searching the sunsets

Enjoying country life

Expecting The Best, Joe

100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs: A Review

This book has been a huge hit around my house. My girls love it. It has provided a wonderful rhythm to the end of our day. My wife has been reading a story each night to the kids. Both mom and girls look forward to it as a way to transition to bedtime. 
Each story comes with the book and chapter of the Bible it is taken from for parents who might want to read the story strait from the text. As do all books written for children, this book has to wrestle with many of the Old Testament stories.
The CD will remind older users (such as myself) of the old Uncle Charlie LP’s. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t too many songs on there that I didn’t know. The CD is the exact kind of corny and cheesy that is necessary to draw in two and three year olds. That said, even my 6 year old enjoyed the book and I believe the CD.  There is a rousing version of “Father Abraham.” For those who are looking for a fun book that teaches the basic truths of Scripture this is a must have book. I highly recommend, as does my clan.

test

This is just a test. Seeing how feasible mobile blogging would be while I wait for the afternoon session to start

Stark Raving Obedience: Are You Crazy Enough?

Do you want a free book? Do you have a blog? Have you bought something from Amazon? If you answered yes to any of these questions email me. I have a friend who wrote a book on praying and I need people to review it. Short, easy read. FREE book. Should be a great conversation.

Communion: Mars Style, LOVE WINS

Mars is an amazing place. The grace and healing that people have found there has been/is/and will no doubt continue to be absolutely amazing. One of the most amazing things you can experience is a Sunday where we participate in the ancient ritual of communion. There is always a large cross in the middle of the shed (the area you probably refer to as the auditorium or sanctuary). People come up and pray and we sing. It has been proven to be an extremely moving time for my wife and I in the few years we've been here at Mars.

This past Sunday we finished a series on forgiveness. If you're not a regular podcaster you may want to consider downloading the last three weeks.  They were amazing. This past Sunday we were asked to bring to the cross the names of the people we struggle forgiving and another list putting it at the foot of cross in a symbolic gesture. (On a side note, I love all the things we do that we tried to do in Ohio).

Near the end, I took a picture of it for my twitpic. I thought I'd share it with you here today. Sometimes, I get really frustrated with the things I read about Mars or when I get in conversations with people who tell me what we believe even though, they've never been to Mars. I actually had a guy tell me that he heard we dont' have any crosses in the building. Most of the time, I have as a policy that I don't discuss Mars or Rob online because most of the people don't really want to discuss they want to prosecute. But today I am going to share this because LOVE WINS.
Grace and Peace

Tim Stevens Asking a Great Question

If you spend any time at in the blogosphere and happen to come across some self-proclaimed discernment type blogs, you've no doubt heard about Granger's reveal study that they did last year. Big bold letters will proclaim, GRANGER COMMUNITY CHURCH PRODUCING FALSE CONVERTS!!!!

Never mind all the delicious irony that could be examined in these bloggers. They start that beating their chests, and slapping their palms down to the self study that Granger did. For one example go here. For more just google it or click here to see my google results.

Tim Stevens (one of the pastors at Granger) has finally asked the question I've been wondering for these past months. Essentially, my question was "So What?" Tim is much nicer than me. He says,

You gotta help me here, cause I don't get the problem...

What is wrong with having a gathering every week where half the people who are in attendance don't yet understand salvation by grace?

Where do we want them to go? The bar? The local golf course? To bed? Don't we want them in church where they're hearing the word fo God? Don't we want them meeting other Christians? So tell me what you think. Help me and Tim out, if you don't want them in church on Sunday mornings where do you want them?

You Gotta Watch Those Pesky Hymns...

Please note if you are reading this on Facebook, the links probably will not work. Feel free to go to my blog and enjoy the fun.

Sometimes, I admit I am astounded by what I read online. For instance, this blogger who is a pastor and has been around these parts in the past believes that "The Church's One Foundation" should be removed from our hymnals. Now, my church doesn't have hymnals but we do sing hymns frequently, so I guess he just doesn't want us to sing it. Why? Well, He says this:

The first one on my list is The Church’s One Foundation. One of the last verses mentions the Church’s “mystic sweet communion.” I’m really not sure what this meant at the time of writing, but am pretty sure I don’t believe what it means now!

