American Idol

Crystal and I are faithful viewers of American Idol each week. I think I've even voted once or twice. I have to admit that I love watching the early audition episodes. But anyway, now we're down to the top 20 this week and 4 more people are going home. And Thursday nights are pretty intense as you watch the reactions to the contestants and their family members when they hear they're going home. And the funny thing is the contestant is asked to sing their song after hearing the tough news that they've just lost. It's really a tough thing.

Well, last night was no exception. We said goodbye to four more people but the most memorable would be Alaina. After hearing her name she turned her back to the camera and starting crying. She even said something about this being so embarrassing. She even cried out that she couldn't sing her song.

Now, the point of this post is not to point out how great it was to see her reaction to the whole thing or to make fun of her in any way. I'm writing this post to talk about how great Ryan Seacrest the host handled the situation. He's asked to be up there with the contestant and talk with them about their experience. Well he's thrown up there with this young girl who isn't taking the news very well. So he reminded her of how great it was that she has made it this far, that she still is a great singer and should be proud of how she's handled it so far.

I've heard a lot of jokes about Ryan and how he hosts the show but I have to say that I was impressed with how he handled himself last night. Crystal and I think he does a great job being put in a lot of tough situations.

And it showed last night that he does care about other people.

As a Christ-Follower I could learn from how Ryan handled the situation last night. How important it is for me to build people up with words of life rather than tear them down with words of death. Now I don't know Ryan personally or how he acts off camera but in that moment I learned a lot about how to treat other people.

They're here

And for the record, my wife actually likes them.

Enoughness

I'm reading this cool devotional called The Message Remix: Solo. Today's passage was Exodus 16:9-16 in which I found some incredible truths. So, first check out the scripture and then come back to read this excerpt from the book:

Look at the wide range of emotions the Israelites were facing:
the deep neediness of complaining,
the excitement of seeing the glory of God in the cloud,
the perplexity of seeing this strange bread from heaven,
the satisfaction of having enough.

Then consider: If you were to complain to God right now, what would your complaint be? In what ways have you been perplexed, if any, by God's response to your complaining? How might God have truly provided enough but you didn't recognize it as God's bread from heaven--exactly what you needed?

So pray and ask God to show you how he has provided you with enough, even though you still might wonder.

Sit in the quiet and feel God's "enoughness" in your body. Where do you feel it? In arms that are full? In a quiet mind? In a stomach that feels full? In muscles that work well? If you really mean it, try delighting in this enoughness.

"Small" Group and other stuff

Here are some thoughts from the weekend:

I thought Sunday went pretty great here at Evangel. Even though my dad threw some last minute things into the service we did great! We were able to hear a little bit from the Mexico Prayer Team and I finished my series on Parenthood.

At my "small" group Sunday night we had 51 people total. Do you think it's time to multiply? Yep, me too. So we're working this week at getting people plugged into the new group. Did I mention we're multiplying after only two meetings? I guess that's a good problem to have.

As in my previous post, I went to U23D this past weekend and once again let me say that it was INCREDIBLE! If it's showing where you are you need to check it out. Enough said, just read my previous post.

I had my last basketball game this past Saturday. And I just want everyone to know that my team was undefeated! Now, there is this little detail about that...we didn't keep score. But that doesn't matter, my girls did a great job this year. It was so fun being their coach.

It's time for me to pick another class for Sunday mornings. I have finished my class on "Managing Your Finances." I have to say that it wasn't as popular as the marriage class I did before, but it was still fun.

And last night I was at my daughter's first music program. I'm sitting there as the program starts wondering how and when I got old enough to have a child doing something like this. And I'm sitting next to my dad who is wondering how he got old enough to have a child that has a child doing this.

I love my kids.

Overnighter

After spending ten years in youth ministry this video really hits home for me. Youth Pastors you'll be able to relate, it's about that one event on your calender...the overnighter.

U23D

Today I was able to finally see U23D. I have to say that the Dolby Digital 3D was incredible. It was really the best way to see a U2 concert! (Well almost as good as being there.)

