The Chaordic Zone

Logos 4

2009-11-01T13:57:00.007-06:00

Announcing Logos 4 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The easiest and simplest way to take a look at it is to go to www.logos.com/4. There are many new features and simplifications that I really like. I love the interlinear ribbon that is available in NASB, ESV, NKJV, and KJV.

The simpplification I like best is the toolbars. I teach a Logos class at church and now there will be no more glazing over as you explain the multi-step process of getting something on the toolbar. Simply drag the book or feature you want to the toolbar and drop it. PRESTO it is there!

One not so obvious feature is ALT ` (that is the tick mark below the tilde ~) this will give coparison of your top 5 prioritized Bibles.

Go ahead give it a try. You will not be dissappointed and I hear there are some great new packages to investigate.

Andly Stanley Leadership Podcast

2009-08-18T10:42:00.001-05:00

There are some great leadership podcast if you click on the Itunes link above.

Assumptions are the most dangerous form of knowledge.

2009-02-27T17:25:00.006-06:00

We are going through "The Truth Project" at church. If you have not had the opportunity to attend I highly recommend you find some place it is being offered.

The statement that caught my attention at the last session was this one. "Assumptions are the most dangerous form of knowledge." The problem is simple. Assumptions are not based on fact, truth or evidence. Assumptions are those dangerous little thoughts that guide you towards believing something that could possibly be disastrous.

We have all heard statements with this dangerous word being summoned for action. I assumed you weren't coming, therefore, I didn't show up. I assumed you didn't mind, therefore, I proceeded with the...(you fill in the blank). I assumed you didn't want that last dab of peach cobbler left in the fridge, therefore, I ate it. You get the point we often assume so we can proceed as if there is fact, truth or evidence to guide us.

When my wife makes peach cobbler if you assume I don't want to eat the last bit you have made a serious mistake. I am rambling on to make this one simple point. If you have to convince yourself (assume) that someone feels a certain way you are much better off to delay your actions until you have some correct information, pretend you are Columbo, Matlock or the Murder she wrote lady but please investigate and don't just play a hunch because at best that is all an assumption is.

Think about these statements and how they might differ. I don't care if Ed wants the last bite of peach cobbler. I deserve the last bite of peach cobbler. I forgot Ed wanted the last bite of peach cobbler. I assumed Ed didn't want the last bite of peach cobbler. In all cases the cobbler is gone but the reasons vary widely.

Here is what you need to take from the post. If you assume I don't want the last bite of peach cobbler, you are wrong. The assumption you made only made it easier to feast on my dessert and gorge yourself.

I'm off to see if I can convince Tricia to make a peach cobbler. My entire line of thought was hijacked right after that example.

Think about that statement and see if you are guilty of assuming things for your own benefit.

WKU

2008-12-18T21:53:00.001-06:00

Marching Orders

2008-10-08T14:25:00.006-05:00

When you get marching orders it usually signifies one of two things. Either you are to take action or it is a notice of dismissal. I usually think about marching orders as the signal to take action. Once one has their marching orders they can take action. The plan has been made, communicated and it is now your job to carry it through. You have your marching orders.

Spiritually the problem we encounter is acting before we have marching orders or in some cases ignoring the marching orders that have been clearly communicated. Where there is a lack of spiritual maturity or a void of spirituality the problem would be developing your own orders.

David was not immune to marching orders. I love this passage. 2 Samuel 5:24 “It shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”

2 Samuel 5:25 Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.

David was suppose to wait until he heard literal marching in the balsam trees. Acting prior to this would have resulted in defeat.

Walking with the Lord means that we are suppose to wait until we understand what He wants us to do before we take action. Often we suffer defeat and never stop to understand we took action without clear direction from Jesus. Want to be in a right relationship with Jesus? Wait until you get your marching orders before taking action but when you do, proceed as if the victory is yours, because it is!

New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 2 Sa 5:24-25.

One Billion Seconds

2008-09-12T09:01:00.005-05:00

Are you like me and unable to fathom what a billion looks like? I hear people talk about billionaires and can't even imagine what a billion dollars would look or feel like. It's just more numbers than I can arrange in any kind of logical order.

If you were thinking about a billion in a numbers of seconds you would have to go back 31.71 years or to 1976 to total a billion seconds.

A billion seconds is a lot of time but it is nothing in comparison to eternity. One could take a billion years and multiply it by a billion and you wouldn't even have a good start on eternity.

Let me ask a few questions so you can put a billion in perspective.

How would you like to be married for a billion years?

How would you like to have a billion dollars?

How would you like to be in school for a billion years?

How would you like to have a billion friends?

How about taking a vacation for a billion years?

How would you like to have a billion children?

A few of these may have made you break out in a cold sweat. However, I encourage you to take some time and think about your relationship with Christ and your preparation for eternity and hopefully the time you have spent contemplating a billion seconds will help you obtain a little perspective!

To calculate the number of years in one billion seconds, write first one billion in integers to make sure you don't miss any zero i.e 1,000,000,000.

