Mardi Gras

Ok. So it has been over a year since I updated this thing. I thought I probably should get on here and post some stuff.

I am preparing to leave for the Mardi Gras outreach. We are leaving Thursday morning, February 11th and will be ministering in New Orleans for 5 whole days. I am pretty stoked about the ministry opportunities. I am believing God for some amazing things to happen. Please be in prayer for our group.

Warning: Very Disturbing

I am a numbers guy. I think in numbers, I process in numbers, numbers make me feel comfortable. At an early age, my dad would go through math flash cards with me. Many times, I would say the answer quicker than he could flip the cards. I entered competition and won with ease. I say all of that not to brag on myself but to set the stage to say that as a result of my love for numbers I also love statistics. I often read Barna and Gallup poll research data. I love the percentages, it just makes sense to me.
I particularly love polls because it is pretty hard to argue with them. I guess someone could make up the data giving a false perception, but generally speaking with Barna and Gallup you are getting reliable information. Many times, I don't like what the statistics may say, but it is a reality of the way people feel or perceive things.
OK, I know I am kind of rambling on, so please be patient with me.
This morning, I received via email a new Barna research poll. This one is titled "Christianity is no longer Americans' default Religion." So immediately I was hooked. I quickly read through the article and was surprised, but not really, at some of the findings. So I sat and processed a bit what I had just read. I had a couple of questions so I started to read the article again, this time a little more slowly. And I am not going to comment on the article so much as I am one of the sub-groups that was polled. One of the subgroups is a group of people that call themselves Christians but are not born-again. WHAT??!!!!
I am truly disturbed by this. Think about this, there are people that call themselves Christians (just like I do) but they are not born-again believers (like I am). The reality is beginning to set in that the term Christian does not mean what it use to mean. The article went on to say:

Among individuals who describe themselves as Christian, for instance, close to half believe that Satan does not exist, one-third contend that Jesus sinned while He was on earth, two-fifths say they do not have a responsibility to share the Christian faith with others, and one-quarter dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.

It is no wonder that the church today is falling apart. We have lost what it means to be a Christian, and we are losing the belief system upon which that was built. I am still processing this information so I may comment more. But if anyone else has an opinion or a thought, I would love to hear it.

Generational Changes

OK. So it has been over 2 months since I have posted a blog. It is kind of funny, because I have had many ideas but have continued to procrastinate on posting. But something just happened and I thought "I have got to blog about that."
My wife and I were sitting eating dinner and my daughter was watching her favorite show "Jon and Kate plus 8." She loves that show. So anyways, during the first commercial, my daughter yells out "who has the 'mote." Stacy asked her "why?" And Reghan responds "cuz you need to fast-forward through the commercials."
WHAT???? Can we just say that there is a huge gap from my generation to hers. Just last week, there was a show on and we were about to leave so she says to us "Dad can you just 'cord that?"
When I was little, we didn't even have cable. WE didn't even have a VCR. The thought of fast forwarding or recording TV was not even in my realm of possibility. Now, I can't imagine life without it.
It just raises again the questions regarding changes that need to take place within the church to reach the younger generations. Our culture is changing so fast and these younger generations are so accustom to change, that the older generations (me included) really have no clue. It kind of reminds me of something that Jesus said about new wine and new wineskin's. I guess He knew what He was talking about.

Fire Hydrant

The weirdest thing happened to me this morning as I was driving to the church after dropping off my daughter at pre-school. I noticed a fire hydrant on the corner. I actually took notice because someone was parked in front of it and I thought "I hope they get a ticket."
As I continued to drive, for some odd reason I began to notice all of the hydrant as they lined the street. I was surprised to notice that there are alot of fire hydrants around. I didn't realize there were so many.
Now, I am sure there is someone sitting reading this thinking, this guy is a genius (with obvious scarcasm)! But what struck me is the fact that we all go about our lives and we really never pay much attention to the fire hydrants that line our streets and are virtually everywhere.
Because my mind works this way, the thought occurred to me that Christians are much like these fire hydrants. I am sure that no matter where we go in this country, you can find Christians everywhere. But my thought is, that much like the fire hydrants, do these Christians stand out or do they just blend in?
In your own life, do you just blend in and become a part of your surrounding, so much so that people forget you are there? Or do you stand out, do people take notice of you? Of what you say, or what you do?
My encouragement to you is that you step out of your mundane world and stand out. If you don't know how to do that, begin talking to others about your relationship with Jesus and you will find very quickly that you stand out.

I love this game.

I am so excited that football season is finally here. I absolutely love to watch football. Also, my beloved Fighting Irish kick off their season tomorrow against San Diego State. GO IRISH!!!

The Wonderful World of Disney

Yes, it is true. I, being an Assemblies of God minister, did in fact enter the Disney Land Resort. And can I be honest? I didn't feel one bit of guilt about it. Ok, I am joking a bit. Anyways...

Before our trip, I made the vain attempt at trying to find discounted tickets to the park on line. About the only thing I could come up with was hotel and park combo's and with that you had to stay multiple days. During this search I ran across a website where it was stated that the reason Disney doesn't offer discounted tickets is because people will come anyways.

So, in my brilliant state of mind, my immediate reaction to the comment was "well that is dumb!" But, weeks later, as I entered the park and witnessed the joy on the face of my 3 year old daughter at the site of Tinker Bell flying through the sky with the backdrop of fireworks was enough to make a grown man cry. Or the uncontrollable excitement that Reghan experience as we watched the parade and the princess march by; the look on her face was priceless.

At that moment, I understood the statement, people will come anyway. Young and old alike, millions of people weekly are enthralled with the wonder of Disney. And as I sat there and watch the parade flow by and my daughter jumping up and down and screaming, I thought why isn't it that way in the church? People don't just come anyways. It seems like we have to really coerce someone into coming. Maybe I am raising more questions than I have answers for. But I guess I struggle with the fact that people just don't come to church anymore. Now we can blame that on our changing culture or whatever we want to blame it on. But the reality is, the buck stops with each and everyone of us as individuals. The life that we live and demonstrate to others speaks volumes. If you get anything out of this short blog post, get this: Live a life that people want to emulate and not a life that they would want to distance themselves from.

Incoming Freshman

For me it is almost crazy to consider that this years incoming college freshman class was most likely born in 1990. Hmmm... I was starting my junior year in high school in '90. YIKES! That means in two more years... whoa, I can't think about that yet. Anyways, I received an email this morning that contained this information and then I read about it on the web. There is a college in Beloit Wisconsin that puts out a list annually to the administrators and professors. On this list are things that are completely unique to the incoming freshman class, or another way to state it, the world seen through their eyes. I will post this list, it is a bit lengthly, 60 in all, but for those of us who are a little older, I think you will enjoy.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce "tax revenue increases."
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative — or known about a friend's relative - who died comfortably at home with hospice.
12. As a precursor to "whatever," they have recognized that some people "just don't get it."
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote."
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30. McDonald's and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38. Lenin's name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been "Home Alone."
42. Their parents may have watched "The American Gladiators" on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. They never heard an attendant ask "Want me to check under the hood?"
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft drink refills have always been free.
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about "nothing."
51. The Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52. Moscow residents have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56. Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57. Offshore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.