They played most of the great songs: Vertigo, Beautiful Day, With or Without You, Where the Streets Have No Name, Sometimes you can't make it on your own, Pride (In the name of love), Sunday Bloody Sunday and more.

I've seen several live U2 shows on TV or DVD but this one was truly the best. Bono really is a great showman, he knows how to work the crowds! And as always The Edge was on top of his game. Adam worked the 3D cameras the most by sticking the end of his bass right in your lap.

Crystal was great too. She sat through the entire movie and actually enjoyed it a little. Although she may never admit it. I have a great wife.

And to top the afternoon off we waked out of the theatre to a snowstorm. (Great, just one more reason for people to stay home from church tomorrow.)

So if you're a U2 fan or just want to have a great 3D experience, get out there and check this one out! And make sure you stick around through the credits for the song "Yahweh."

Found Them

After two weekends trying. I found them.
After spending time on three websites trying to get through the traffic, it's done.

The collection continues.

Super Bowl is Legal

Well it's good to see that the NFL has decided to let churches watch the Super Bowl on screens larger than 55 inches. (Check out the details here.) I know a lot of churches that stopped doing an annual Super Bowl party just because the NFL was being crazy. I don't mind that they had the policy it just didn't seem fair when sports bars could show the game however they wanted.

So we'll have a great Super Bowl party next February right here at Evangel. Inflatables, Madden tournament, free food, give-aways and hopefully the Cowboys playing in the game.

Well four out of five wouldn't be bad.

Old Friends

Look who popped up on iChat today: Derek Johnsen



It's good to talk with old friends.

Listen Up

I just read an incredible post from Mark Beeson who is the Senior Pastor at Granger Community Church. For the full post just click the link above, but I had to reprint some of it here. It made me think about life here at Evangel. Here it is:

"Prior to lift off, while Ed the Flight Steward was giving instructions on surviving “should the use of oxygen be necessary” I couldn’t help but notice the condition of a first-time-ever-flyer. Unlike many around her, she was hanging on Ed’s every word. While frequent flyers ignored Ed’s prompt that “should it be necessary you can use your seat cushion as a floatation device,” this lady was all ears. (I could tell she was trying to figure out how to look at her seat cushion while sitting on it.)
I probably would have thought nothing of this neophyte’s apprehensions if she could have heard Ed’s calming instructions. During his monologue he tried to assure her that she’d be fine and even if there was “a loss of cabin pressure, an oxygen mask would drop down” right in front of her.

The problem was, she couldn’t hear Ed because the two guys next to her were talking throughout his briefing.

Too bad.

She is now flying more afraid than she needs to be, handicapped by a lack of knowledge, and limited in her ability to help others because she can’t give answers she doesn’t have.

It all makes me wonder if old-timers can forget how hard it is for new people to “get it” when they join us for a service at GCC.

I wonder if we’re ever so busy talking with our friends - that we make it difficult for first-timers to hear the words they’re straining to apprehend. Could we become so accustomed to the message that we forget how desperate others are to hear it?

Life saving instruction is offered every weekend at GCC. The Way we all need is made clear. People want to know the Truth and dire consequences are in store for those who don’t hear the message. They’ll be more afraid than they need to be, handicapped by a lack of knowledge, and limited in their ability to help others because they can’t give answers they don’t have."

That's a lot to think about.

Banner

I walked into the church early this morning and found a large box/tube sitting by my door. I didn't remember ordering anything so I was really curious to see what it was. The return address was from Calvary Church in North Carolina. When I opened it this is what I found:



For those of you who don't know what that is, let me tell you. It's one of the banners I created for our youth group in North Carolina. They've recently changed their name so they sent me one of the old banners with signatures and messages from the students and leaders written all over it!

I have to say that it was a really cool surprise. Thanks to everyone who had a part in this. It made my day.