Next, we determine how many seconds are there in a year:
1 min = 60 seconds
1 hour = 60 min = 60 x 60 seconds = 3,600 seconds
1 day = 24 hours = 24 x 3,600 seconds = 86,400 seconds
1 year = 365 days = 365 x 86,400 seconds = 31,536,000 seconds

To get the number of years for 1,000,000,000 seconds, we just divide
1,000,000,000 by 31,536,000

It should give us : 1,000,000,000 / 31,536,000 = 31.71 years

Football Rankings

2008-08-29T20:35:00.001-05:00

Music

2008-08-22T08:50:00.002-05:00

Music is loved by all because the notes and lyrics meet the need for order in our life. When your life is chaotic a song can often help you regain the order you need. Music is very subjective but I can't imagine anyone not enjoying the words to the Casting Crowns song, "Praise You In The Storm".

Praise You in This Storm

Casting Crowns
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Disruptive Innovation

2008-08-12T07:48:00.002-05:00

Disruptive Innovation

The term disruptive innovation as we know it today first appeared in the 1997 best-sellerThe Innovator’s Dilemma by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. Disruptive innovation is a new technology or innovation that displaces a sustaining technology or innovation. Most of the time, it is radically different from the technology it displaces, and often is a poorer performer. Although the latter may be counterintuitive at first, the disruptive technology usually captures the imagination of the market because it brings with it a twist not provided by the sustaining technology. It meets an unserved need for some unserved segment of the market. Digital cameras, for example, were a disruptive technology. Although the initial products created pictures that were far lower in quality than a traditional film-based camera, and they were fairly expensive, they permitted users to take, examine, and delete unwanted pictures without the need to pay to have them developed.

Christensen points out the displacing technology is often a poorer performer and the reason it is successful is because it meets an unserved need for some unserved segment of the market.

Consider Bible Study, Worship and Love for the sake of this conversation as technology for a moment. We can hit a home run in the quality of our worship and the style of our teaching and fail to love and lose the opportunity to minister to families. If love is an unserved need for an unserved segment of the market people will often, if not always, choose authenticity demonstrated by love over a well designed worship service or well presented lesson.

Fortunately, we, church members, don't have to choose between quality and love; actually, true quality would be the result of modeling the love of Jesus. The point here is actually simple. Don't get so caught up in excellence, presentation and style that you forget to love. If the unserved segment of our population is folks that don't feel loved we might need to take a step back to the ole proverbial drawing board. On second thought run back to the drawing board you missed the Biblical mark entirely.

Disruption, often referred to as change, is usually an unwelcome intruder we want to keep at bay. However, disruption is what brings about great ideas. Maybe you have heard the old saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention". When we become uncomfortable we begin to strategize, think outside the box, develop new ideas or solutions. If you hear folks making suggestions consider yourself lucky and listen to what they are saying. If you hear people complaining they might just feel unloved. If you have people leaving you missed the smoke signals and you better come to grips with the fact that you have an unserved segment of the population in your class or church.

Hurricanes

2008-08-06T07:11:00.000-05:00

Tropical Storm Eduardo is headed our way! The weather station is predicting it could reach a Level 1 Hurricane. Yesterday I was in Walmart and all of the bottled water is gone. Folks are standing in line buying flashlights and batteries. The prediction that a bad storm could cross your path and last as much as a twenty-four hour span has people moving to get prepared, interesting!

Hebrews 9:27 tells us, "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." (NASB) Death is a certainty. I don't personally know anyone living who is over one hundred, very few in their nineties.

You have to ask yourself if it makes more sense to prepare for the storm or eternity. Now I have to admit I think you should prepare for a hurricane but it makes little sense to prepare for such a temporal event and ignore eternity.

As it turns out Eduardo fizzled out and didn't amount to much of a storm. However, we can be confident God's Word will stand forever.

The Lamp

2008-07-30T05:16:00.003-05:00

Luke 11:33 and Luke 11:34 are two great metaphors that have great application for today. The problem is that we have way too many spiritual cowards! I know this is an intense statement but the article is about not being a coward so why would I beat around the bush here? You may qualify as a spiritual coward if you have adopted any of these thoughts when Jesus has clearly shown you the heart of a matter. I can’t do anything about it. No one would listen to me. The political fallout would be too intense if I said anything. What if I’m wrong? Everything always works out for the best. If you are using this rationale in all likelihood you have become a spiritual coward. Remember, the key here is that Jesus has shown you the heart of a matter you are obligated to act. Also realize this doesn’t give you any additional authority, make you a vigilante or excuse good manners. The point is one cannot turn a blind eye to a problem when you understand the right thing to do.

Let’s begin by examining the two metaphors in the opening paragraph; different but in separately linked.
Luke 11:33 “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^{^[1]}
Here the lamp is the Word of God. When you have the light, God’s Word, and refuse to use it, it is the same as hiding it under a basket.
Luke 11:34 “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. ^{^[2]}
Here the problem is about perception, not a lack of light. Here you don’t need more light you need a heart to believe whatever truth has already been communicated to you. When your eye is clear, your body is full of light. When it is bad, your body is full of darkness and you behave like a spiritual coward because you refuse to act on the Truth of God’s Word. Self interest and/or preservation get in the way of accurately applying God’s Word.

