Ready for your laugh for the day!

If we can't laugh at ourselves...

Discipleship

Lately I have been on a quest to find out the best way to help men (teach them to) become better, more Godly men. That quest always centers around discipleship. I have yet to find a really well crafted teachable discipleship program that reflects the values of reformed theology.

BUT - a blog feed I subscribe to published this feed recently and I really found myself resonating with what this pastor is teaching.

Check out the practical application here.

“A house is actually a school and a church, and the head of the household is a
pastor in his house.”–Martin Luther

I love that the series starts with the basics - you can't be a disciple or disciple others if you don't disciple in your own home. So the basic concepts of:

Don't neglect your family - “If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Tim. 3:5).

Disciple your Children - “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6).

Faith as a Routine - “Reading and memorizing Scripture and the catechisms of the church results in incredible development of children, both spiritually and intellectually… What families regard as important is evidenced by the manner in which they spend their time.” David Weneger

It's OUR responsibility - "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

As the series continues each point is fleshed out. He has only published 2 parts of the series but - it is so good!

Oh man...

Saw this on a friends blog - I just had to repost it!



For my friends in Santa Cruz... um... REALLY?

Hiring a Pastor

Revolution Church is in the midst of hiring a new Senior Pastor - and in that process the search team is gathering as much insight and wisodom from other churches that have had to go through the same search.

Part of that process is listening to some wise Pastors teach on that very subject. This video (34 minutes in length) is perfect at describing what a Pastor is to do - and the Pastor in the video does a great job of informing the church how they should recieve a new Pastor. Our hiring process is a little different in the RCA - as the congregation doesn't 'vote' to call a Pastor; but the other information is really applicable.

What's a Pastor to Do? from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

We are called, as members of Jesus' church to go forth and spread the Gospel - to make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - but are we doing that? Over and over I hear long time christians saying things like, "I need...", "I want...", "I feel..." . To hear that re-enforces exactly what Pastor Stetzer says in the video.

You are not hiring a leader to simply speak on Sunday, you are hiring a leader of the church... Your task is to come along side of the Pastor and help... Most of you right now are not serving in ministry inside or outside of our church. It's time to stop being a spectator and to be a participant in ministry.

So what we should be saying is, "They need...", "They want...", "They feel..." - speaking of those who don't yet follow Jesus as their Lord in an effort to then try to meet the need, desire and feeling, in Jesus' name.

That kind of thinking really energizes me.

Would you join me in praying for our new Pastor - He is out there, he is close, he is coming and he needs your prayers.

Thanks!

TrueU -

The makers of the Truth Project have developed a new curriculum for High School Students that is designed to prepare them for the world and more importantly, for their college experience.

Check it out here: http://www.mytruthproject.org/truthproject/trueu/home.html

You can watch the full version of the first episode/DVD here:

http://www.mytruthproject.org/truthproject/trueu/downloads.html

From their FAQ:

TrueU is a DVD-based apologetics curriculum. Dr. Del Tackett, architect and voice of Focus on the Family's The Truth Project®, describes this endeavor this way:
"TrueU is an apologetics training series primarily geared to help prepare high school students for the rigorous challenges and attacks that will confront them on the university campus. My guess is that it will end up benefiting a whole lot more folks than just high school seniors."

It is important to clarify that TrueU is not "The Truth Project for teens." As envisioned by Dr. Tackett and our staff, TrueU will be, in essence, a series of "prequels" (or lead-in studies) to The Truth Project.

TrueU is designed primarily to help students solidify their Christian faith with foundational apologetics training. This will equip young people to stand strong in the university environment, and also serve as a precursor to the in-depth study presented in The Truth Project of how to live out a Christian worldview in everyday life.

We would encourage those who complete TrueU to immediately join a Truth Project small group, if possible, and continue exploring the practical day-to-day application of a biblical worldview.

The primary target group for TrueU is students ages 15-22 — i.e., high school students who are preparing to go to college and undergraduate students who have already begun to experience an onslaught of challenges both in and out of the classroom.

We believe, however, that adults will also find the teaching very valuable. We envision TrueU to be a great resource for youth groups, Sunday School classes, home-based small groups, homeschools, and individuals who want to strengthen their faith.

World View... Biblical or not?

As I progress through the Truth Project for the second time I am overwhelmed at the knowledge I lack in terms of who I am and who God has made me to be. If you truly want to gaze into the face of God, you should consider taking this course.

WOW...

Here are a small sampling of some of the stuff we are learning about.

Worldview



Who is God ?



What is Evil ?



What is Church ?



What is the meaning of life ?



You want to join us on the next tour through the Truth Project? Send me an email and I will tell you when it starts!!!

um...

So is Obama saying that if his health care system was in place 5 years ago, she would have been planning a funeral instead of her mothers 100th birthday? I think I heard him say - just take a pill and die quietly - without saying it.

No, wait - he said, 'y-y-y-ya know, no one cares if your mom loves life - she has reached her expiration date - 99 years and that's long enough under our government standard'.

This is the change you all wanted? Not me, that's why I didn't vote for him.

G.I. Joe

My son really wanted to see this movie - and since most of his friends flaked on him I decided to go with him. What a joy - first and foremost, getting to spend some dad and son time was great (I even let him drive us to and from the theater) and the movie was not as bad as I thought.

From all the reviews I have seen it was supposed to be a real stinker - but it was quite enjoyable. The best part - no nudity, no sex and only one bad word! For a PG13 movie - it wasn't bad. Of course it is a movie full of soon to be release action figures and accompanying vehicles, squirt guns and the like, but it was very nice.

Good choice Garhett!

Now when can I see the Star Trek Movie?!?

FAME

I can't wait to see this movie - September 25th. It stars Kherington Payne - my daughters favorite dancer from season 4 of "So you think you can dance".



I love dance...