
  • Conflict does not destroy a marriage, but the avoidance of it causes resentment.
  • Every marriage has seasons–there can be some hard winters.
  • My primary relationship is with my spouse, not my kids.
  • It is never too late to repair damaged trust.
  • Secrets are lies.
  • Sex can improve with age.
  • If you can’t be happy without your spouse, you probably can’t be happy with them.
  • Getting help when you can’t work things out is a sign of intelligence, not weakness.
  • The real issue is usually not what you are arguing about.
  • My opinion is not necessarily the truth.
  • Guilt-tripping never gets you what you want.
  • What you judge in your spouse is a reflection of what you judge in yourself. It takes one to know one.
  • My spouse is both my teacher and my student.
  • If my spouse is defensive, I’m probably giving them a reason to be.
  • Good sex doesn’t make a marriage great, but it sure helps.
  • Possessiveness and jealousy are born out of fear, not love.
  • Don’t say anything about your spouse that you’re not willing to say to them.
  • If your spouse thinks something is important, it is.
  • Don’t yell at your spouse unless the house is on fire.
  • The silent treatment was invented by a kindergartner.

Rock the House, Big Joe, Big Joe! Rock the House Big Joe!

Joe McGee rocked the house! If you didn't make it for the Saturday night service, you MUST come to the 9am or 11am service at Destiny Church tomorrow! I absolutely promise that these services will be ones you will not soon forget. You will laugh so hard you may cry -- and as you laugh you will hear one of the clearest presentations of the heart of God you may ever experience.

Tomorrow I will post my notes from the three services. But don't wait for my post – be there tomorrow to take your own! If you can't make it, grab the podcast on Monday.

Don't forget to pray for Pastor Mike as he relaxes with his family on a well-deserved vacation this week. Also pray for Pastor Tony and our Nursery Director, Nicole Webb. They have both been battling sickness for the past few days.

Don't miss this coming Thursday because the special speaker will be… ME! I am very excited about this service and if you watch this site, I will likely give you a peak into what God is sharing with me.

See you tomorrow!

Pink and purple giraffes and a 6-year-old teacher

Tonight my daughter, Ryanne, decided that she wanted to play teacher and that her stuffed animals (along with my wife, Angie) should be the class. Angie sat patiently as Ryanne instructed her in the finer points of things like counting pennies and coloring - it was a beautiful thing. Later she began playing her favorite game on the XBOX and, well... you can see it here. You gotta love the body english she employs.

Watching her live life without fear or reservations reminded me of a story I heard years ago...

When we are little, we love to draw pictures of all sorts of things. We draw castles and elephants and aliens and flowers and puppies and giraffes. We draw with crayons, markers, and chalk. And we use great colors like pinks and purples to bring our masterpieces to life. With as much excitement a little heart can hold, we bring our greatest creations to our moms who proudly display them on the refrigerator for all to see. Our families show off our handiwork on mugs, mousepads, and tshirts.

But then quietly and over time we stop bringing our pink and purple giraffes to mom.

Why did we stop?

Did mom stop loving our creations? Did she stop being proud of what we accomplished?

No.

We stop drawing because we either discovered that we "weren't as good as someone else" or someone told us we were not.

Slowly as we get older, other people's opinions (or our own of ourselves) squeezes the joy and creativity out of us until we forget how to experience the joys of playing and creating altogether. Some were meant to develop those joys into a lifelong passion while others were simply given an opportunity to enjoy being a kid.

But we were never meant to stop creating. We were never meant to stop enjoying life.

Our Heavenly Father is proud of the things we create. He loves to watch us live and love and learn. Just like earthly parents, He looks forward to His children bringing their best efforts to Him so that He can celebrate with us. His refrigerator is never too full.

Start drawing again. Start playing. Start living. Nothing makes your Father happier.

Ice Age 3

It's officially the worst ice storm in Oklahoma history in terms of power outages. The last report I heard was over 500,000 customers were without electricity (that's just customers, not people).

Our power went out Sunday evening. It was cold, but not too cold for sleeping (55ish). But at around 2am Angie and I were jarred awake by a huge crack and a boom as the large tree in our backyard dropped one of it's branches on our roof directly above our bedroom.

As I crunched around our yard attempting to inspect the damage in the middle of the night I was struck by how quiet it was and how dark it was. You don't realize how noisy it actually is in the city until everything electric is silenced and when those are gone it also becomes quite dark as well! The house looked to be in safe enough condition, so I went back to bed, but a few hours more of heart-stopping thuds on the roof as ice and branches continued to fall drove our family to hit the road before 7am to go to the warmth and safety of grandma's house.