Now, here's the lyrics:

The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the Word:

From heav’n He came and sought her
To be His holy Bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.

Elect from every nation,
Yet one o’er all the earth,
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;

One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.

‘Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace for evermore;

Till, with the vision glorious,
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won:

O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
Like them, the meek and lowly,
In love may dwell with Thee.

I imagine this could be some sort of humor or joke, but I doubt it.

It's a Tie...

Too Funny

What Do You Think?

Can a person who is not a Christian or Christ follower, understand the Scriptures as God intended them to be understood?

Seven Years

Seven years ago today my mom died. I’ll never forget the phone call. My Dad called me, which wasn’t that unusual since my mom had been in the hospital for 6+ months and had been getting worse in the last weeks. I knew as soon as I heard his voice. I was vacuuming the carpet. I went back to vacuuming when I hung up the phone. It seems odd, I know but I didn’t know how you were supposed to act when you find out that your mom has died.  In fact, I went in and waited tables at Olive Garden that afternoon. I was supposed to work a double but only worked a few hours’ of the first shift. I don’t think it actually hit me until later that fall. Sitting here today, I cannot believe that it has been seven years! In the last 7 years a lot has happened.

•    I’ve moved twice
•    I’ve had three children
•    I’ve started grad school
•    I’ve left vocational ministry
•    I’ve bought a house, a car and quite a few small farm animals
•    My Dad and I have fought for and achieved restoration in our relationship
•    My brother has stopped talking to the family
•    My sister has moved to Pa.
•    My Dad’s been remarried and moved out of the house that I grew up in

I could make that list pretty long.  Of course, there’s a much longer list of all the things I loved and miss about my mom.  The smell of the house when you would walk in and invariably she would be cooking. To this day, when I cook with olive oil and garlic my hands small like hers did. She loved to laugh. She was a prayer warrior. She loved to reminisce. She loved kids, all kids. She was a great woman and I miss her.

I'm sure her death has effected me in ways I still can't accurately understand. She'll never get to meet my kids, which seems pretty freaking cruel to me seeing as how that was all she ever wanted was to have grandchildren. My 4y.o. reminds me of her almost every day. She looks like her, and she even has mannerisms like her. As my wife said just the other day, "Genetics are a scary thing."

Of course, my mom's death probably saved my Dad. That is probably another completely different post for another day, but my Dad is a completely changed man from who he was 7 years ago. He has made some very hard and difficult changes for the positive. On some level that is the most ironic part of all of this for me. My mom was all about helping people be better, she never met anyone she wouldn't help out. Even in her death, in a very real sense she saved my Dad. My mom was the queen at teachable moments. She knew what advice to give and when to just ask questions. As I got older, she knew when to just listen--which given some of my exploits is perhaps the largest testimony to her belief in God and prayer. She used to always tell me, "You can't stop me from praying..." True that, true that.
Thanks again Mom, I miss you and love you.

Did God Really Say...?

"You have told us what is good, and what the Lord requires of us: to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8) – the best ‘little creed’ summarizing Judeo-Christian spirituality and ethical behavior! See Jesus’ paraphrase – Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42. If social justice/ love/godly obedience comprise the prophet’s and Jesus’ creed, why are they absent in Christian Creeds/Statements of Faith?"

-Rowland Croucher

Stu Del thinks that's a good question. I think it's because we live as though we're asking the same question that was asked way back in the garden...What do you think?

Actions and Words

I am convinced that people’s words are often meaningless. To be blunt, the things people say don’t usually matter all that much.  I’ve written about this before.  I once heard a guy say that there are two things that truly demonstrate what is important to us: our checkbook and our schedule.  A lot of people got really angry when he said that. I used to just think it was true. Now, I am certain it is true.

The guy who says spending time with his kids is important but never actually does is lying to himself and others. The person who says that gathering with other believers regularly but never does is lying. The guy who says writing is important to him and never actually does is lying. Wait, that last guy is me. Writing is important to me but I didn’t do it much this semester. So, I can deduce that writing isn’t as important to me as school and other stuff that I had to get done this past school year. For as much people talk about urban missions, and social justice or missional living, their actions say something else entirely.