Crazy Words

I must admit that when I'm preaching sometimes I say the dumbest things. My former youth pastor is still a member of Evangel and brought this list to me after the AM service yesterday:

"These are words that you never hear in church, I'm going to post them on the internet somewhere,

butts, weenie, dang it, poop, seat warmers and take out your cell phones"

So I guess I did him a favor and posted them on the internet for him. And yes, I did say each of these things. But I'm sure they all make sense in context!

Also, I tried something different at the end of my message. I invited people in the congregation to text pastormarc to the number 66937 if they wanted to receive more information from my message this week. If you try it yourself, you should receive a message back that you'll have to reply to with the letter Y. It's kind of a cool idea, I hope it works!

Interesting Discussion

I spoke yesterday on parenting in the AM service and had an interesting discussion with a first time guest following the message. She had an issue with the following survey I used (which I picked up from lifechurch.tv)

Kids Who Become Active Christ-followers as Adults

If mom and dad went to church: 72% of kids will as adults.
If mom only went to church: 15% of kids will as adults.
If dad only went to church: 55% of kids will as adults.
If neither mom nor dad: 06% of kids will as adults.

I was stating the importance of father's taking on the spiritual leadership in the household. She felt that I was minimizing the role of the mother because the survey shows that higher number of kids will follow Christ if the father only went to church than if the mother only goes to church. She spent several minutes explaining that I was sending the message to young girls that they're not equal with men. I tried to tell her that what I was talking about had nothing to do with being equal with men. It had everything to do with men being the spiritual leader in the home. Wow, I think she missed the point just a little bit.

I feel the survey upholds the biblical principle that the men have a spiritual responsibility in their homes. And if you look closely at the survey, the highest percentage is when BOTH mom and dad go to church.

But I thought the entire message on parenting was pretty good. At least it meant a lot for me as a parent.

Now I'm working on Week 2. Should be fun.

Your thoughts?

Saturday Studies

Trying to study on a Saturday.

Wolverine

Just a quick post...just saw this in USA Today:



It's too bad the movie doesn't hit theaters until summer 2009. Looks pretty cool.

Valentine's Day

I'm really not a big fan of Valentine's Day. And it looks like I'm not alone. Just check here and here.

But before you get really mad at me and feel sorry for my wife let me explain. I want everyday to be Valentine's Day with my wife. I don't think there needs to be just one day of the year that I tell her I love her and buy her candy, flowers, cards, diamonds....

Anyway, I want my kids to see how much their daddy loves their mommy. I want them to see me treat her the right way everyday. I want them to see me take her on dates more than once a year. I want to teach my kids how a man should treat a lady.

So my goal this year is to have more than just one "Valentine's Day." My wife is totally worth it.

KJV vs. NIV

Well I've never heard a sermon like this before. I had to grab my KJV Bible just to make sure. Go ahead and check out 1 Samuel 25:22 in the KJV.

Watch until the end for the full experience.



Love to hear your thoughts.

Preaching

So, many of you saw that I was working yesterday on my day off. Why you may ask? Well, I'm starting a two week sermon series this weekend here at Evangel. My dad is taking a team down to Mexico City for a week of prayer and meetings with local pastors. So that leaves little old me here to preach on Sundays. It should be fun.

I'm going to do a series on Parenthood. I figure that we all have parents, are parents or someday will be parents. And when my kids were born they forgot to give me the manual for raising kids.

But what I've noticed is that as I'm preparing this sermon, it seems that I'm preaching to myself. This happens a lot when I start working on a sermon. It just seems that everything I'm talking about are things I need to work on. Which I think helps when I speak on Sundays, the message is something real to me.

I've also starting working on some of the creative elements for this weekend. I'm working on a little video with my kids that I'll hopefully show at the end of the message. Getting my 7 year old and 4 year old to act natural for the camera wasn't hard!

Anyway, on to work today. I need to meet with some of the guys here for some help with the creative elements. Wow, I really do miss my old creative team.

XX3

It all starts this Saturday.

Bond

well, well, well

Christianese

These are pretty funny. I read them here.

