Saturday's coming...Shocking news, I know - I'm pretty sure every week since the dawn of time has included a Saturday. And though I'm a big fan of Saturdays in general, this Saturday is a bit more of a big deal to me. It's the main Charlotte area fundraiser for Damian Marta, and I and the Element community are honored to be able to be a part of it. If you don't know Damian or what the fundraiser's about, the overview is this: Damian is a guy who's been a part of Element since the doors opened three years ago. He has muscular dystrophy, it's getting worse, and he's headed to Germany in a couple of weeks for some intense procedures. Naturally, they're very expensive, and we're helping to raise money for him. Details can be found on his website, which you can get to by clicking here. If you're anywhere near the Charlotte area this Saturday, come on out to Reedy Creek Park, and help us help Damian make it possible!
That's the overview. There's more to it than that for me, though, and as I've been thinking about this a lot for some months now, I keep returning to one particular thought. We don't live life in a vacuum. In other words, we collide with other people and other lives on a daily basis, and we really don't have much choice in the matter. Sure, you can go live in a cave somewhere, and make the decision to isolate yourself from the world. But you still entered the world in a community of sorts...Nobody has ever lived a life completely untouched by another. And there's both good and bad to this idea. Some of our interactions are frustrating, hurtful, and downright poisonous. Some of them are encouraging, strengthening, and beautiful. Still others don't really register one way or the other. They're just there, and not memorable for any particular reason. But all of them, evil and divine, shape us. They mold us. They challenge us. They give us reasons for doing doing what we do. They point us towards God, and sometimes far, far away from Him. And I've been thinking about this a lot, because I've encountered my share of both, and the degree to which they shape me won't let me go lately.
And occupying a firm spot in the "pointing me towards God" category is Damian. I met him on a Sunday morning three years ago, led a life group with him, and am now privileged to work with him on the Element Vision Team. But more than that, Damian has been, and is, a force for good in my life. He challenges me to think harder - he encourages me think more selflessly - he points me towards a path of living more boldly and fearlessly - he prays for me - he doesn't accept pat answers - he's smarter than I am, but doesn't rub it in my face - he gently forces me to evaluate, and re-evaluate - He's a one-man wrecking crew. In the best possible way. I've been pretty blessed in this life, as far as friends and family go...And I've had what feels like an awful lot of undeserved support from the people in my life. At this particular time in life, one of those pillars of support, and an indelible imprint of God on my life, has been Damian. As I began taking on a speaking role from the stage at Element over a year and a half ago, he was there, debriefing, praying, encouraging, and helping me not to take myself too seriously. As I stepped into this role of Lead Pastor, he's been all of those things and then some. And to say I'm grateful would simply be a shadow of what I really feel. I know I'm embarrassing him by making him the subject of a blog, and I know he'll deflect all the praise in his inimitable way, and I know I'm gushing entirely too much here. Fine, I'll say something negative about him. He has an inflated sense of his own chili-making abilities, and there is a limit to how much Philadelphia Eagles gear should adorn your house, a limit to which he seems blissfully unaware.
But I felt like this is a blog worth writing. Because if we don't live life in a vacuum, and God has set this whole thing in motion in the context of having to live, breathe, and work alongside people, then I think we want to choose the inner circle somewhat carefully. We're not strong enough, any of us, to make all the right decisions on our own or to keep our focus on God through all of life's twists and turns. And though having the right people around us doesn't make everything perfect, guarantee the outcomes, or stop me from being stupid far more often than I'd like to admit, it's the most potent way that God has given me, and all of us in this human world, to see Him more clearly, and to shape us to become more like Him. In other words, everyone should have a Damian or two in their life. People who aren't afraid to show you that a life spent pursuing God is infinitely better than a life spent settling for my own agenda. People help shape our lives in profound ways...Let's be people who allow the most intimate and primary shaping to be done by passionate followers of the living God, and who strive to paint pictures of the beauty of God everywhere we go, for everyone we meet. Peace...
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Making decisions, or not...
