The Worship Bucket LIst

Found a great blog post through LinkedIn.

10 Bucket Wishes for Worship Before I Die

How often do we just go through the motions of church. The Sunday morning pre-game rush. Personally, I dislike the Sunday-get-ready-for-church-hurry-up-eat-your-breakfast-we're-going-to-be-late routine. Not the best mood to be in when I get to church service and need to get ready to worship.

#11 Arrange ahead of time to meet in the woods or at a farm (non-church member's) and through the week, secretly get the word out to where to meet and when, but there's one more catch..... everybody needs to arrive at different times and from different directions, so it's a secret meeting. Perhaps meet under the cover of darkness at night. Welcome to how many of brothers and sisters meet to worship.


What's on your Worship Bucket List? Get out there and do it.

The BibleStick

Just in time for Marine Corp Day & Veterans Day

As we take the time to remember those who sacrificed for our freedoms, lets give back to those who are serving now.

Christian ministry plans Veterans Day salute

USA (MNN) -- November 11 is Veterans Day, an annual American holiday honoring military veterans. It's a good time to remember the troops who face danger daily. The love of Christ is bringing hope. Troy Carl with Faith Comes By Hearing says the "iPod" generation is responding positively to the military BibleStick. In fact, "We really hope that people will take this opportunity to sponsor a soldier, provide the pure Scripture that meets their challenges and helps give them comfort in their time of need." A BibleStick is a digital audio player loaded with an Audio Drama New Testament, specially geared for combat zones. The response? "Over 22,000 military BibleSticks have been distributed through chaplains all around the world, and it's having a tremendous impact. Of course, now they're saying, 'Give us more!'" Hundreds have requested one, only to find that they're already gone. How can you help? Carl says, "You can sponsor a soldier with a military stick for $25, and that also includes our ministry providing an audio Bible on disk to their loved one."

Re-immergence

It's a little ironic now the last post was entitled "The Vanishing Point" and that of all the blog posts here, that one got a comment.

There is too much to update, so here is a summary: Life is almost back to normal. I'm not sure what that is, but it sounds good. It won't be normal for long. We are having another baby!

I hope you're still breathing and reading. We've taken the mantle of the kids program that runs concurrently with Mom2Mom, twice a month. Elaine is also spearheading Good News Club at one of the Syracuse Schools.
I'm going to assist with the Wednesday night and run games. Our studio is still willing to help out your church ministry, same as always. In fact we'll be looking to shoot some video very soon on a project for Syracuse Alliance.

October is here, and October is Clergy Appreciation month. So in appreciation of our clergy, we are offering a free professional portrait of the pastor, him and his family and a headshot. The portraits will be available for free download and printing. If you are in the Syracuse area, or could be, or in central New York and not far away from Syracuse, give us a call.

Vanishing Point

I stumbled upon a soul searching question in a writing/marketing blog.

"If your church disappeared from the neighborhood, and in essence didn’t exist in your community, who would notice?"

Let that question sink in and grab a tall cup of coffee to plumb its depth. Here's the article by Ryan Imel at Copyblogger. Take a few minutes to read it and then come on back for a few thoughts about disappearing churches.

This post has been on the back burner a long time.

Is my church effectively reaching it's target? If we closed up "shop" would people miss us? Would they find another place to worship God, or would they fall away? That's a test of depth of ministry.
Is my church different that the 2 dozen other evangelical churches in the neighborhood? Am I reaching a culture group effectively, or am I broadcasting and hoping someone is listening?
Is this ministry filling a need of ministry or a need for me to feel important?

Do people really listen. An interesting survey was just released and people are very comfortable being invited to church (especially around Easter) by a friend. Do we invite friends? Do we have friends that don't attend church?

Many are concerned about the political movement away from conservatism and judeo-christian ethics. We've got no one to blame but ourselves.

I had an interesting conversation with an old friend. His kids were so busy playing church, they fell off the boat. They both have children out of wedlock and are not attending or involved in a church. From my generation about 1990 to the present we have lost our focus. We have played church so long, we don't know what the real thing is. Our youth have suffered. They have lost their way and are adrift on the open sea of relativism and moral ambiguity.

Man the rescue boat. We need to venture out on the high seas.