 I found time to exercise and eat better when it became more important to me than other things. I think a lot of times people believe that things are important to them and in some sort of theoretical way it probably is. I also think they over estimate the place of importance that thing holds in their life.  Working with an organization that is concerned with Social Justice and Urban issues has reinforced this in my mind.

If I had the proverbial nickel for everyone I knew who said they were concerned with Social and Urban issue, I’d be…well you know how that one ends. But this issue, is just like a lot of other issues, most of the people who say they are passionate about it, are more concerned about other things.  I’m not here to say if it’s right or wrong. I imagine for some people they are concerned about other pretty important issues, and I imagine that for some people they are concerned about some fairly unimportant things. Either way, as I meet people and tell them about what I do they invariably show interest. I immediately begin to wonder internally what they will actually do when the rubber hits the road. Will they actually do something or will they just be full of talk?

I think because of where I live (regionally, not actual address) issues like urban missions and social justice are sexy. It sounds good to talk about being concerned with such issues. The problem is that both issues are messy, they are consuming. I was watching Intervention on Hulu a couple of weeks ago. I noticed something. All of the addicts talked about how much they wanted to stop their activity. One girl was crying because she had just failed a urine test and was facing jail time. As she’s walking out of the police precinct she says, “Well, I need to find someone to get high with.” That’s an extreme example of what I’m talking about but it illustrates the point fairly well. In the show, each addict always seems to debate whether or not he or she wants to actually enter into rehab. Why? Don’t they want to stop? Of course, they do. What they are actually decided is whether or not they want to pay the price of going to rehab. Do they want to through the pains of  what rehab entails. Do they want to deal with the stuff behind the addiction that is ugly and hurts? If you've ever been around someone with an addiction they will have 100's or 1000's of reasons why they haven't done anything about it yet.

Areas of service bring up the same questions. Do you really want to put yourself out there? Do you really want to get into the mud and the muck of ministering to others? Of course, it’s rewarding but even Jesus needed to get away and rest, which would seem to imply that he found it to be hard.  The final truth is that people do what is important to them. When people tell me that something is important to them, my new first question is “what have you done about this passion so far?” If the answer is not much, or nothing I tend to think that it isn’t really all that important to them. People make time for what is important to them. Sometimes, what they do coincides with what they say, many times there’s a huge disconnect. Which begs the question: Am I living disconnected? Are you?

UTM: A Letter from Our CEO

As most of you know, I recently started working with a ministry here in Grand Rapids, called Urban Transformation Ministries. Our CEO and founder, Joel Shaffer of course sends out letters and emails to keep our friends and supporters apprised of what is going on. I liked to direct you to our webpage, which is under construction and in process. Go to http://www.utmgr.org.  You can donate there and all of that good stuff. Of course, if you'd like to volunteer to help us, we'd love to have you. Maybe your church would like to take a missions trip where you're teens can get hands on urban missions experience. If so, let me know, I'd love to talk to you about our opportunities for you. Below is Joe's latest letter that he sent out just this week. I hope it serves to introduce you to our ministry.

Friends of UTM,

Sunday night, we got a phone call….You know the one that causes twists and knots in your stomach. We got word that three of our young adult students, Nick, lil’ Ed, and Big Ed had been stabbed in an altercation on Clancy Street .  Apparently a friend of theirs (lil’ Jon) started a fight with someone in the L&L party store, which eventually Nick broke up. Consequently, lil’ Ed and big Ed drove lil’ Jon to his house so that there wouldn’t be any more trouble.  However, the other boy in the fight wasn’t finished yet.  On order from his mother, several of his cousins prowled Clancy St. looking for lil’ Jon.  When they came upon Nick, the group attacked him for helping break up the fight.  After they stabbed Nick in both arms, he finally got away to safety.  But the group’s search wasn’t over.  Eventually the group found lil’ Ed and Big Ed and they attacked them as wel l.  Although lil’ Ed’s wound was non-life threatening, Big Ed was stabbed in the back near the spinal cord and continues to refuse treatment because he is so furious over the situation.  Although the police tried their best to get all the information on this altercation, these students and other witnesses are keeping silent due to the street code which shuns those who snitch. 