“It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I've been thinking a lot lately about decisions. Pretty exciting topic, I know...Ease off me, will ya? I have no life. But the thing is, I've been having a bunch of conversations lately with people about the decision-making process, and it's led to a bunch of evaluating things in my own thoughts. And then just as I was about to draw my conclusions and leave this incredibly fun-filled mental romp, I came across the above quote, and the whole thing started again. I figured I wouldn't get any rest from it until I wrote on it, so here you go.
It feels to me like to a large degree, we've allowed the world to define our options for us...And not only define the options, but to define the appropriate responses. And so when we're faced with issues, or dilemmas, or problems to be solved, we've allowed ourselves to be effectively crippled. I'm not talking about basic wishy-washiness here; I'm guiltier than anyone on this - just try asking me where I feel like going for dinner sometime. Bring a book, 'cause you'll be waiting a while. I'm talking about the stuff that matters...You know what that stuff is in your own life. The stuff you feel deeply about. The stuff that has consequences. The stuff that you'll look back on and be grateful you made the decision, or file it in the "lessons learned the hard way" category. But let's ask ourselves the tough question right up front here: Where do your available options come from? In other words, who or what defines for you the paths you could legitimately go down? And why do you let them do so?
I think Bonhoeffer has this right - We all know people who seem to be able to make the tough decisions a little easier than the rest of us, and who seem to have less trouble putting thought into action. And something I hear from people all the time, although they don't always come right out and say, it that that such people in some way have it easier than the rest of us. Their circumstances lined up better, or they had advantages that we don't have, or they had money, or they had no looming relationship issues getting in the way, or whatever. And it seems like the decisions they're faced with have more obvious answers. Ever felt this way, even a little bit? Ever lamented your lack of options? But here's the thing...Who told you that you had no options, or that yours were more limited than someone else? Because the thing is, the most basic decision we have to make is this: Are you going to let the world define what's available to you, or are you going to stake a claim? And as a follower of God, your claim is based on what He says is open to you, not what other people say. And at the most basic level, the difference between people is not the circumstances, but what we do with them. Do you trust Him, and act on it, or do you let yourself be caged in indecision? The Bible really doesn't pull any punches when it comes to defining who we should allow to speak into our lives. Proverbs 14:7 says: "If you are looking for advice, stay away from fools." Unfortunately, most of us really suck at putting this into practice. Oh, most of us would say we don't listen to fools, but the reality is, how many decisions do we make and try to justify, knowing full well that God wasn't honored in the decision, or that it wasn't good for us. And how many of us have had friends affirm those same decisions? How many of us actively seek real accountability for the decision we make, including welcoming people calling us on it when the things we're considering are pretty much stupid?
Now believe me, I know this is not easy. Nobody wants to swallow their pride and admit they're going down the wrong road - I can think of approximately twelve million times in my life I allowed options to be entertained that I knew were lame choices, or acted on things I knew weren't what God would be stoked for me to do. But again, the Bible is not so ambiguous on this topic: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." James 1:5. Will He write it in the sky for you? Will He make everything fall into place? Will He remove all the bad options? Likely no to all of the above. What He WILL do, though, is give you the ability and the wisdom to sift out the stupid stuff, and to discern the choices He wants you to consider. Chances are pretty good you knew most of those anyway - If you aren't excited to have other people (other followers of Christ, or even just the people who truly want what's best for you) know what decision you're making, that's often a pretty huge clue! But here's where we run into one of the toughest parts: What do you do when you feel like the options you have are defined by God, and there's legitimacy to each possible choice? What happens when you feel like God's not giving you any direct input? Back to Bonhoeffer...Make a decision. Or, as the wild-eyed, shirtless, scary-looking former lead singer of Black Flag, Henry Rollins says: “The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.” Or in less, um, patient terms, he says: "“Life is full of choices, if you have the guts to go for it. That's why I get immediately bored with anyone's complaining about how boring their life is, or how bad their town is. *bleeping* leave and go somewhere else. Or don't.” Which is actually more Biblical than you'd think! Consider the following: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Ex 14.15.
In other words, let God define your choices, pray about them like He's a God that actually exists and cares what you do, and then act. Maybe you'll fail. Join the club. Making the right decision is never a guarantee that life will turn out the way you want it to. But make the decisions. Live a life that pursues Him. Make the choices that honor Him. Let God sort out the rest. Let's do this thing...