Diversity and Community

I attended the world premiere of Tales from the Salt City. Thanks to Syracuse.com for the picture Here's what Syracuse Stage had to say about the production:

Tales From the Salt City
Conceived and directed by Ping Chong October 14 – November 2
World Premiere
A powerful exploration of the changing face of Syracuse
through an interview-based theatre work, Don't Look Back
presents the first hand narratives of citizens of Syracuse—both
recent arrivals and long-standing residents—who are in some
way living outside the dominant culture. Created by theatrical
innovator Ping Chong and constructed as a chamber piece of
storytelling, the performance features real people telling their
personal experiences of creating cultural identity out of rich
and complex histories. Ping Chong continues the compelling
work he has done throughout the United States exploring the
divergent lives that make up our communities. These stories
will carry us around the globe and bring us home with a
more complete understanding of how the world out there
is the world right here.

It was really very good. It's about how each of us bring our past and culture to where we are now and it forms us and gives us a framework for social interaction. From a missions perspective, we are missing the boat. We have not done a good job understanding the mix of culture and "old world community" that these people have. Here's a short list of who's who in the play. Some of these people have been here for a long time and some haven't. But if we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we forgot some people groups: Hispanics, Latinos, Blacks, Cambodians, Eastern Europeans, and First Nation People. in all of their cultures there is an element that leads into the goodness of the gospel. In these seven individuals, there is an event that Jesus can heal their wounds and calm their life storms. The other underlying theme is the lack of good community in Syracuse. In some way they each expressed a loss for the community they had before and didn't find in Syracuse. It's a report card on Syracuse, we failed.
I'm no Ping Chong, but I'd like to rewrite the play to have seven martyrs/prisoners (Jesus freaks) and then take it to churches for missions education and motivation.

October is Persecuted Church Month

I came across a number of items of importance that you should know about:

October if Clergy Appreciation month. Hit the jump to find out more.

October is also Persecuted Church month. It is a time to remember our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. We need to pray for them. Find out more at Voice of the Martyrs. Teens need to know that Christians around the world face death and imprisonment for their faith. Check out the Underground Reality inside Vietnam. DC talk is still going strong at JesusFreaks.net. They've got a great interactive map right on the home page to see what's going on around the world.

Anti-blasphemy resolution impact brought to forefront

(Photos by Reuters/Eric Thayer)

International (MNN) ― The United Nations Anti-Blasphemy resolution is drawing the ire of mission groups.

Carl Moeller with Open Doors explains that in application, "This anti-blasphemy resolution is mostly seen to be putting a 'chilling effect' on Christian work and outreach around the world, and that is a very troubling development for us."

Free speech advocates say the non-binding resolution is being used to intimidate believers and spread Sharia law. Adopted in 2007, Resolution 62/145 reads in part: It "notes with deep concern the intensification of the campaign of defamation of religions and the ethnic and religious profiling of Muslim minorities in the aftermath of 11 September 2001."

Despite the good intentions, Moeller says, "The reality is that wherever Christianity and Islam come into relationship with each other in the culture, the net effect has been for Christian evangelism to be silenced or to be intimidated through this act."

Though it has little teeth in law, the act has been reviewed and passed more than once. That gives it some kind of authority and often emboldens militant Islamists to use it as a club against Christians.

In effect, it is a shield for the fundamentalists who retaliate against perceived offenses. Moeller says the resolution passes under the guise of protecting religion, but it actually endangers religious minorities in Islamic countries.

That's why he's urging prayer. "The slope is so slippery because everything that purports to criticize Islam is considered 'blasphemy.' Anything that promotes another religious viewpoint, like Christianity, is considered 'blasphemy.' It really becomes the ultimate weapon against free religious speech around the world."

Open Doors is raising awareness, Moeller adds, because "people need to get involved with organizations that are standing up to draw attention to the anti-blasphemy laws...to make true religious freedom a hallmark of international religious liberty and not a sham of anti-blasphemy laws that the UN is passing."

If you're in New York or Pennsylvania this is for you (My apologies, if you're else where, it may be to far.):
Pastors' Conference with James MacDonald On October 28th.

Family Life invites you to attend a one-day Pastor’s conference with Dr. James MacDonald (Lunch will be served). The event is free and will be held at The Family Life Center in Bath, NY. Check-in begins at 8:30 am and the conference starts at 9:00 am. Registration is necessary. Please call 607-776-4151 or 800-927-9083 during regular business hours to pre-register for the event.