  After the police left, the neighborhood was a buzz over the situation.  People from all over the city came out to the community, including several that were not our students. Some of them even brought their “piece” (gun) just in case there was any more trouble.   Three of my student leaders, Davien, Amy, and Mike…also were there in the neighborhood talking several people down that wanted to take revenge because their friends had been stabbed.   The reason that I share with you this recent story is not to frighten anyone, but to reveal the type of inner-city ministry that we are involved with in Grand Rapids .  Often times we are dealing with the violence that you see on the local headline news.  And when people refuse to cooperate with the police, we become a major player in helping quell the violence on the streets.   However, I need to be quite candid with all of you about what I am feeling right now.  We at UTM are feeling discouraged and quite alone as we minister in the ‘hood.  We have tried to raise awareness among churches, businesses, and the community-at-large about what is going on in the ‘hood.  Over the years, we have developed positive and redemptive relationships with several hundred at-risk youth and young adults through our sports outreaches, mentoring, small-group Bible studies, employment assistance, and leadership development.  The fruit of our work can be seen in our student’s lives such as Davien, A my, and Mike who are making a kingdom difference in their ‘hood.  But we continue to have difficulty getting people to rally behind our ministry.    For instance, we are having our sixth annual golf benefit next week on Monday, Jun 22^nd (See www.utmgr.org.) yet the turnout so far is lower than any of the years in which we’ve hosted the outing.  If you own golf clubs, will you consider joining with us on June 22^nd? Your support will not only help us bring needed financial resources into the ‘hood, but it is also one way to show your solidarity with UTM which seeks to counter the violence by redeeming inner-city youth, families and communities through the transforming gospel of Christ.  Or even if you do not golf or are not able to golf that day, would you consider sponsoring someone for $100.00 that would like to golf, but feel they cannot afford it?  We’d like to expose several area pastors to the ministries of UTM and your sponsorship would help us in this endeavor.    Thank you so much for praying for us and walking along side of us during this difficult time.   Serving Jesus in the 'hood,

Joel Shaffer, Executive Director
Urban Transformation Ministries

Mankind is the Enemy

My friend, Steve Surine has an excellent and thought provoking post up on environmentalism and a disturbing trend that's he's seen as of late. Is man the problem? Read it here

I've Always Thought Toledo Was a Terrible Place

My wife and I often comment that it seems like such an "ick" city. Then today I read that you can get a ticket if you park in your own driveway. It seems the city has an ordinance against parking on non-paved surfaces, even if you own the  driveway. You can read the story here. Because it's yahoo, you never know if the story will go down, so I took the liberty of cutting and pasting some parts below.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Residents of Toledo, Ohio, are complaining that they received $25 tickets for parking their vehicles in their own driveways.

Mayor Carty Finkbeiner (FINK'-by-ner) says he stands by the citations handed out last week by the Division of Streets, Bridges and Harbor. He says the tickets were issued under a city law against parking on unpaved surfaces, including gravel driveways.

During a news conference Monday, Finkbeiner ignored a reporter's question of whether the crackdown and fines were related to the city's budget crisis.

The three-term mayor faces a recall vote in November. Critics have claimed he's wasted city money.

City Councilman D. Michael Collins calls the ticketing "Mickey Mouse nonsense." He has told residents he'll try to have the citations rescinded.

Is Evil Necessary?

My OT prof is arguing that "evil is necessary." Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Free NetFlix for a Month

Anyone thought about trying Netflix? Want to use it for a month at no cost? Drop me an email. I'll get it for a month free too. Win win.

Can You?

If someone asked you what they must do to have eternal life, could you explain it using the OT? Furthermore, why do we have what we call the Old Testament? What is it's purpose in the life of the Christian today?

Face of Betrayal Book Review

This book reminded me a lot of an old car I used to own: not very sexy, kind of boring and reliable. It got me where I was going and that was about it. This book isn’t bad. It also is not what I would call good. It just is.  It sort of seems like a James Patterson women’s murder club “wannabe.”

On the negative side, the characters are a bit wooden and I just wasn’t brought to care about them too much. They didn’t grab my attention.

The plot is fairly well conceived, and there is honest conflict in this book. The ending has a decent twist at the end. The problem was I saw it coming.  I realize that one of the author’s works or worked for Fox News but in the book, CNN is actually blamed for being a 24-hour news source. Isn’t that also true of Fox?