I've been thinking a lot lately about decisions. Pretty exciting topic, I know...Ease off me, will ya? I have no life. But the thing is, I've been having a bunch of conversations lately with people about the decision-making process, and it's led to a bunch of evaluating things in my own thoughts. And then just as I was about to draw my conclusions and leave this incredibly fun-filled mental romp, I came across the above quote, and the whole thing started again. I figured I wouldn't get any rest from it until I wrote on it, so here you go.
It feels to me like to a large degree, we've allowed the world to define our options for us...And not only define the options, but to define the appropriate responses. And so when we're faced with issues, or dilemmas, or problems to be solved, we've allowed ourselves to be effectively crippled. I'm not talking about basic wishy-washiness here; I'm guiltier than anyone on this - just try asking me where I feel like going for dinner sometime. Bring a book, 'cause you'll be waiting a while. I'm talking about the stuff that matters...You know what that stuff is in your own life. The stuff you feel deeply about. The stuff that has consequences. The stuff that you'll look back on and be grateful you made the decision, or file it in the "lessons learned the hard way" category. But let's ask ourselves the tough question right up front here: Where do your available options come from? In other words, who or what defines for you the paths you could legitimately go down? And why do you let them do so?
I think Bonhoeffer has this right - We all know people who seem to be able to make the tough decisions a little easier than the rest of us, and who seem to have less trouble putting thought into action. And something I hear from people all the time, although they don't always come right out and say, it that that such people in some way have it easier than the rest of us. Their circumstances lined up better, or they had advantages that we don't have, or they had money, or they had no looming relationship issues getting in the way, or whatever. And it seems like the decisions they're faced with have more obvious answers. Ever felt this way, even a little bit? Ever lamented your lack of options? But here's the thing...Who told you that you had no options, or that yours were more limited than someone else? Because the thing is, the most basic decision we have to make is this: Are you going to let the world define what's available to you, or are you going to stake a claim? And as a follower of God, your claim is based on what He says is open to you, not what other people say. And at the most basic level, the difference between people is not the circumstances, but what we do with them. Do you trust Him, and act on it, or do you let yourself be caged in indecision? The Bible really doesn't pull any punches when it comes to defining who we should allow to speak into our lives. Proverbs 14:7 says: "If you are looking for advice, stay away from fools." Unfortunately, most of us really suck at putting this into practice. Oh, most of us would say we don't listen to fools, but the reality is, how many decisions do we make and try to justify, knowing full well that God wasn't honored in the decision, or that it wasn't good for us. And how many of us have had friends affirm those same decisions? How many of us actively seek real accountability for the decision we make, including welcoming people calling us on it when the things we're considering are pretty much stupid?
Now believe me, I know this is not easy. Nobody wants to swallow their pride and admit they're going down the wrong road - I can think of approximately twelve million times in my life I allowed options to be entertained that I knew were lame choices, or acted on things I knew weren't what God would be stoked for me to do. But again, the Bible is not so ambiguous on this topic: "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." James 1:5. Will He write it in the sky for you? Will He make everything fall into place? Will He remove all the bad options? Likely no to all of the above. What He WILL do, though, is give you the ability and the wisdom to sift out the stupid stuff, and to discern the choices He wants you to consider. Chances are pretty good you knew most of those anyway - If you aren't excited to have other people (other followers of Christ, or even just the people who truly want what's best for you) know what decision you're making, that's often a pretty huge clue! But here's where we run into one of the toughest parts: What do you do when you feel like the options you have are defined by God, and there's legitimacy to each possible choice? What happens when you feel like God's not giving you any direct input? Back to Bonhoeffer...Make a decision. Or, as the wild-eyed, shirtless, scary-looking former lead singer of Black Flag, Henry Rollins says: “The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.” Or in less, um, patient terms, he says: "“Life is full of choices, if you have the guts to go for it. That's why I get immediately bored with anyone's complaining about how boring their life is, or how bad their town is. *bleeping* leave and go somewhere else. Or don't.” Which is actually more Biblical than you'd think! Consider the following: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Ex 14.15.