In short in Luke 11:33 the lamp is God’s Word. In Luke 11:34 the eye is the lamp. When the lamp is God’s Word it is unchanging, always accurate and without error. When the lamp is your eye your motivation or perception determines if you are filled with light or darkness.

One’s greatest desire should be to speak up for Jesus. Know the truth of God’s Word and allow it to impact your life and the life of others. When we hide it in under a basket or refuse to allow it to direct our thoughts and actions we miss the opportunity to be a Spiritual Warrior, someone God can use in a mighty way for His glory!

^{^[1]}New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 11:33.

^{^[2]}New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 11:34.

Jehu

2008-07-16T07:17:00.001-05:00

In staff meeting pastor gave a great devotion that is the perfect match to my blog about Hamman. I will see if I can summarize the story so you can take a look at it for yourself. The story is found in 2 Kings 10:18-25.

2 Kings 10:19 describes what is happening, “Now, summon all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests; let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it in cunning, so that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal. Once Jehu found the followers of Baal he killed all of them.

Avoid the temptation to focus on whether Jehu's actions were ethical on not long enough to consider the importance of following your convictions.

I can imagine many folks lining up to attend the sacrifice because they were fearful of being killed. Nominal followers of God who just considered it an inopportune time to state their convictions. Job interviews and spiritual convictions seem to be two areas when it is easy to state what you think someone wants to hear. Remember, Jehu said he was going to kill those who were not there so if you were one that straddled the fence or unwilling to stand up for your convictions it probably seemed like a prudent thing to be at the service. The result, however, was that all of the followers of Baal, fence riders and yellow bellied chickens afraid of their own shadow were killed. Cause of death; failure to follow your convictions or perhaps failure to have convictions.

I don't know if a test like this is in your future but I do know that God knows where you stand. He knows if you are cold, lukewarm or hot. Even if you don't have a test coming up like the one Jehu presented, at least, be honest with yourself.

Logos Community Pricing

2008-07-07T04:17:00.003-05:00

Resources are a must for ministry leaders. My favorite way to get books is in the digital format. Logos Library Systems makes this easy. I want to make you aware of an opportunistic way to add books to your digital library if you are on a tight budget. I consider it a sport to find ways to improve the budget so if you have similar aspirations read on.

Logos has something called Community Pricing (CP). Community pricing is great, for example, I added the fifteen volume R.A. Torrey collection to my library through CP for $44.45. The lowest prices for that collection today is $119.95. Typically CP resources range from $2 to $15.

Here is how Logos describes CP. "If it costs $4,000 to produce an electronic edition of a book, the costs can be covered by 4 people paying $1,000 each or by 1,000 people paying $4 each. The more likely scenario, though, is that no one wants to pay $1,000 and there aren’t 1,000 people interested in the title, even at $4. But there may be 200 people who would pay $20 each.

Community Pricing is about finding the lowest price that covers the production costs.

We have asked our customers “What is the most you would pay for an electronic edition of this title?” By multiplying the number of customers who would pay a specific amount or more with that price, we are able to generate a chart showing estimated revenue for the product at each price point."

10/40 Window

2008-06-30T04:23:00.011-05:00

I have had several people ask what the 10/40 window is since I posted the survey on the Chaordic Zone. The last person asked, "What is located outside the 10/40 Window." The answer to that question, using the graphic, would be everything you see outside of the box.

Obviously, the religious groups marked on the map are only areas of concentration and those religious groups are not confined to those areas. I am sure that goes without saying but there is one in every crowd.

The core of the unreached of our world live inside the 10/40 window and it extends from West Africa to East Asia, from ten degrees north to forty degrees north of the equator. Incredibly, 97% of the people in the least evangelized countries live in the 10/40 Window.

Thee 10/40 Window consist of two thirds of the world’s 6 billion plus population
Just a little over 1% of the church's missions finances are used to reach this population. This means about 99% of the missions funds are used to reach one third of the world’s population! May God help us refocus our outreach!
Persecution of the Christian believer is common throughout the 10/40 window.
Being a Christian in these countries could mean imprisonment or death.

Now that you know exactly what we are talking about be sure to vote in the missions poll located in the right margin of the blog.

Don't Let Yourself Be Hammanized!

2008-06-23T05:46:00.002-05:00

Sin can bring a disgusting flavor to a conversation. We have all had it happen. Typically you are listening intently and then you hear something that doesn’t ring true. Your spirit just doesn’t accept what is being conveyed in the conversation or that is what happens when you are fortunate; on the other side of the coin you get “hammanized”.

“Hammanization” is when you are led down a conversational path that leaves out the true intent of the one delivering the message. Actually the entire intent of the conversation is to get you where they want you to be without them having to reveal their true motives. Typically in this process the “hammanizer” will develop a story that will be accepting to the person being “hammanized” because the real motive would obviously be self serving.

Let’s take the Biblical example from where I have drawn the terms, “hammanized”, “hammanization” and “hammanizer”. You won’t find them in your dictionary but after reading this passage you will be much more cautious as a listener.

Esther 3:8 (NASB95) Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain.