The warmth was not to be, however, since her power went out not long after we arrived and got settled. But even though the temperature dropped significantly, the gas fireplace and stove took the edge off the chill and made dinner by candlelight enjoyable with the family. A few roudy games of Uno with the grandparents and the kids and we hit the bed early, snuggling up on an inflatable bed in front of the fire.

Around 10pm the power came back on (it was instantly obvious since we were all in bed and every light in the room came to life).

Although the power to our house has not been restored and we have a LOT of work to do to clear branches in the yard (as well as a now-ridiculous wait to get any tree removal services to return calls), we are very grateful to God and our family for a warm and safe place to stay during this storm.

The power at the church as well as local schools are still out so none of us can go to work yet. I am fairly sure that many of the Destiny staff members will not last much longer with cabin fever before we start showing up with candles looking for something to do...

Here are some more pictures I took over the last 24 hours...

Killer Habits

"hab it" : an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary; a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition

We are all creatures of habit. Some habits serve us well, while others ensure that we never reach all we could be. From the colors we tend to wear to what we continually believe about ourselves – habits can quite literally make or break us when it comes to our dreams and our destiny.

God challenged me the other day about one of my habits. It is a silly habit. It's one that has literally no consequence in eternity and little to no consequence in the here and now. But…

Pastor Arnie was wearing a brown zip up hoodie that I really like the other day. I clearly remember thinking, "That's really cool. Too bad I can't wear something like that." Immediately "something" (that I later realized was God) said, "why not?"

I was embarrassed when I heard myself admit the answer. I can't wear that hoodie because it comes from a certain store in the mall and it has a brand on it associated with skaters, which I am not. As I chewed on that answer I realized how silly my "habit" of thinking was. I think skating is cool. I wish I was coordinated enough to skate. Even though tens of thousands (if not millions) of people wear gear from sports they don't personally play, for some reason I allowed a thinking "habit" to affect what I allowed myself to wear. "I can't wear that because I am don't skate." I know. I know. Dumb. I never attended the University of Michigan, but have the maize and blue M on my car, my clothing, and my phone. For some reason I could not explain, I let what I wear be decided by some mysterious process that I can't even explain much less defend.

But what God was trying to tell me was much deeper than fashion. I realized that day that I have a habit of telling myself what I can and can't do – and oftentimes my reasoning can't stand up to even the mildest of scrutiny.

We don't wear certain things and do wear others ultimately because we always have or have not.

We believe things because we have never seriously thought about anything else.

Our view of the world can be so badly skewed that it doesn't even resemble reality, but our thinking habits keep us from seeing what life could be and how few steps it may actually take to get there.

I can't tell you how often I hear someone telling me that I just don't understand their situation when they come to me for advice or counsel. Most of the time I DO understand, but their habitual way of thinking keeps wisdom at arm's length and life change out of their reach. When I tell them what God's Word says about their situation and what His desire is for them, they respond with something similar to "I'm just not a skater. I can't wear that." WHAAAAT?

God has a plan for you that is everything you've ever hoped for and more. The journey may take routes and turns through areas you don't recognize, but it will look better on you than anything you're currently wearing. Or you can be stuck forever in the clothes you've been wearing that don't really fit or make you comfortable.

It's time to start a new habit. Try on something new. See yourself differently. Look into the mirror of God's Word and see yourself as God sees you. You really can wear a brown hoodie with a skater logo on it – and it will look darn good on you!

 

I have a crush on a girl!

Any of you who have met my wife knows that she is truly an amazing person. I have been feeling like a teenage boy with his first crush all over again as I watch her just being herself this evening. Today is no different than any other day. Throughout the afternoon she has done school work (she's a teacher), helped our daughter get her bath done and blow-dried her hair, made meals, picked up the house – and she still managed to find a little special time for each of the kids as well as her husband to make sure they know they are loved. And we are all really needy, especially me! As my pastor once told me, I really "out-kicked my coverage" with her (that means I married up, I hit the jackpot, knocked it out of the park).

As I read Proverbs 31:25-26, I really see a picture of her:

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.

I can't say that any better. She is strong and full of dignity. She laughs easily and freely. She is wise and gentle.

The kids and I echo Proverbs 31:28-29:

Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!"

What can we say except, "We love you, Angie!"

If you go to destinychurch, I encourage you to take the time to meet her. She really is one of the best people you will ever meet (tell her I said so)!

The first 15 years of marriage have been awesome! I can't wait for the next 15 or 30!

My favorite political ad ever!

Forgive me for being "gone" for the last few weeks - I will make up for it, I promise!  Here's an ad for Mike Huckabee for President that might very well be the best political ad I have ever seen.

It certainly is the only one that I have ever wanted to watch more than once.

It's definitely the only one that has ever made me laugh WITH the candidate and not AT them.

Enjoy!