In other words, let God define your choices, pray about them like He's a God that actually exists and cares what you do, and then act. Maybe you'll fail. Join the club. Making the right decision is never a guarantee that life will turn out the way you want it to. But make the decisions. Live a life that pursues Him. Make the choices that honor Him. Let God sort out the rest. Let's do this thing...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Hey everyone! I wanted to pass something along to you via this blog that we sent earlier this week via the element email list. If you're not on that list, this will give you a chance to read it, and if you get the regular Element emails and just ignore them because you see my name on it :), this is for you! It's an update about some leadership stuff that we thought was important for you to know, and something we're really excited about! The following is the letter in its entirety...Enjoy the day!
______________________________________________________________________
I hope your week is off to a great start! I wanted to send you all a special note at the beginning of the week to let you in on something that we're really excited about at Element (the regular E-Weekly will still go out on Wednesday). As many of you know, the task of effectively supporting a church community is a difficult one, but one that I'm incredibly stoked and humbled to be a part of. The past seven months have been a whirlwind for me, but I've learned an incredible amount, been challenged in some difficult (yet very necessary!) ways, and seen God do some really phenomenal things...I couldn't be more thrilled about the future here in this community! With that in mind, I (with the gracious input of many of you) have been evaluating how we do things at every level of the church, and I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce something to you all that I think will be very beneficial to the Element community. Because I'm only one person, I often feel like I can't be as effective as I'd like to be in every area...So I, and Element as a whole, need some help! It's time to introduce you all to the newest form of the Element Vision Team...
Before I introduce them, I'd like to take a moment to tell you a bit about the need for the team and its function. With the influx of new people into the Element community, and the need we have for me to take more time to invest in our leaders and leading the church as a whole, we've run into a need to have more people helping to cast the vision and be instrumental in carrying it out...Element has been blessed with exceptional people and volunteers, and many of you have been so faithful in pouring into this church - it's now time that we restructured things to allow for the greatest possible impact! In its early days through the summer of 2009, Element had a Vision Team - people who who met very regularly to pray fervently for the church, speak creatively into its direction, take the lead on tithing and service to the community, and helped to carry the emotional and spiritual load of leading the church. We believe it's time to do that again. I'd like to ask for your prayer for these people who have graciously agreed to join me on this team. They have agreed to a very high standard of conduct and accountability, consistency and integrity, as well as what will amount to a substantial time commitment, all on a strictly volunteer basis. They are, however, not perfect, as I myself most certainly am not :( We don't view this team as better than anyone else, or as the "highest" level of leadership at Element. These are simply people who have demonstrated that their particular spiritual gifts and passions lie in the areas that this team needs, and have been affirmed as such repeatedly by many others besides myself.
The role of this team will be to fight for what God has for each of us as individuals and as a community in prayer, both daily (on our own), and weekly and sometimes every other week (as a team). It's to take the lead on tithing both our time and our income. It's to increase the number of people in the church that the community can turn to in any area. It's to provide oversight and accountability for me as Lead Pastor. It's to speak creatively into the process. It's worth noting, though, that what you see on Sunday, as far as how we structure our worship services, how things feel, etc., is not changing. I don't want anyone to think that the church community they've come to know and love is somehow changing to be something different :) Make sense? Again, I really crave your prayers for this team. The commitment level is high, but we really believe that God intends to do an even more incredible work here in the Element community, and we ask that you partner with us as we passionately seek God's direction and guidance!
2010 Vision Team
Lori McBrideLori has been with us since the earliest days of Element, meaning way before the church officially launched! Her husband, Kelly, was part of the inaugural Vision Team of the church, and serves as our Treasurer (as well as in a myriad of other ways). Lori has been one of our primary worship leaders since the beginning, involved in Life Groups since the beginning, and has proven to be truly an integral part of the Element team in so many ways. Lori has an innate understanding of the community of Christ, models it humbly, and is someone that we couldn't be happier to have on board with this team!
Damian Marta
Damian has been with us since our Grand opening Sunday, three years ago. He served on our very first Life Group Leadership Team, led one of our longest-running life groups, and is set to begin a new season of Financial Peace Life Groups here at Element. He has been a prayer warrior for this community and for the activity of God, and despite his misguided love for the Philadelphia Eagles, has been a wise and dependable advisor to the leadership process for the past three years. We're excited to see more people get to know him and his heart, and to be able to learn from his passion for prayer and his obvious leadership skills!