Haman’s message was one the King wanted to hear and Hamman knew just how to send it. He appealed to King Ahasuerus’ ego. There is other methods people use fairness, justice, principle, safety, morality, patriotism but the one Hamman chose was ego and it was an effective choice.

Haman's real agenda was to exterminate the Jews. King Ahasuerus fell for his story hook, line and sinker. Haman was an Agagite (Esther 3:1) and as an Agagite he had been taught to hate the Jews and Mordecai enflamed every ounce of hatred in Haman’s body (Esther 3:2).

The Agagites were named after King Agag and Amalekite who was spared by King Saul apart from God’s direction. Samuel put King Agag to death later (1Samuel 15:33). The story of how the Jews were supposed to exterminate the Amalekites had been passed down from generation to generation and fueled a hatred towards the Jews.

There is often a Hamman who wants you to hear their distorted message so you can accomplish the deed they don’t have the courage to state. Always be careful when someone makes a passionate appeal to one of your passions or your ego. It could be an attempt to see you “Hammanized”.

Esther only has ten chapters. I encourage you to take the time to read the entire book.

C.T. Studd

2008-06-16T06:35:00.001-05:00

The great evangelist C. T. Studd said, “Some wish to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” - C. T. Studd.

After reading this quote you are probably interested in wanting to know more about Mr. Studd. Can you imagine going through life with a name like Mr. Studd?

His devotion was amazing. C.T. Studd has always been one of my heroes along with Jim Elliot. Enjoy the collection of information listed about his life from a variety of sources.

Elizabeth Elliot in her book, Passion and Purity, 1984, p. 43, shares this about C.T. Studd.

The first date Jim (Elliot) asked me for was to a missionary meeting at Moody Church in Chicago, late in April. Not surprising that he would choose an event like this rather than a concert or dinner out. The speaker was one of the daughters of the famous missionary to Africa C.T. Studd. She told of her father’s last hours. He lay on his cot, gazing around the little hut and at his few possessions. “I wish I had something to leave to each of you,” he said to the handful of people present, “but I gave it all to Jesus long ago.” ^{^[1]}

C. T. Studd wrote from Cambridge in 1883: “I had known about Jesus dying for me, but I had never understood that, if He had died for me, then I didn’t belong to myself. Redemption means buying back, so that if I belong to Him, either I had to be a thief, and keep what wasn’t mine, or else I had to give up everything to God. When I came to see that Jesus had died for me, it didn’t seem hard to give up all for Him.” Studd also said, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”^{^[2]}

At the age of 16 C. T. Studd was already an expert cricket player and at 19 was made captain of his team at Eton, England. Soon he became a world-famous sports personality. But the Lord had different plans for him, for while attending Cambridge University he heard Moody preach and was wondrously converted. He soon dedicated his life and his inherited wealth to Christ and spent hours seeking to convert his teammates. Sensing God’s leading to full-time service, he offered himself to Hudson Taylor for missionary work in China.

While in that foreign country, he inherited a sum of money equivalent today to half a million dollars. In 24 hours he gave the entire inheritance away, investing it in the things of the Lord. Later he was forced to go back to England, for his health was failing and his wife was an invalid. But God called him again—this time to the heart of Africa. He was informed that if he went, he would not live long. His only answer was that he had been looking for a chance to die for Jesus. “Faithful unto death,” he accepted God’s call and labored until the Savior took him Home. ^{^[3]}

The famous missionary C. T. Studd once traveled to China on a ship whose captain was an embittered opponent of Christianity and who often studied the Bible for the sole reason of arguing with the missionaries who frequently sailed on his ship. When he learned that Studd was aboard his ship, the captain lit into him. But instead of arguing with him, Studd put his arm around the captain and said, “But my friend, I have a peace that passeth all understanding and joy that nothing can take away.”

The captain finally replied, “You’re a lucky dog,” and walked away. Before the end of the voyage, he became a rejoicing believer in Jesus Christ.^{^[4]}

One man who had this gift was C. T. Studd. His biography contains a beautiful story. His father was extremely wealthy. He was to inherit a substantial amount of money—several hundred thousand dollars. This took place in the 1880s, and at that time it amounted to more than £29,000. The following is what the biography says:

“So far as he could judge, his inheritance was £29,000. But in order to leave margin for error, he decided to start by giving £25,000. One memorable day, January 13, 1887, he sent off four cheques of £5,000 each, and five of £l,000. As cooly and deliberately as a business man invests in some ‘gilt-edged’ securities, as being both safe and yielding good interest, so C. T. invested in the Bank of Heaven. This was no fool’s plunge on his part. It was his public testimony before God and man that he believed God’s Word to be the surest thing on earth, and that the hundredfold interest which God has promised in this life, not to speak of the next, is an actual reality for those who believe it and act on it.