In the end, this book will entertain you a little. It will get you through the points of conflict and resolve itself.  It’s also the type of book you could put down and never pick up again with no problems. It makes a nice summer book. It does come with a study guide for book clubs and a Bill O’Reilly interview.

What Do You Think?

Where do feelings come from?

Is it Only Your Body if You're a Girl?

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the story of the 13 year old boy who has cancer and will most likely survive if he has chemotherapy. The one hitch is that he doesn’t want Chemo. He has the belief that the Chemo will kill him. I imagine that belief is erroneous. If you haven't heard about it, you can read more here.

His parents have decided to agree with him and citing “religious beliefs” they wish to try alternative methods of treatment. From my comfortable, non-stressed because I’m not in their shoes seat, it seems to me that they are making a bad choice. The government has stepped in and told the family that this 13 year old has to get chemo or he will be removed from his home and put into foster care.

What is interesting is that he has been quoted as saying to the judge that he doesn’t want Chemo, and that he would fight anyone who tried to give it to him.  

The court’s have decided it is not his choice. I want to know why not? If he was a 13 year old girl, he would be allowed to have an abortion because it’s her body. In some states, she wouldn’t have to inform her parents. In all states, she could petition the state to circumvent her parents if they didn’t support her decision after informing them.  The argument being that it’s her body and she should be free to do what she wants to do with her body.

So why can’t Daniel do what he wants to do with is body? Why can’t he refuse treatment?  What gives the government the right to tell him has to have chemo? If the government can’t tell a 13 year old girl that she can’t have an abortion because she’s not old enough to really understand what she’s doing¬¬¬—because telling her that would be inhibiting her freedom, why can’t it give that freedom to a 13 year old boy?

Is it only your body if you have a  uterus? Let me be clear, I find the entire “it’s her body” argument to be extremely unconvincing and irrelevant but this post isn’t about that. This post is about the seeming contradictory stand that our government has taken. It seems that the government is more concerned with forcing parents to raise children by the standards of the State than it is concerned about ensuring personal rights. 

The court’s decision seems duplicitous. I realize that there are people who will say that the court is saving the kid’s life and that he will probably ultimately thank them. That argument cuts both ways. Maybe the baby that isn’t allowed to aborted will grow up and thank the court’s that they weren’t allowed to be aborted.

Daniel and his parents desire seems unwise and wrong to me. The court’s decision to impose it’s will seems very Orwellian.

What Does This Mean?

The other day I was eating breakfast with a friend of mine when he asked me if I knew what a certain passage meant. He quoted it to me and I told him that I was thinking he might be misquoting it. He assured me that he was pretty close to accurate. Yesterday, I went to my friend Wayne's new coffee shop.While I was there I looked up the phrase and sure enough, my friend had the majority of it right. I called him and told him I found the reference. He asked me what it meant. So now, I pass that question off to you, my remaining 12 readers. Specifically we are talking about the part that is in a different color and is in bold.

Matthew 18:19-20

19Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

Listening to a story

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Shotgun Golf--Now this is funny

The Tour That Takes Me Nowhere (Don't Stop Believing by Mike Wittmer)

Today, there is a concerted effort across much of blogdom to highlight a book by a professor of mine. Mike Wittmer's second book is called Don't Stop Believing the subtitle is Why Living Like Jesus Isn't Enough.

Before I talk about the book, you can find Mike's blog here.

It was interesting when I told my friends that I was reading this book. Many assumed that he would take a few pot shots at my church. He does not. Many thought he might be overhanded, overstating his case a little too much. He didn't do that either. In fact, this book is a pretty balanced book.

The essential question that Wittmer asks is, "What is more important, what you believe or how you live?" Read the book and get his take on it. I think most people I know will enjoy this book. I'm not sure if I agreed with everything and no I won't get into that (I still have him for one more class).

The book is well documented and the research impeccible. In my opinion there seems to be a little too much attention focused on just a few members of the conversation and perhaps the focus could have been broader.

All in all, if people are truly interested in the conversation (and I'm not always sure that those who say that actually mean it) this is an excellent book to get one started. Wittmer's call to balance is necessary for everyone who will come down on differing sides of this discussion and many others.