Ken FordKen has been a part of the Element community, along with his family, since very soon after we officially launched. He has served in a whole host of different ways, from leading a Life Group, to stepping in and speaking on Sundays mornings, to being instrumental in getting MERGE off the ground, to helping coordinate schedules and logistics in the Children's ministry, to being a consistent resource and sounding board. He has been willing to serve in just about any area of need, even if that area was not (by his own admission), his strong point :) Serving in this capacity fits his gifts very well, however, and we're stoked to have his insight and desire to see God move on board!
and me, Brian Doell...
Blah blah blah.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this, and I know that I, as well as the other people on this team, will be more than happy to talk with you, pray with you, and answer any questions you might have. It's truly a privilege to serve this community with you all - I thank God for you all daily! Much love to you all...
peace,
Brian Doell
Lead Pastor
Element
April 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
And now for some profanity...
Well, we're kicking off a new series at Element this week, called "Cussing In Church". I'm really stoked about it, for a number of reasons, and I'm really praying that God uses it to spark some deep thought in each one of us...And not just that we'd think about things deeply, but that we'd allow God to change things in our lives like only He can!
The genesis of the series came months ago, when I was talking with a friend about a book he was reading. It was written by a Christian, and it was about church, and about how we should go about doing things in the church...Things like how we should do youth ministry, and how we should communicate, and how we should pick topics for Sunday morning messages, and so on. He was mentioning to me that it seemed kind of odd, after he'd gotten through it, but that he couldn't quite put his finger on why the book didn't really resonate with him. As we talked through it, though, he had an epiphany. The book, it seemed, dealt with church topics as though real people weren't involved. As in, all you had to do was have the right idea, and the church would thrive. All you had to do was say the right things, and people's lives would change. The messiness of life, so to speak, was overlooked. Life's just not that simple, and because it's not, neither is the Church. We can't separate our real life problems from problems the Church faces. Yet the book seemed to deal with things as though the Christian life is a neat series of perfectly-resolved issues if we just have the right strategy.
The difficulty, though, is that having the right strategy is no guarantee of anything...In fact, putting our faith in methods and strategies is essentially saying to God, "Why don't you sit this one out? We'll take it from here. We do, after all, have a strategy from a Christian book." I probably don't need to tell you that this is basically a recipe for disaster - The more we put our faith in Christian institutions, people, and methods, the further we get from anything that actually has the power to change a life. And that's why this series...Life's not neat and clean. Period. But God can and does change messy lives, redeem disastrous choices, and love unlovable people. Shouldn't we present Him as such? Shouldn't we deal with the issues in life that really cause us the most heartache, pain, and confusion, and speak the incredible power of God into those? Shouldn't we take the taboo topics, the ones the church is hesitant to speak on, the "cusswords", so to speak, and be fearless in dealing them? After all, if God is who He says He is, then there's no greater power than Him, and therefore no reason to be tentative in dealing with life!
Take a messy topic like the S" word, Sex, or the "P" word, Politics, or the "M" word, Money. These find their way into sermons now and then, and I can just about guarantee how they're presented. Sex? Don't have it until you're married, and then have it. Now let's move on to more "spiritual" things. Politics? This church is officially not in the business of politics, until election season, when we're suddenly concerned for the future of our nation. But we can't really talk about it in church, so let's move on to more "spiritual" things. Money? Give ten percent to the church. Of your gross, not net income. Any more questions? Ok, let's move on to more "spiritual" things (until we're short of cash, then we'll schedule another ten percent talk). I realize this sounds awfully cynical, and there are certainly some churches, pastors, and communities who actually pitch in on these difficult things in authentic ways, but all too few, and particularly here in the South. But what are we afraid of? That people would know we struggle with these things? Newsflash: We all know; we just don't talk about it.
So let's talk about it, but let's not get stuck where we normally do. Let's use Romans 12:2 as a foundation: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (NLT) Think God can't change the way you think? Think He can't redeem a lifetime of bad decision-making? Think He can't help you in your confusion? Think again! Let's tackle the tough stuff together...After all, didn't we discover that Easter's not just a great dramatic story to be dusted off once a year, but an incredible "setting people free" kind of thing in a way that only a God that passionately loves you can? So let's be free...After all, "if the Son sets you free, you are truly free." John 8:36 (NLT. Free to deal with life honestly. No holds barred. Together. Let's do this...