“He sent £5,000 to Mr. Moody, expressing the hope that he would be able to start some Gospel work at Tirhoot in North India, where his father had made his fortune. Moody hoped to carry this out, but was unable to, and instead used the money to start the famous Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, writing, ‘I will do the next best thing and open a Training School with it, from which men and women will go to all parts of the world to evangelize.‘^{^[5]}

English missionary to China, India, and Africa

Son of a wealthy plantation owner who had been converted under D. L. Moody, Studd was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he won fame as an all–England cricketer. Influenced by his father, he volunteered for missionary service; and as one of the “Cambridge Seven,” he helped to lay the foundation of the Student Volunteer Movement, with its special interest in recruiting college students as foreign missionaries. In 1885 Studd sailed for China under the auspices of the China Inland Mission. Giving away the fortune he had inherited, he sought to live in native Chinese fashion. In 1900 he went to India, where he served as minister of the Union Church of Ootacamund in southern India. Ill health compelled him to give up this work in 1906; but in 1910, contrary to medical advice, he sailed for central Africa, where he labored until his death. In 1912 he founded the Heart of Africa Mission, which later became the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, taking as its watchword “the evangelization of every part of the unevangelized world in the shortest possible time.”^{^[6]}

^{^[1]}10,000 Sermon Illustrations, electronic ed. (Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 2000).

^{^[2]}10,000 Sermon Illustrations, electronic ed. (Dallas: Biblical Studies Press, 2000).

^{^[3]}Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers (Garland TX: Bible Communications, 1996, c1979).

^{^[4]}Robert J. Morgan, Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), 499.

^{^[5]}John MacArthur, Spiritual Gifts, Includes Index. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1983).

^{^[6]}J. D. Douglas, Philip Wesley Comfort and Donald Mitchell, Who's Who in Christian History, Illustrated Lining Papers. (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1997, c1992).

To the extent that you did it to one of the least of these

2008-06-09T05:44:00.001-05:00

Tricia and I often go down to the pool at our apartment complex and talk. We cover everything from family to food, Bible to baseball and politics to pets. You name it and we might be talking about it but this morning it was pets. She was telling me about visiting the re-pet store with her sister. (The same sister, Bobbie Jo, that now has the pet turtle that killed my phone). Their mother not allowing them to have pets has forever warped them but each of them is now in pet recovery and has a dog.

On their outing together they stopped by the Re-pet store. The Re-pet store is a humane society type place trying to save dogs and cats from their death at the pound. Tricia was describing the visit to me. Entering the store there is a large sign that reads, “When you come into our house please be ready to love one of us. We cannot have one of our friends from the dog pound come here if you do not take one of us home with you.”

Each dog also has a sign on their cage. This is Charlie. Fleas have eaten his ears. Grape size ticks have fallen off his body. This ole boy has had a hard life but he is starting to recover. He is starting to come over in the morning and allow us to pat his head. He will be a great companion to you.

My name is Freddie and my family could not afford me but at least they had enough sense to give me up. I would love to go home with you.

My name is Doris and I have been terribly mistreated. Fleas were so bad at my home I lost part of my ear but I have now been cleaned up and would make a great pet. I am very loving and will make a great friend.

I was thinking church might be a lot easier if visitors came in with signs around their necks.

Hi I’m Bob and my wife died of cancer and I don’t have any friends. Would you be willing to get to know me?

My name is Allen and I lost my job and I am scared I might lose my home. We are having trouble making ends meet. Would you be willing to talk to me and offer me some encouragement?

My kids are making poor decisions and I have no idea what to do. I am here this morning to pray for them but I am not sure where to begin. Would you be willing to help me?

My life has been made up of one poor decision after another. I desperately need to make some changes and I am taking the first step this morning by going to church. I am out of my element and very uncomfortable. Would someone please ask me to sit with them?

Truth is people entering our church have all kinds of needs and it is important that we take the time to get to know them. Jesus has given us the wonderful opportunity of demonstrating his love; unfortunately people do not come in wearing signs but they do come in carrying burdens. Jesus loves each one of them and wants to have a relationship with them. Wouldn’t it be great if our life was a billboard that read, "Don’t hesitate to ask me anything, I am a sinner saved by grace. I would love to have you sit with me so I can introduce you to others that understand your situation perfectly. Sit with me this morning so we can learn together. I don’t know what your journey has been but I would love to spend some time with you and get to know you better."

Jesus had some instructions on this topic in Matthew 25:35-40.

Turtle Kills Phone

2008-05-31T10:25:00.002-05:00

There is always something interesting that happens on vacation. You can have the benefit of a chuckle at my expense.

Tricia’s mother would never let them have real pets when they were growing up. The only pets they could have were a turtle and I think her mother once went out on a limb and allowed her to have a hamster but he met a mysterious death.

Enough background, Tricia decided she would relive her childhood and bring her sister a pet turtle from Texas. We have been babying this turtle for about a month. He has a Tupperware home with a few rocks and about a quarter of an inch of water. Seemed like a nice thing to do for five dollars.

We had traveled about six hundred miles when I pulled my phone out to see if we could make find a place to stay for the night. It was after this that Murphy's Law kicked in. Coming upon a major traffic slow down I applied my breaks and my phone flew off the console like a downhill skier and of course landed in the only problematic spot in the van; the turtle habitat.

I have comfort in knowing my phone met a speedy death. Only a few flickers that reminded me of the lights on my Christmas tree and it was gone. However, the turtle is a much more expensive gift now.

