I’ve Got a Problem

Watch this, you'll see what I mean.

 Assuming you survived the video, you'll want to hop on Amazon and order Less Clutter. Less Noise. by Kem Meyer right away. Don't be dismayed by the shipment date. Regardless of what it says, it should ship to you in a few days.

Mark Beeson is Worked Up

Mark Beeson is pretty worked up about the direction of our country. Most recently he wrote about the direction our natinoal leaders are taking us toward imposing government regulation over private companies. Mark says…

Think about regulation before you ask for it. Consider carefully the laws you enact.

You may get more than you bargain for….

Suppose you legislate against high risk/high reward endeavors.

What then?

The brilliant researcher is asked to, “Join our firm. Cancer is destroying thousands of lives and we’re investing everything to find the cure. We need your genius leveraged against this great need.  Of course, if we fail – after you’ve invested a decade of your life in our cause – you’ll receive minimal compensation for your effort.”

The courageous physician is asked to, “Come quickly! This patient coded and you are the one we’re counting on to save her life. We need your skill. None of us can do what you can do. Please help us save her!  Of course, you should bear in mind that if she dies, you’ll have your salary capped, we’ll publically blame you for the loss and the ensuing lawsuits will take everything you own.”

The remarkable business leader is asked to, “Fix this mess. The company has negotiated some bad deals. Toxic assets are killing us. Not many people could fix this problem; truth is, not many people even understand this problem.  Few would even attempt what we’re asking you do to. Of course, you’d do well to remember that if you fail to rescue this industry, fail to deliver seventy-hour-work-weeks for the handsome compensation of $1 per year or fail to make everyone happy, you’ll have your name drug through the mud, your address publicized, your children exposed to angry protestors and your assets taxed into oblivion.”

Do we really want to reduce the reward for risk?

Do we really want to incentivize safety-first, low-level, risk-averse living?

Do we really want to give high-capacity people little reason to produce more and lots of reasons to produce less?

Better pay attention friends. That’s what’s on the table… and it’s about to be served.

Proverbs 28:2  – When a nation sins, it will have one ruler after another. But a nation will be strong and endure when it has intelligent, sensible leaders.

Do you agree with Mark?

Crispus Creamus

Many years ago our own Rob Wegner brilliantly illustrated the waters of baptism through a visit to a local Krispy Kreme store. As I recall, the idea wasn't original to us, but Rob took it and made it come alive. People who previously didn't understand the big deal about baptism–it became clear through this video tool and the message surrounding it. We've used this video many times since and hundreds have followed through in obedience after making a decision to follow Christ.

Rob thinks we should retire this video. Actually, he has begged. But alas, I personally think it's a classic and should be bronzed and kept alive for generations to come. Thus, I asked the team today to load it on Vimeo and YouTube so the world could appreciate it the way I do. I'm sure Rob won't mind.

Go ahead…leave a comment here and tell Rob what you think about the video. If you want to include the words "Tim is right" — that would be just fine.

Disturbia

This performance of Disturbia was a great set up for the weekend message. One person twittered that the song summarized Romans 7's truths about inner turmoil and tension.

Do you agree?

Fighting For a Seat

When you are doing 8 services for Easter, just how do you convince people to attend one of the off-time services? Here is one way…

This was inspired by a video we saw from Watermark Church a couple years ago.

Love Vs. Lust

Is there a difference between love and lust? Watch this short video that we used at Granger this weekend to introduce the topic.

UPDATE: Video available as high-def download for use in your church here.

Religion Has Become an Ugly Thing

I just read an article (forwarded to me from Philip Shoffner) about a new study by the researchers at Trinity College of Hartford, Conn. The poll of over 54,000 American adults found the number of people who call themselves Christian is down 10 percentage points since 1990.

The article by Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald was fascinating. You should read it in whole. Here is an excerpt…

Religion has become an ugly thing.

People of faith usually respond to that ugliness — by which I mean a seemingly endless cycle of scandal, controversy, hypocrisy, violence and TV preachers saying idiot things — in one of two ways. Either they defend it (making them part of the problem), or they regard it as a series of isolated, albeit unfortunate, episodes. But irreligious people do neither.

And people of faith should ask themselves: What is the cumulative effect upon outside observers of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker living like lords on the largess of the poor, multiplied by Jimmy Swaggart's pornography addiction, plus Eric Rudolph bombing Olympians and gays in the name of God, plus Muslims hijacking airplanes in the name of God, multiplied by the church that kicked out some members because they voted Democrat, divided by people caterwauling on courthouse steps as a rock bearing the Ten Commandments was removed, multiplied by the square root of Catholic priests preying on little boys while the church looked on and did nothing, multiplied by Muslims rioting over cartoons, plus the ongoing demonization of gay men and lesbians, divided by all those ''traditional values'' coalitions and ''family values'' councils that try to bully public schools into becoming worship houses, with morning prayers and science lessons from the book of Genesis? Then subtract selflessness, service, sacrifice, holiness and hope.

Do the math, and I bet you'll draw the same conclusion the researchers did.

Where does the author have it right?

Arkansas Sticks Session: Shannon O’Dell

I've known Shannon O'Dell for around twenty years. We reconnected a couple years ago and I've been jazzed about what is happening in rural Arkansas at Brand New Church. You might remember me writing about him earlier this year.

I twittered yesterday that I think Brand New Church is the most innovative, happenin', got-it-going-on church I've ever been to of any size. More on that later.

Here are some of my take-aways from Shannon as he closed the Sticks conference…

• The key to Brand New Church is changed lives.
• The greatest hurdle in reaching the lost is those already saved.
• Some of us won't make decisions because we are afraid people will leave the church. Get this…Jesus' own disciples left Him.
• Pastors are to be "hospitable." That means their home is like a hospital.
• The biggest gossips in the world are pastors.
• A church is not a democracy. It is a theocracy. If your church is set up as a democracy, it is unbiblical.
• Jesus isn't interested in programs for saving the saved–he's only interested in programs for saving the lost.
• When you get to be a church of our size, the only thing that can split your church is staff. That's why we quickly get rid of dissatisfied or disloyal staff.
• I don't think the office of pastor is even biblical. The word is only used once in the New Testament and it is a spiritual gift, not a position.
• When people are giving or serving–they are more like God at that moment than any other time in their life. So we encourage people to give and serve. We do people a disservice if we train people theology who aren't serving.

Arkansas Sticks Session: Rick Bezet

I've never met Rick, but he pastors a multi-site church in central Arkansas called New Life Church. I enjoyed hearing him talk today at The Sticks conference…

• Barna did a report on why 30-50 million adults are no longer in church. The #1 reason why people are not in church is because the people that are there are "not like me." In other words, they are weird.
• Every church has weird people–but growing churches hide their weird people.
• It is amazing how mean a church can be when they aren't reaching new people. Spiritual abuse is real and it is painful.
• When you lose or leave your dream, people can tell. When you drive to your church every day without a dream, your people can tell.
• Are you dreaming about what's coming? Or are you just pumped about what's already happened?
• The average person at our church brings an unchurched friend every 2 months.
• We tell our people, "You may like our church and dig it, but you will never understand the vision of our church until you have an unchurched friend sitting next to you."
• You have to know your weakness. Mine is I work myself to death and ignore the people I love the most. So I have people in my life who go through my schedule with me.
• If you are the pastor, you are in the best position to ruin your church. Live with integrity.
• You may have alot of power, but you don't have to use all of it. Lead your church with love, not with power.

When a Man Loves a Woman

A fun way for married couples to consider how he can get her in the mood. This dramatic video, featuring Mark and Kem Meyer, was used during Granger's Sex for Sale series week #2.