This years conference we are excited that the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, NC has offered a give away package for a Pastor and spouse to either the 2009 Pastor's Institute or Leadership Institute (dates TBD). The package would include one night's lodging as well as meals and materials.

The moment it converges!

Coincidence, no. Divine convergence, yes. Several things have converged in my life, I attended a seminar "Breaking the 500 Barrier", I really got know and understand the words of "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath and I read "Who Stole My Church?" by Gordon MacDonald.
First of all, if that title, "Who Stole My Church?" is something you're asking yourself, then you need to read the book. If it intrigues you, then you need to read the book and if you're a leader, then you need to read the book.
What are we doing to re-focus the church to go beyond the four walls? The church is not for those inside it's fold, but the lost still outside. How do we get them inside? We need to have Jesus' eyes and Jesus' arms and Jesus hands to see them, love them and serve them. We knock down the barriers by making our church a place of relevance to the lost. The message doesn't change, but the way we reach out, changes.
Ours is a post-modern world, a scary place where people don't have a basic understanding of Judeo-Christian thought patterns. They are wandering in the dark, and their are many lights that beckon them. The question is what is our local light doing to attract them?

Distribution of Grace

The Distribution of Grace, a series on how God has shown His redemptive plan through the Bible and into our modern times. My goal with this series is not to incite a theological debate, but to bring out the truths of the Word about how God dealt with man, so that our students will have a greater understanding.The purpose of giving you a place to interact is just that, a place to post your thoughts and insights. I will moderate only the very decisive comments that do not fit our post.
The goal here is what should our response to God's grace be?

An Evangelical Indictment

Pretty harsh words to swallow, but I think we deserve them. Here's the findings of a recent Pew Foundation Survey of beliefs in America.
We've really messed up. A generation has lost sight of the harbor because we didn't keep the light on in the lighthouse.
A lighthouse has to have absolutely clean glass, the lenses were cleaned everyday, and they weren't just ordinary pieces of glass. At the time of manned lighthouses, the light used a Fresnel lens. They focused the light and intensified the beam to cut through the night and storms to show the way to the safe harbor.

I think some hard questions need to be answered:
Am I willing to take responsibility for my failure to keep the light on?
Am I going to re-trim the light, and clean the glass?
We have a generation that has already begun to sink and we need to get in the water to get them out, are we prepared?
Who will take over the light house when we are gone? The church is never more than one generation from extinction, and now more so than ever.
Do I know the truth of the Bible? Have I compromised it in my teaching or beliefs?

The clarion call of alarm has sounded, how do we respond?
(this is the reader participation part: comments.)

Special thanks to my friend at the court house who smuggled me and the camera into the empty court room for photos.

Train for Battle

Psalm 144:1
Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.

When I first stumbled across this verse, I thought, "Wow, cool verse!" Then I began to think more about it, and then I wondered what translation they had used, this is the NIV for those that like to keep track. I wanted to be sure that I had a solid translation, so I could understand it, and the context, why would David write it?

Are we trained? Have we allowed to God to train us? How do we do battle? How do we fight? We fight not with physical swords and shields (lots of fun to play with sharp pointy objects, check out the nearest Renaissance Faire), but we wrestle with powers and principalities that we cannot see.

It is a spiritual fight. Actually its easier than we think, but it's the toughest thing we'll ever do:

• It's easier than we think because the battle's already been won. The penalty has been paid by Jesus on the cross.
• It's the toughest thing we'll ever do, because we are so easily fooled into complacency by the enemy, lured into compliance with sin by our old nature.

What's this contrast, then and how does letting God train our fingers for battle? For me it is the gift of a sharp technical mind combined with a gift of writing (not world class like Solzhenitsyn), but hopefully improving. One of the things I set out to do about a year ago was to write a story for our daughter explaining the deeper truths of being a child of God. She is a full heir to the kingdom, because she has accepted Jesus as Savior. What the project became was a story, Princess Afeicta is Named an Heir, a renaissance princess (her alter-ego) is named an heir to the kingdom, even though she is a daughter. I've posted it to WordPress so you can access it, personalize it and print it out to read to your daughter(s).

What's your fingers trained to do?