Schedule Clutter

2008-05-29T04:30:00.004-05:00

Ecclesiastes 3:11 Weariness is often the result of trying to do more than God intends; which means I am not letting Him order my day. Think about that for a few moments. God doesn’t intend for one to be rushed, hurried, burdened or tired because we are racing through life trying to cover more miles than we have fuel. He wants control of our entire life including our schedule. When He has control we have perfect order because we are doing exactly what he wants, nothing more nothing less.

I am not being naïve. I realize that there are situations and jobs that require us to work in a manner that is beyond our control. I also realize that 99.9% of the population is waiving their hands in the air thinking I just described their situation.

I am working at this myself. Busy does not always equate with productive. Busy will usually obtain some praise from those watching our frantic pace but I am becoming more and more convinced that chaos in our lives should be a caution flag and well meaning friends waving the green flag of praise should exchange it for a red or checkered flag. The plumb line is our relationship with Christ and those who love us should hand out speeding tickets when we are racing ahead of where Christ wants us.

We often display weariness like a winner’s trophy. God doesn’t intend for us to burn out or rust out. He simply wants us to be dependent upon Him.

If every thirty minute slot is filled in your day timer you may want to ask yourself these questions.

1. Am I praying about my schedule?

2. Am I pursuing ways to eliminate schedule clutter?

3. Am I prioritizing my schedule in this order? 1) God, 2) Family, 3) Occupation

4. Am I seeking counsel from others? Proverbs 12:15, Proverbs 19:20

5. Is the time I spend complaining about my schedule greater than praying, pursuing and seeking counsel combined?

6. Am I willing to let to admit I have schedule chaos and allow God to order my day?

If the following comments or responses are part of your daily conversation you may be ignoring God’s planning for your life. Like I have time for that! I can’t add a single item to my schedule. I am running on empty. My plate is full. You want me to do what? I am up to my ears with work. I don’t have time for anything else. I can’t help myself I am a workaholic or I have a type A personality. Hobby, you have to be kidding I don’t have time for a hobby. More often than not these types of comments are used to coax someone into throwing a few complimentary bones our way.

If your schedule is so filled God couldn’t call an audible if He wanted you are running the wrong plays.

A schedule that leaves you panting for breath is not the mark of a Spirit filled life, a fruit of the Spirit or an indication of a mature believer. It simply means that you are in the driver’s seat and at very best Jesus is riding along in the passenger seat.

If you are driving yourself at a break neck pace it might be time to pull in for a pit stop!

Missions Poll

2008-05-27T08:18:00.003-05:00

Don't forget to vote in the poll located in the right margin. If you are visiting the Chaordic Zone you have voting privileges.

Forgiveness

2008-05-24T08:02:00.011-05:00

I sometimes wonder if forgiveness has become more like a fairy tale in the minds of Christians. Something like Paul Bunyan, Cinderella, Snow White or Jack and the Bean Stalk. My guess would be that one could name more fairy tales than they could instances of actual forgiveness. If you are wondering what forgiveness look like from a Biblical perspective look through the list below. I particularly like the ones that mention your enemies. I haven’t had many enemies in my lifetime but I would have to ask myself some serious questions based on these verses.

Proverbs 24:17 (NASB95)

17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

Would I consider it an appropriate or inappropriate behavior if my enemy stumbles? The spirit would say, “Help your enemy up”. The flesh would say, “Cheer and rejoice. Replay the moment they deserve over and over”.

Proverbs 25:21 (NASB95)

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you.

I laughed a little after reading this one. I realize burning coals are not literal burning coals in this passage but it appears that if you do one thing you may not want to do you get two great ones in return. You will not find this explanation in any commentary but I will continue by saying we never go wrong when we follow the Scripture! Some things may appear to be unpleasant, like forgiving your enemies, but with or without the burning coals it will solve a lot of problems even if you have been wronged.

Take a few moments to move your mouse over the verses below and ask yourself the question, “Am I a forgiving person?” I am sure glad Jesus is forgiving!

Ex. 23:4, Ex. 23:5

Prov. 19:11

Prov. 24:17, Prov. 24:29

Prov. 25:21, Prov. 25:22

Rom. 12:20

Eccl. 7:21

Matt. 5:7, Matt 5:39–41, Matt. 5:43–46; Matt 5:47,48

Luke 6:27–34

Matt. 6:12

Luke 11:4

Matt. 6:14, Matt. 6:15

Matt. 18:21–35

Mark 11:25

Luke 6:35–37

Luke 17:3, 4

Matt. 18:21, Matt. 18:22

Rom. 12:14, Rom. 12:17, Rom. 12:19, Rom 12:21

1Cor. 4:12, 1 Cor. 4:13

Eph. 4:32

Col. 3:13

WKU Hilltoppers

2008-05-23T12:25:00.009-05:00

A little off topic here but I am on vacation. Western Kentucky University or WKU has a rich history. The basketball team has had some significant achievements that you may not be aware of unless you are a basketball purist.

This is a list of Men's Division I college basketball teams ranked by the number of wins, as of the 2007-08 season. Be sure to notice the team at number 17. I have heard a couple of people in Katy mention them and say they have a decent program as well.

