Article Link: from Ed Stetzer – “missionSHIFT: Introducing Dan Kimball”


From the article linked below:

Dan Kimball: “Church” is not the Sunday meeting, but the people on mission throughout the week.

Ed Stetzer – A LifeWay Research blog on theology, missiology, missional church, church planting, church revlitalization, and innovation.

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thoughts on “Jesus Loves You…” by Craig Gross and Jason Harper – PART 3


I find myself wanting to advocate justice for the hurting and pronouncing judgment on the religious. in this, i have become the very thing i despise… I am quick to offer grace to the rebellious and wayward. but i am slow in offering to the religious, if i offer it at all. yet i must.

I see this… in me.

We are never going to be friends or hang out with everyone we come across… some people just shouldn’t be together – whether because of past history, wrongs committed against each other, just can’t get along, or whatever else; there are people in my life that I just needed to leave behind and break relationship with and vice versa for one reason or another, and I would imagine that is the case in almost everyone’s life…

… but if you are a Christian, how do we still go in Christ’s commands to love God, your neighbor, your enemy, your brothers and sisters in Christ?

As much as I have tried to orient myself to live a life of grace and love towards people, I have had very little tolerance for those who are judgmental, or those who spend hours upon hours writing or speaking about how the culture around us is the biggest problem in life, how America should be changed back to a Christian nation (whatever that means) or what movies/TV shows/books Christians should see/read, or what author/pastor/church member are heretics, who put their trust in changing people and the culture around them through politics and laws – or who inevitably link Christianity to being an American/being a Republican, etc…

So, I just aired my “crap” list and nullified my whole message, huh? :)

And there’s the point… we all do this. That list is still probably a short list of those I judge or have judged with an un-Christlike heart and mind… and I am wrong - I am the very thing that I dislike! “We” are wrong. It’s not that we shouldn’t discern against things we shouldn’t watch, or desire to see a Nation (or every Nation if we are to take the “Great Commandment“) of people seek and respond to Christ’s love and in turn with His help, change those things that are not best for us in our lives (as Penn said – “If you think you have the Truth and don’t share it, how much do you hate me” to paraphrase).

As Christians…

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Lindsay Lohan posing “similarly” to Jesus on new magizine cover…


This article is from “omg! on Yahoo“…

Lindsay Lohan’s Controversial Cover Photo

posted by Lindsay Robertson – Thu Feb 11 2010, 1:49 PM PST

celebs: Lindsay Lohan
topics: Fashion Faux Pas


Lindsay Lohan covers Purple Terry Richardon/Purple magazine

Lindsay Lohan is never one to shy away from controversy and the attention that comes with it (remember her less-than-chaste Marilyn Monroe-esque photos in New York Magazine? Her very public spats with on-again, off-again girlfriend Samantha Ronson?). Now her cover for the French magazine, Purple, is drawing the contempt of some Christian critics.

The picture depicts Lohan as a Christ-like figure, draped in a white robe, posing with her arms outstretched, Crucifixion-style. And just in case anyone misses the blatantly obvious, hit-you-over-the-head visual reference to Jesus on the cross, Lohan wears a crown of thorns atop her platinum-blond extensions.

As is often the case when religious figures are depicted in popular media, the French magazine cover is already drawing fire from Christian thought-leaders.

Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League, told Politics Daily: “Not only is the pose inappropriate, the timing is offensive.” (Catholicism’s most sacred season begins next Wednesday — Ash Wednesday — with the start of Lent, the annual period of pentinence and abstinence that leads up to the Easter celebration.)

Recently Lohan indirectly referred to Hinduism by Tweeting that she’s “all about Karma…what goes around comes around.”

“If she believes that, then it behooves her to apologize to Christians before it’s too late,” Donahue said, adding that she is “spiritually homeless” and “would benefit by converting to Christianity.”

Others simply criticize the magazine cover as an obvious grab at attention that is supposed to show Lindsay Lohan is some sort of celebrity martyr.

The photo, which was taken by the irreverent photographer Terry Richardson (no stranger to controversy himself), appears on the spring-summer 2010 cover of the magazine.

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Offended? Blasphemous? Angry? Sad? Don’t care? No big deal? Compassionate?

… Why or Why not?

More important, what does Jesus think of it… offended/angered by the pose, or waiting for the hurting and the broken to return the love He has for them (for us)? or both? or neither? don’t know? don’t care?

other thoughts?

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thoughts on “Jesus Loves You…” by Craig Gross and Jason Harper – PART 2


I find it interesting and completely hypocritical that some yell the loudest about this area of culture, all the while ignoring other blatant cultural atrocities. Why pick on this sin as opposed to others? I have never seen picket signs and petitions protesting overeating or gossip or adultery.

Most won’t find it too shocking to learn that the “area of culture” Craig is referring to here is the homosexual community. I think if we are honest, we could say that the Christian community as a whole has been mean, uncaring, unloving and quite un-Christlike towards the homosexual community – regardless of our differences or beliefs. I do think Craig is right in this, we have picked on this more than anything else (outside of the abortion issue) for awhile now. I too, have yet to see someone picket overeating, gossip, adultery, speaking truth without love, pride, etc… is that because those are less grievous in our “sin” ranking system?