Oracle on Delhi Studios

Starting with the Stewardship of a Dying Planet we are bringing our stock photos to the blog. We have a growing archive of stock photography. Oracle on Delhi Studios is officially open for business. If we can serve your photography needs, let us know.

God's Goals or Safe Goals?

I recently stumbled upon a missions project to raise some funds for a special item. The item had no specific price tag, but would fund various ministries. The goal was x-amount of dollars. I thought, well that shouldn't be too hard. When my wife and I looked at it together, we both thought something new-- this was a typo. They had left off a zero.
They hadn't. They had a nice little safe goal. I'm not saying that it wasn't bathed in prayer, but it was certainly obtainable. God didn't even need to roll up a sleeve, or break a sweat, to accomplish this one.
We're in the process of converting our office to a nursery, out with the office, and in with the pink baby stuff. I stumbled on a treasure cache of stuff, lot's of trash, lot's of recycling and dust behind the bookcases (who would think you have to remove books and dust behind them). I came across a missions magazine which had an article from a pastor. Small church, average attendance 200, missions-hearted. They heard of a need for a Missionary hospital in Africa. They began to raise money and within a year, they had $50,000. They didn't want to hold on to the money, but get it there for the missions work, so they sent it and during the process found out the total cost was $100,000. They decided they would raise the rest. Within the next year, they did it -- God did it. God flexed His muscle and through His people He gets the glory.
God raised the $100,000 through His people, for His work. The church's regular giving and tithing never dropped off, they paid all their bills all the way through.

Do we pick safe goals, that we can obtain, God doesn't need to be bothered with this? Or do we let God direct what the goal should be, so that He can roll up His sleeves and flex His might, so that He gets all the glory for what was accomplished.

I get goosebumps when God starts flexing His muscles.

Wherefore art thou on the arts, Romeo?

We went to see "Daniel & The Lion's Den" at the Sights & Sounds Theater. It was spectacular! They have a fantastic theater unlike any other I've seen. Sights & Sounds Theater

World class theater with the gospel message at the end of every production.

We can't compete with the budget and talent of Sights & Sounds, but that doesn't leave us out of the arts. I was driving through an urban neighborhood a few weeks ago and to my surprise, the old movie theater was still there and hanging on! It gave me a thought, wouldn't it be cool if a local church or a group of churches could take an old theater, and use it for a artsy coffee shop, small stage for theater that honors God, and the movie screen for movies that can reach into our culture today?

What would it take? A small run down theater, a modest start up budget, some dedicated passionate individuals and God flexing His muscles (click here for more about God flexing His muscles). There is a way to show God's love and mercy through the arts, there is a way to show His compassion and sacrifice through the arts, there is a way to reach many for the kingdom through the arts.

Christians often complain about the arts, and about movie and theater and television. Yet they have no alternative. We need to be involved in the arts, to change the current direction, to redeem the arts for God's purposes.

"Let them have cake and eat it too." I say let us have arts and evangelize too.
Wherefore art thou on the arts, Romeo?

Which school are you?

There's a lot of talk about the "old school". It's full of nostalgia, happy memories, it's what we had and what we think we want for our children.

Then there is the "new school". It's full of progressive ideas, change, and often scary ideas.

The church is only one generation from dying out. Our "old school" generation is supposed to teach the "new school" the doctrine, and let the new school figure out the effective method for reaching the unschooled.

Who are the unschooled? That is the world we live in. There are people in America who only know Jesus as a swear word. They may have heard of a Bible, some old book grandma has on the shelf, covered in dust and not very useful. They may be the college professor who finds religion as quaint and a crutch for weak people. It could be the drug addict who has forgotten the lessons learned at Vacation Bible School as a child. It's the single mom, afraid, hungry, has to move out of the apartment and has no place to live.
It could be the surgical doctor who has watched so many die, he himself is jaded about life. It could be the family down the street, with all the toys and picture perfect life, who is happily going along through life without a thought to what may come after.
Maybe its us, those who grew up second generation in the church and we live on the faith of our parents, never coming to our own faith. We just do church, know all the right answers and look good in the pew.

All of us fit into one of these categories, we're ready to teach, ready to learn, or ready to learn. Before we go further, we need to evaluate one thing: new does not equate better. The new school needs the old school, and the old school can't reach the unschooled without the new school.