Rank	College	Wins	Losses	Winning percent
1	Kentucky	1966	621	.760
2	North Carolina	1950	784	.713
3	Kansas	1943	785	.712
4	Duke	1846	808	.696
5	Syracuse	1725	796	.684
6	Temple	1689	948	.641
7	St. John's	1670	850	.663
8	Pennsylvania	1647	931	.639
9	UCLA	1646	717	.697
10	Indiana	1635	884	.649
11	Notre Dame	1630	893	.646
12	Utah	1613	848	.655
13	Illinois	1585	843	.653
14	Western Kentucky	1577	771	.672
15	Oregon State	1576	1162	.576
16	Washington	1564	1038	.601
17	Texas	1563	933	.626
18	Louisville	1556	825	.654
19	Brigham Young	1553	986	.612
20	Arizona	1547	844	.647

19 NCAA Appearances

4 Final Fours

39 Conference Titles

28 All Americans

Sports teams have an immense amount of significance to those that follow them. Just think about how much significance our church has in the lives of others. I can't even begin to post the major achievements we have made. We also need to have the same kind of fervor for our church that we have for our favorite teams.

Believe You Will Get Results

2008-05-23T08:00:00.004-05:00

A friend of mind recently pointed out this quote to me. "I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done...Henry Ford". Reminds me of the question, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” Robert H. Schuller". Which reminds me of Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

NASB : 1995 Update

This whole thought begs the question, "What am I doing in my life where I have to be totally dependent upon Jesus for the results?"

If you were wondering where chaos looms large I think it is right here. Order seldom provokes creativity but chaos will send you right out to the cutting edge. Jump back to Henry Ford for a second. He was looking for men or women with an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done. Henry, sounds like he was my close friend when I only say Henry, also said, "If you think you can do a thing, you're right or if you think you can't do a thing, you're right."

It's not always easy but I want to live my life attempting new things, going new places. I want to be a vessel that God could choose to use for something out of the ordinary. I don't want mediocrity, lukewarm, ordinary or common. Passion is the desire to make your dreams a reality. Any time that I can spend defining my passions is time well spent.

Joshua 1:8 urges me to reflect on the Word day and night. Now if I mix an infinite capacity to not know what cannot be done (chaos) with a healthy dose of time in the Word (order) it seems that I might be able to enter The Chaordic Zone! Shouldn't we all test the waters here? "The world has yet to see what God can do through a man/woman who is totally commited to him." - D.L. Moody
Just remember the nemesis to the "Chaordic Zone" is the "Spotlight Effect". Psychologists have shown that the "spotlight effect," as they call it, is a universal experience that distorts our egocentric notion about the degree to which people in groups, like parties and work gatherings, pay attention to us.

In other words the prescription should read like this; mix an infinite capacity to not know what cannot be done (chaos) with a healthy dose of time in the Word (order), less all of that time you spend admiring yourself in the mirror. Focus not on what you can do for yourself but on what you can to for your Savior!

—Benedict Carey is credited for creating the term "spotlight effect", "It's not all about you," Los Angeles Times, January 13, 2002

EPIC Sunday Morning Bible Study (Part 2)

2008-05-19T11:44:00.005-05:00

Part 2 of Epic Bible Study from the Kentucky Baptist Convention Web Site.

Leading an EPIC Sunday School Lesson, Part 2

Saturday 17th May, 2008

I mentioned in Part 1 that Sunday School still works when you work the Sunday School! But the day of blindly accepting mediocre Sunday School is over. The day of putting up with mediocre lessons is gone. It is time to be revolutionary. It is time to expect, to prepare, and to present EPIC Sunday School lessons.

In Part 1 I explained what I mean by EPIC? EPIC is an anagram used by Leonard Sweet in his book, Post-Modern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 12st Century World. EPIC stands for Experiential, Participatory, Image-driven, and Connected. Sweet descibes the shift from the modern to the postmodern perspective: from rational to experiential, from representative to participatory, from word-base to image-driven, and from individual to connected.

In Part 1 I applied the first two sections of EPIC (Experiential and Participatory) to encountering God in Bible study in the Sunday morning time we call Sunday School. In Part 2 we will examine and apply the last two sections: Image-driven and Connected.

IMAGE-DRIVEN. Today, 60% of adults are visual learners. As a society, we are immersed in images. We are surrounded by billboards, pictures in newspapers and magazines, mail have pictures on envelopes, and training often includes images. Add to all of that the hours spent in front of the television and computer and the number of movies watched, and you begin to see how immersed in visual imagery. The best communicators today know how to utilize this medium. Jesus was well aware of the impact of images. He drew lessons from items in life. What can we do to make our Sunday School lessons to be more image-driven? Tell stories. Share object lessons. Share testimonies. Look for relevant newspaper clippings. Watch for moments in life when God is illustrating the truth for Sunday. Lead participants to share about times when... Use every teachable moment in class and in life. Apply the truth to where they live.
CONNECTED. We live in a connected world. We are connected through the internet, through television and radio, and through airplanes. But sometimes we are more aware of what is happening around the world than we are next door. We often become cocooned, closed off. We enter our homes and close the doors. The world is a hurting place in need of ministry and salvation. The body of Christ has healing to offer in Jesus Christ. That means we must re-connect with our world in order to help them to connect to Him. How can we lead Sunday School to be more connected? Lessons must connect with life. Application cannot be ignored. Sunday School classes are great places for accountability to practice biblical truth that has been learned. Next Sunday is the right time to check on progress. Classes can be loving, challenging environments for growth toward obedience. They can also serve as an impetus to reach out in love and to invite into relationships and class. They can mobilize to meet discovered needs in the class and community. Sunday School helps members connect with God, with each other, and with real people in their daily paths.