The genesis of the series came months ago, when I was talking with a friend about a book he was reading. It was written by a Christian, and it was about church, and about how we should go about doing things in the church...Things like how we should do youth ministry, and how we should communicate, and how we should pick topics for Sunday morning messages, and so on. He was mentioning to me that it seemed kind of odd, after he'd gotten through it, but that he couldn't quite put his finger on why the book didn't really resonate with him. As we talked through it, though, he had an epiphany. The book, it seemed, dealt with church topics as though real people weren't involved. As in, all you had to do was have the right idea, and the church would thrive. All you had to do was say the right things, and people's lives would change. The messiness of life, so to speak, was overlooked. Life's just not that simple, and because it's not, neither is the Church. We can't separate our real life problems from problems the Church faces. Yet the book seemed to deal with things as though the Christian life is a neat series of perfectly-resolved issues if we just have the right strategy.
The difficulty, though, is that having the right strategy is no guarantee of anything...In fact, putting our faith in methods and strategies is essentially saying to God, "Why don't you sit this one out? We'll take it from here. We do, after all, have a strategy from a Christian book." I probably don't need to tell you that this is basically a recipe for disaster - The more we put our faith in Christian institutions, people, and methods, the further we get from anything that actually has the power to change a life. And that's why this series...Life's not neat and clean. Period. But God can and does change messy lives, redeem disastrous choices, and love unlovable people. Shouldn't we present Him as such? Shouldn't we deal with the issues in life that really cause us the most heartache, pain, and confusion, and speak the incredible power of God into those? Shouldn't we take the taboo topics, the ones the church is hesitant to speak on, the "cusswords", so to speak, and be fearless in dealing them? After all, if God is who He says He is, then there's no greater power than Him, and therefore no reason to be tentative in dealing with life!
Take a messy topic like the S" word, Sex, or the "P" word, Politics, or the "M" word, Money. These find their way into sermons now and then, and I can just about guarantee how they're presented. Sex? Don't have it until you're married, and then have it. Now let's move on to more "spiritual" things. Politics? This church is officially not in the business of politics, until election season, when we're suddenly concerned for the future of our nation. But we can't really talk about it in church, so let's move on to more "spiritual" things. Money? Give ten percent to the church. Of your gross, not net income. Any more questions? Ok, let's move on to more "spiritual" things (until we're short of cash, then we'll schedule another ten percent talk). I realize this sounds awfully cynical, and there are certainly some churches, pastors, and communities who actually pitch in on these difficult things in authentic ways, but all too few, and particularly here in the South. But what are we afraid of? That people would know we struggle with these things? Newsflash: We all know; we just don't talk about it.
So let's talk about it, but let's not get stuck where we normally do. Let's use Romans 12:2 as a foundation: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (NLT) Think God can't change the way you think? Think He can't redeem a lifetime of bad decision-making? Think He can't help you in your confusion? Think again! Let's tackle the tough stuff together...After all, didn't we discover that Easter's not just a great dramatic story to be dusted off once a year, but an incredible "setting people free" kind of thing in a way that only a God that passionately loves you can? So let's be free...After all, "if the Son sets you free, you are truly free." John 8:36 (NLT. Free to deal with life honestly. No holds barred. Together. Let's do this...
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
A Golden Egg, from Jon Acuff
Hey, people...Happy April to you! I'll be posting some thoughts in the next couple of days that I'm eager to share with you, but I came across something this morning that seemed like it begged to be posted. I read a blog periodically by a guy named Jon Acuff, who writes under the name "Stuff Christians Like", which is a satirical look at Christian and Church culture, but not from a nasty perspective. Jon is a follower of Jesus, and has a great way of poking fun at the absurdities without being mean-spirited. Occasionally, he comes up with a more serious idea, like the one I read this morning. It's a great reminder of a phenomenally compassionate God, and I think it's well worth reading! Check it out at
Peace, everybody...
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