Not for me or Allison but for the kids…I am very excited to see Sophie reading with emphasis and excitement.  Do you remember the Dick and Jane books? (Run, Spot, run…Sillly, silly Spot…See Sally play, etc.)  Memaw and Pappaw especially love curling up with Sophie and listening to her read.

Seth and Sean are always reading to their brother and sister at night.  They read Calvin & Hobbes cartoons to them and other library books and just laugh.  They both (Seth and Sean) are cutting through books left and right.  I just love it.

It has always been our desire to see not just our children but children everywhere learning to read and ultimately (especially our children) learning to read for themselves the Scriptures.

DO YOU  HAVE A SUMMER READING PLAN?

Sitting here in my first D-Min class…what a wonderful opportunity to rub shoulders with great people and a great prof (Reggie McNeal) whose finger on the pulse of our culture is excellent.

The main point of yesterday’s class was…

• INTERNAL VS. EXTERNAL CHURCH

The Missional Church is not a FAD!

• The Missional Church is not a place to do stuff (like sacraments or listening to things) it is a place to be.
• The Missional Church is not a vendor of religious goods and services like rubber stamping church growth movements that mimic the SERVICE ORIENTED SOCIETY…
• The Missional Church is not a PROGRAM DRIVEN CHURCH… we deal with consumers…we rate the worship service based on feel… this is an untenable concept in most of the world, most of the world just doesn’t get it…
• THE MISSIONAL CHURCH IS JOINING THE WORSHIP THAT IS ALREADY IN PROGRESS IN THE HEAVENLIES…
• The Missional Church is not people on mission for God…but rather on mission WITH God… This is God’s work (Psalm 67 stuff)… People Partnering with God in His redemptive mission in the world…

GOOD STUFF…MORE DETAILS LATER!

Thanks for praying!

A few years ago a friend of mine and former President of Columbia International University, George Murray shared a story that has profoundly affected me and many others.

God does not lead like a Constitutional Monarchy. He is a loving dictator. The Queen of England is a figurehead. Whether she signs the bill or not, Parliament has the final say. We sometimes treat God like he is a Queen or King in a Constitutional Monarchy. We say, “Here are my plans please sign with your blessing!” But whether God signs or not we still go along with our plans. This makes God a figurehead in our lives and not the King who should be worshipped and obeyed.

We must sign our names and let God fill in the details…

WHATEVER LORD, WHEREVER LORD, WHENEVER LORD…THE ANSWER IS YES!

My kids love Cartoon Network and they say this is a cool cartoon. Stephen Curtis Chapman sings the song..listen to the words and imagine giving God the blank sheet of paper with your signature on the bottom of it.

“the way of Jesus is always local and ordinary.”- Eugene Peterson

It is always local…grow where you are.  Know God where you are.  Make God known where you are.

It is always ordinary…the ordinary way of the Holy Spirit is power, influence, love and impact.

Local and Ordinary is what is happening in China, India, Africa and Korea…we in the west are actually individualized, secluded, inside the church walls and sub-normal, minimalized and pathetic.

Let’s get after it.

I am heading to Columbia International University for a D-Min class with Reggie McNeal.  1 week, nearly 40 hours of class and one topic- Missional Leadership.

Pray for me.

Enjoy the Motivational Posters I made up in light of the challenges we are facing and the challenges you face.

C.S. Lewis is rich…as I am reading it to my kids, I am touched deeply with the truth of our place, position and life in Christ.  The latest challenge came when Lucy finally saw Aslan again after they were “Called” back to Narnia by Prince Caspian under the tutelage of Doctor Cornelius (if you don’t know these names you gotta read the book).

She took one look at Aslan and said, “Aslan you got bigger!”  Aslan assured her that he did not change or grow one bit.  He said, “It was you that grew! And the more you grow the larger I appear.”  How true is that.  I am amazed at how big God is these days.