How can you make your lessons more image-driven and connected? I suggested last time checking out Sticky Sunday School Lessons and Crafting a Sunday School Lesson to Lead to Learning AND Action for more information about lessons with impact. Pause now to consider your usual teaching style? Is your teaching EPIC? Stop now to share about your most memorable Sunday School lesson which was experiential, participatory, image-driven, and/or connected. Press the Comments button below to let others see how Sunday School is life-impacting. Stop teaching mediocre lessons! Be EPIC. Be revolutionary!

EPIC Sunday Morning Bible Study (Part 1)

2008-05-19T11:40:00.013-05:00

I want us to be praying about an Epic Missions Training Center as we prepare for building in the future. EPIC is an acronym for Experiential, Participatory, Image Driven and Connected. Christian education should be an interactive experience. We need to be a leader in training people for work in our church, state, country and world. The following articles provide more information about EPIC. (Sorry about the all caps, I am not screaming at you. Blogger has a mind of its own today and I can't fix it!)

I found this article on the Kentucky Baptist Convention web site and wanted to share it with you.

Leading an EPIC Sunday School Lesson, Part 1

Friday 16th May, 2008

Many who have given up on Sunday School were never involved in it or else were never involved in EPIC Sunday School. Some give up because they would rather start something new than to roll up their sleeves to change what is not working in Sunday School. And yet there are still so many in our culture who prefer a Bible study time that is connected (before or after) to worship. Sunday School still works when you work the Sunday School!

But the day of blindly accepting mediocre Sunday School is over. The day of putting up with mediocre lessons is gone. It is time to be revolutionary. It is time to expect, to prepare, and to present EPIC Sunday School lessons.

Now, what do I mean? EPIC is an anagram used by Leonard Sweet in his book,Post-Modern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 12st Century World. EPIC stands for Experiential, Participatory, Image-driven, and Connected. Sweet descibes the shift from the modern to the postmodern perspective: from rational to experiential, from representative to participatory, from word-base to image-driven, and from individual to connected.

In this two-part series, I want to apply EPIC to encountering God in Bible study in the Sunday morning time we call Sunday School. In Part 1, we will focus on the first two sections of EPIC: Experiential and Participatory:

EXPERIENTIAL. The modern way of explaining things has been in a rational, logical, frequently sequential manner. Learning was frequently verbal. Today we live in a postmodern age in which 60% of people are visual learners. They learn more by seeing than by hearing. But many have "been there, done that." They are easily bored with presentation styles and content. Today's learner expects to be immersed in the learning experience. In fact, that is it: they expect learning to be experiences. How can we turn Sunday School into an experience? Consider one experience that happens in churches all across the land: Vacation Bible School. Children, teens, and adults are immersed in a theme. The room and church are decorated. The lessons and activities of the week all relate. Why not meet at Easter in the cemetary and have Mary dressed in biblical costume arrive during the lesson telling about having seen Jesus? Why not bring in roses when you talk about the rose of Sharon? Why not wash feet when talking about the Upper Room? Why not take the group to a soup kitchen to address "in as much as you did it not to the least of these brothers of mine"? During every lesson, you want to make sure that learners have at least this experience: lead them to meet God in Bible study. Lead them to open God's Word. Lead them to listen to Him. Lead them to respond to Him.
PARTICIPATORY. The modern way of Sunday School was for the teacher to have the experience of preparation on the way to becoming a subject-matter expert. In this post-modern age, there has been a shift to learners wanting to participate more in the learning experience. Learners today don't want to sit back and be told. Instead, they want to want to do it. They want to discover it for themselves. When you consider that retention in 72 hours is at 90% if you led learners to "say and do" something, this approach to Sunday School makes sense. When we get them involved, they remember and learn more. How can we make Sunday School more participatory?Give them written exercises. Ask questions. Get them into smaller groups. Make assignments. Call for reports. Ask them to read the passage in advance. Lead them to act out a scenario. Have them determine how they should live out a truth; tell them you will ask how they did next week; and then ask them at the beginning of the next lesson.

For more information about lessons with impact, check out Sticky Sunday School Lessons and Crafting a Sunday School Lesson to Lead to Learning AND Action. In Part 2, we will look at the last two parts of EPIC: Image-driven and Connected. Stop now to share about your most memorable Sunday School lesson which was experiential or participatory. Press the Comments button below to let others see how Sunday School is life-impacting. Stop teaching mediocre lessons! Be experiential. Be participatory. Be revolutionary!