There is a way to disagree (right now at least) and hold the views that we do without being unloving, disrespectful, hateful, etc… I believe we are called to be different in how we respond and treat people – I’m afraid we have credited the reactions of people too often to persecution or not liking our beliefs, and not enough to a response to the lack of respect and love we show to others. Sure, there are some that don’t like the beliefs that we hold from the Bible or don’t buy into God/Jesus… there will always be that. I’m just not sure it ever excuses us from treating others with respect and love, not with malice and prideful judgment as if we somehow merit more of God’s love than someone else… we’ve all been invited to a party, a life, that we did not earn no matter how well you think you live.

He said that i, as a pastor, would be more embraced by the porn industry than he would be at a church… ‘My world loved you more than your world loves me.’ sad, but true.

These two comments came from Ron Jeremy, the Porn King. Is there some truth to this? I think there is. Craig talks a lot about how skeptical those in the porn industry have been of him and the XXXChurch, but he has still found this to be more true in his world. They have been far more respectful, open to discussion, willing to share deep and personal information and take a look at Craig’s message of Jesus’ love and grace for them – than Ron has experienced with many Christians.

It is easy to group people as a whole, and I know many Christians/Churches who would welcome someone like Ron Jeremy in and be Jesus to him. And I know there will be some who want nothing to do with God or what Craig/XXXChurch are doing and saying. But since I follow Jesus, my focus is on our response as Christians to those who have not bought into the whole God/Jesus thing (for whatever reason).

Truly think about it… How would you respond if Ron Jeremy showed up to your church, small group, sunday school, home church, outreach event, singles group, etc…

Ok, so you think you can stomach it (as if that’s all we are called to do… stomach it…)

What if…

President Obama walked in. I’ve seen many of my facebook friends wish for his personal (not just political) demise, or he be shipped off to Haiti, or even wish for God to take him too like Michael Jackson or Farrah Faucet. Oh, many times in joking, of course… Most would at least show respect for his position, but what about him as a human – just like you or me. There’s a big difference between disagreeing with his policies or direction, and tearing down and wishing ill on a another human being and his family…

how about if Adam Lambert showed up. Saw the boards light up last year with praise to God for “making” Adam lose American Idol because he’s gay, even though his More >

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thoughts on “Jesus Loves You…” by Craig Gross and Jason Harper – PART 1


Doesn’t matter what you do or who you are: Jesus. Loves. You.

And there’s the summery of the book. See ya!!

Just kidding… well in a way I am. I wanted to pull a few quotes and thoughts from the book I liked (and make a few comments if needed), but essentially that is it – Jesus Loves You (hence the title :) ).

The book is broken up into 10 chapters, or the stories of 10 different types of people the authors are with. They tell stories of their relationships with each type of person and why Jesus loves them (they do say over and over that Jesus loves everyone, it just so happens that the book takes a look at these 10 types specifically). Here’s the stories/chapters…

  • Jesus Loves the:
  1. …Bitter and Betrayed
  2. … the Disconnected
  3. … Broken
  4. … Forgotten
  5. … Skeptic
  6. … Glutton
  7. … Crook
  8. … Outcast
  9. … Porn Star
  10. … Religious

After finishing the book one of my first thoughts was… “in the circles I grew up in and still to this day somewhat hang out in – many of them would think that there is More >

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“Someone who Understands” – New XXXChurch.com Article


XXXchurch
Image by el clinto via Flickr

Here is my current article on the XXXChurch called “Someone who Understands”. It’s under the Couple’s section of the blog. Or you can just read it below…

————————

Someone Who Understands

By Chris Kozacek on Jan 11, 10 at 07:20 PM | Share ThisComments (1)

My wife and I have a 19-month-old boy.

He is just starting the throwing tantrums and taking swings at people stage, and gets really frustrated when he doesn’t get what he wants. Man it sucks when he throws a tantrum or takes a swing at you. And it’s even more embarrassing when it happens in public. We love him so much, but it’s still a bummer part of this stage.

So we got to talking with another Mom of a toddler in our church. And she started talking about how her daughter was doing some of the very same things our boy was doing.

And there it was…

Someone who understands.

Someone who knows what you are going through.

And that’s what we need… at least someone who has been in your shoes. Someone who has felt and experienced what you have thought, felt and been through.

And it got me thinking about all of this too…

But not just for those of us who struggle with porn and sexual vices. No, there are also those who are affected because of us – who don’t feel like anyone understands. I’ve been grateful for a few of the wives/girlfriends who have been honest enough with us to say, “I don’t feel like anyone understands what I am going through, and what we are going through together. I feel like all of my friends have husbands/boyfriends who don’t struggle. Or at least they don’t talk about it.”

You want to know that someone understands.

That someone has been there… or is there.

You want to know there is hope. There is light amidst the dark.

That you are not the only one who has ever experienced this…

… that you are not alone.