Psalm 63 starts off by saying, “O God, you are MY God…”  I have been reading that sentence for about a week now.  O God- you are God, there is no other God like you, you a the great God the great King the creator God.  There is not questioning that but is He close.  A RESOUNDING YES!  The Psalmist says, “You are MY God!”  That is huge because He wants to be known by me and worshipped and shared to others.  In sales it is a common understanding that if you don’t “own” the product then you can’t sell it.  May God be bigger in our eyes, hearts and souls so that we might know Him more first of all and then make Him known more fully.

Many have chosen to read C.S. Lewis’ classic Prince Caspian before they go and watch the movie.  My friend Brian Moore has done that with his family.  I understand that he actually was reading the finishing touches on their way to the movie opening day.  Great form Brian!

Anyway, we are doing that…each night I read some chapters of this great epic.  The other night we were reading about how the group quickly made a decision to kill a bear.  What they didn’t know for sure was whether it was a talking bear or not.  Susan shot late.  Trumpkin understanding the times shot rang true.  He saw the eyes of the bear and realised all he wanted was Lucy for breakfast.  Trumpkin, the Dwarf that actually found Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, said, “That’s the trouble of it, when most of the beasts have gone enemy and gone dumb…”  Gone enemy and gone dumb…

The men went to making bear steaks and the gals just couldn’t stomach it so they went a distance off and began to chat.  Lucy wonders something amazing.  She says,

“Wouldn’t it be dreadful if some day in our own world, at home, men started to go wild inside like the animals here, and still looked like men so you’d never know which were which?”

So you would never  know which were which…sometimes I wonder if this hasn’t happened in some lives.  I know in mine it is true.  We all wear masks of one sort or another.  We have the mask of predictability, pride, prejudice, materialism, greed, envy.  I tend to want things figured out and seek to control.  All such controlling is like a talking beast forgetting who he is and going dumb.  One of the challenges that lies in front of me in these days ahead is to remember who I am, whose I am and not go dumb from selfishness, fear of man, fear of rejection and the like.

Go ahead and read the book for yourself you will see this and other metaphors that fit very nicely into the Christian life.  What a blessing!

I promise this video will inspire…I love it when people get it right!

Then there are the not so sportsmanlike moments in sports…

We have a choice each day to either use our powers for good or for evil…may God be honored in all that we say and do…Check this reminder out!

I found this picture…guess what it is?  I call it the

MIND OF A WOMAN!

We had a great morning where a panel of girls answered questions in front of a group of guys and a panel of guys answered questions in front of a group of girls.  If a man knew the mind of a woman and had any ability to write he would be one of the wealthiest men in the world.  He could write a book and make millions maybe even billions.  This comes tucked away in a series on relationships and their importance for teenagers who want to honor God in all they say and do.

Here is a list of questions that we picked from:

1. What Qualities make a guy, the guy every girl wants?
2. Are girls as nervous as guys are?
3. If you meet a guy, what about him might immediately attract you?
4. What is a girl’s idea of a good first date?
5. Do girls look at guys and see them as a future husband?
6. What does a girl think when guys are physical with them?
7. What is your biggest struggle/ temptation when you are dating?
8. How can you tell a girl likes you?
9. If you liked someone, would you initiate?
10. What do guys say or do that turns a girl off?
11. Do girls secretly fart and burp and think it is really cool?
12. Why are girls so afraid of talking to guys as friends?
13. What is the most important thing to you in a relationship?
14. How would describe being pure?
15. Why do girls read into everything as if there’s a deeper meaning?
16. Why do you always go to the bathroom in groups?
17. Say you’re interested in a girl, how long would you want to be friends before you asked her out or would you not tell her that you liked her?
18. Do you think or pray about your future spouse now?
19. Why do girls tend to plan all the details surrounding their wedding day while they are teenagers?
20. What are some commitments you have made now to prepare you for a dating relationship?
21. What do girls do at sleepovers?

IF you are a Youth Pastor let me suggest that you also attempt to pull a morning like this off.  We had a mom, a college girl and some teenage girls on the panel.  We also had a dad, a college/career guy and some teenage guys on the panel.  I am sure that it will be as profitable for your ministry as it was for Calvary’s.