As we come into a new era of church, an era without church choirs, less hymns, multi-media worship, 20 minute sermons, mega-churches and multimedia illustrations; let's remember it's not the stuff of church that's important.

The most important thing is the message.

The message does not change, the Bible does not change, God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. When the old school focuses on the message, and allows the new school to change the method, the unschooled is brought into the kingdom.

Which school are you in?
What I am supposed to be doing?

Listening or Speaking?

Get all the advice and instruction you can, and be wise the rest of your life.
--Proverbs 19:20, NLT

Do we spend more time talking, sticking the word in edgewise, fighting to get a word in, so that we can be heard? Elaine has really enjoyed being pregnant through the first two trimesters, enjoyed it, because she is looking to what is coming, not the uncomforts of now. She has been getting weekly emails about pregnancy. One of the hot topics in pregnancy is naming the baby. There are megabytes consumed on the spelling, and people arguing in the blog on how to spell a name.

I just picked up a book from the library, "The Cult of the Amateur" which is about the internet: blogging, video posts and such. Everybody has a voice, but nobody is listening. The internet is the new interactive TV!

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7
There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven...
A time to be silent and a time to speak

Now that I have spoken what's on my mind, it is time for silence, that I can learn and be wise.

Are you too busy speaking to listen?

Christmas Blindness

To have been the proverbial fly on the wall when Herod called for the religious leaders, to inquire about a baby king. They probably went knee-knocking and praying. They knew all about the prophecies and when they would be fulfilled, just like the Magi.

They probably wanted to send others, out of fear of Herod. They went, they acted like it was nothing, an ancient prophecy, but no one that could threaten Herod. They were so entrenched in the political scheme, they were blind to God moving.

I wonder, did they believe the prophecies, or did they not care, were they entrenched in the politics of the day, or were they too afraid of losing their necks to believe. Either way it amounted to unbelief. They didn't want to travel the 12 miles to Bethlehem, where they could have easily gone on temple business (that's where the lambs were raised for sacrifice).

I must confess, spiritual blindness from time to time. I have truly enjoyed being freed up from weekly grind of ministry. I didn't enjoy it when we were placed in sabbatical. It has been good to have a break. I have had my spirit refreshed and now looking forward to what God has started new.

Valueless or Priceless

Working in the housing industry, its fun to watch some of HGTV's shows like "House Hunters." Recently they had on a couple who were looking for a house in New York City. They were willing to ink a mortgage for $200,000 but not a marriage license. This is common in our day. There is a lot of political muscle behind living together. It is true that getting a divorce is easy, but there is commitment deeper than piece of paper.

That got Elaine thinking:

• Marriage is like owning a Rembrandt original. It's beautiful and is priceless. It anchors the decor of the entire room and shows that the owners have taste and class. It is priceless because it can never be replaced.
  
• Living together is taking that Rembrandt original in to an antique dealer offers you a trade for a print of the original, it looks the same, even has the same frame, sits smartly in the decor of the room, but it is valueless.
  

Elaine and I have a beautiful framed marriage certificate, that was sent to us from the town we applied in. It is very nice, we framed it and it hangs above the fireplace in the living room. What can we do as a church to promote this? I did a quick search and found that few places offer a marriage certificate that looks nice enough to frame, unless it's a wedding chapel. Christian Book Distributors does have them!

What a great gift from the church to a newly married couple, a framed wedding certificate for their living room. They can display it proudly and quietly tell the world, we're in this for life.

Isn't that priceless?

Potatoes

Potatoes are like youth ministry (ministry in general too), you never know what you've got until after they've grown.

We grow potatoes every year, usually we chop up some sorry white potatoes from the bottom of the potato urn, those, greenish, soft, eyed, and sprouted mess that comes from leaving the potatoes in the dark too long. Chop them into sections, and throw them just under the soil in the garden. Wait until fall, and dig them up. The potatoes will be all around the potato patch.
You never know how many potatoes you'll have until you dig them up. This year we had six plants, from potato sections. They died off, fairly early in the summer, and I figured they wouldn't do much, but to my surprise, I was an hour digging them out. I found that piece of pottery in the upper left corner of the basket. My yard grows pottery fairly well.

Surprise, Surprise.

Even when it doesn't seem like you are making a difference in ministry. Hang in there, the potatoes aren't ready to be dug up.