We’re out there. Find someone who can walk with you. Find people, who are or have been there. I promise others are out there. There are others like us. Not everyone hides their stuff. And if they don’t have stuff in this area, I bet they can at least understand what it’s like to struggle with something – if not point you in the direction of someone who does understand. And if they don’t understand or don’t struggle with anything… um, sure!
Glad to be part of a community here that understands…

… it’s nice to not be alone.

Don’t struggle in silence. I don’t believe God ever intended us to struggle in silence and isolation.

We’re here…

HE is here.

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“Gatorade labels feature ‘unfaithful’ Tiger Woods” | 9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado’s Online News Leader |


too far? funny? disrespectful? distasteful? fair? deserved? stupid? leave the guy and his family alone? he brought it on himself? other?

what do you think?

{{desc}}

via 9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado’s Online News Leader | Gatorade labels feature ‘unfaithful’ Tiger Woods.

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my “Avatar” experience…


like so many others… I went to see “Avatar” this week.

I had heard from a few of my friends what an amazing movie it was. I had also heard from a few other people, that I should be wary of it/or not see it at all, because it teaches “Pantheism” (and we realize we can’t interact with stuff that teaches something different from our faith… we call that “discernment” :) ) Please don’t get me wrong, I do believe in discernment (Ex: I stay away from the “American Pie” movies – they just aren’t the right movies for me to watch), but a movie here about a different belief system didn’t keep me away.

So here’s a couple of quick thoughts as I experienced this movie:

  • The Experience: It was a cinematic experience unlike I have ever had (we saw it in 3-D at the IMAX). The colors, creations and flow of the movie was amazing. 2 hours and 40 minutes went by in what felt like 15 minutes. It was an experience… an amazing one! (if I wasn’t very clear… I thought it was quite the “experience”!!!)
  • The Story: I had read an article ahead of time saying it was repackaged Pantheism. Not sure what they meant by repackaged, it was pretty blatent in it’s story of Pantheism (the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing immanent God and that the Universe (Nature) and God are equivalent), no hiding here. As a Christian I do have a little different take and belief of God and Nature; I do believe in a personal God… I do believe in Jesus as savior… I do believe God created everything, not just exists in nature…. But I also thought their was some beauty in the story. I know I will probably get criticized by my conservative buddies for saying that, “How can there be any beauty in a story that’s wrong/false…?”, but the love story woven in between two of the main characters was pretty cool. And the way Na’vi people banded together and lived as a community was awesome too.  And I loved the conscience and actions of a few of the humans realizing obliterating the land and the Na’vi people for their own consumption was just wrong…all these could be a few lessons that could apply to us now in real life. Yes, I don’t subscribe to the Pantheistic belief, but the story kept me interested and engaged the whole time.
  • The Graphics/Colors: Unreal is all I can say… So, so cool. A+++
  • Overall: Glad we saw it, was worth every minute. We got to see it with a few friends/family. I look forward to the conversations with people about it. Whatever other peoples’ views are on Pantheism or Christianity or whatever, it should be pretty fun to interact with those who see it. I give it an “A” for the experience alone. My hope for the Christian community is that we will be there to discuss and listen to the stories and beliefs of those around us and be able to respectfully and lovingly discuss the themes of the story. I recommend seeing it if you feel comfortable doing so!!

Other thoughts about the movie??? Have you seen it? What did you think?

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presenting… the CHRIST-mas Tree


Not sure what else to say about this… really, the CHRIST-mas Tree?

Am I crazy – or is this really a good idea and a great way to express our faith in Christ? Is this what puts Christ into Christmas? Maybe seeing it every time does keep you focused on Jesus…? Or maybe…?

Got one headed your way Joshua! :)

*** P.S. – Here’s the Original Post, by Chris Monty of Blippitt.com, where I first saw this at:

WWJD? Buy A CHRIST-Mas Tree

Posted by Chris Monty on December 16th 2009

What do you do when people insist on saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas“?

You go out and buy a CHRIST-mas Tree of course!

Boss Creations, which is a new holiday decor company, has debuted the new CHRIST-mas Tree, which features a trunk in the shape of a wooden cross.

Company owner Marsha Boggs says the tree was created specifically to battle the “war on Christmas.”

“When I became a Christian a few years ago,” says Boggs, “I was appalled by the secularization of the Christmas holiday. When retail stores started substituting ‘Happy Holidays’ for ‘Merry Christmas,’ and schools began calling their Christmas programs ‘Winter Plays,’ it all seemed ridiculous to me. That’s why we have created products that remind people what the Christmas season is really all about – the birth of Christ.”

The CHRIST-mas Tree is size adjustable and can be up to 7.5 feet tall in order to accommodate various ceiling sizes.

What do you think of the CHRIST-mas tree?  It’s a little bit over-the-top for me.

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The passing of Brittany Murphy


Murphy at the Australian premiere of Happy Fee...

Brittany Murphy

Just a quick post…

Was pretty bummed to see Brittany Murphy passed away. She was one of my favorite actresses. Really enjoyed “Clueless“, “Just Married” and “8 Mile” the best of all her films. Sad to see her go.

“Just Married” was probably my favorite of all (“Clueless” is pretty close though), I laughed so much with this one… So in tribute, here is a behind the scenes video about “Just Married”.

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