The following is a list of phrases in the impenetrable language of "Christianese." For those unfamiliar with this strange dialect, below you'll find a helpful Christianese-English Dictionary so that you can find out what your Christian friend is really saying to you.

1. I'll pray about it = NO!
2. We need to pray for so and so = Guess what I just heard?!
3. I'm waiting for God to open some doors = I'm living in my parent's basement.
4. God gave me a word for you = I have advice to help you with your disaster of a life.
5. I'm going to have my quiet time = Leave me the heck alone!
6. God is good = My life sucks.
7. Bless his/her heart = What an idiot.
8. I have the gift of discernment = I can judge people without even talking to them.
9. I was having fellowship with them = We had beer and pizza and watched the game instead of going to church.
10. I'm saved by grace, not works = I can do whatever the heck I want.
11. She caused me to stumble = What a skank.
12. I kissed dating goodbye = I couldn't get a blind date, literally.
13. Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth = I can't believe you said the real curse word!
14. I don't mean to judge but... = I'm going to judge.
15. I'm dating Jesus right now = Are you kidding? I'm way out of your league.
16. God wants me to take some time off from this relationship = I met someone else and I'm too coward to break up with you.
17. I'll pray about marrying you = NO!
18. God told me that we are supposed to get married = Maybe you'll say yes if God is behind this.
19. I'm fasting = Your spiritual life is miniscule compared to mine. Try to keep up.
20. God has called me to minister to her = She's really hot.
21. I think you should pray about it = You'll see that I'm right.
22. We've decided to court, not date = My parents have a death grip on my life.
23. Courting = Homeschool dating.
24. Lord willing = My plans are His plans.
25. Take this with a grain of salt = I'm about to really offend you.
26. I'm feeling convicted about this = One day my actions might change too!
27. Have I offended you? = Why are you treating my like garbage?
28. Who wants to pray? = I don't want to pray right now.
29. Jesus turned water into wine = Jesus turned water into grape juice. (Southern Baptist Dialect)
30. Jesus turned water into wine = I can drink whatever I want. (Presbyterian Dialect)

Super Commercials

Now that the game is over it's time to pick the best commercials. Here are some of my favorites:





Which ones did you like?

Thoughts

Here are some random thoughts from the weekend:

*We had a great weekend at Evangel. Not only did our kickoff to our Missions Sunday go really well, but our Chilli Bowl was incredible last night. The inflatables were great for the kids and the Chilli Cook-off turned out really well too. Oh yeah, there was a game on the big screens too.

*Speaking of the "Super" Bowl, I really don't understand how Cowboys fans could cheer for the New York Giants. I have to be clear here, I don't like anyone else in the NFC East. There is the Cowboys and no one else. I don't want to hear about how people are sick of the Patriots. So am I. The truth is, I disliked both teams playing last night. I just hate the Giants more.

*The New York Giants are Super Bowl Champs and Eli Manning is your MVP. Now that's a sentence I wish I had never had to write.

*We had a weird night Friday night. It seems that something my daughter ate didn't really agree with her. You never want to hear your kids knock on your bedroom door in the middle of the night and tell you that they just threw up in their bed. Not cool.

*It was fun having Charlie here this past weekend. It was great of him to hang out with some of the staff here and help give them ideas in their areas. It was also fun to just hang out again.

*My kids went to Hannah Montana 3D. It was funny to see them get home. My 7 year old daughter was on cloud nine. She thought it was great. My 4 year old son thought it was boring. Funny stuff.

*I am amazed at what parents will let their kids watch. Charlie and I went to a movie that was definitely not kid friendly. It was even at 7:30 at night. But we saw about 10 kids under the age of 10 walk in with their parents. And there were more under the age of 17. Crazy.

Well, that's enough for today.

Great Lunch

Well we finally made it over to Pei Wei for lunch yesterday. I have to say, it was really good. If you haven't heard, it's the sister store of PF Chang's.

PF Chang's food at cheaper prices and available for carryout!

And it's really close to our house. Great stuff.