Prayer Answer-er-er

I found this on Eric Metcalf's blog (Erics Eddyfications)and thought it was worth sharing with you.

My Grandfather

Grandpa died on Thursday.

He was a good man who loved his family and loved his Lord.

My earliest memories of Grandpa are from his farm. He gave my brother and I the important--and very fun--job of keeping the blackbirds out of the blackberries. He gave us bottle-rockets and an old aluminum baseball bat to accomplish this task. We'd light the bottle-rockets, drop them into the hollowed out baseball bat, aim it at the berry patch, and cheer as the bottle-rocket popped and the birds scattered.

He loved to fish and he was good at it. Large-mouth Bass had my grandpa's picture on the walls of their post offices with the word, "Wanted" written below his image. He always seemed to know exactly where the fish were and always worked to make sure that my brother and caught something on even the most fish-less days.

He was a hard-worker who provided for his family even under difficult situations.

He'd experienced a lot of pain in his life. He lost a son and I lost a Dad on August 8, 1988 and neither one of us fully recovered from Dad's unexpected death. We found a way to move on, but--even though we both know God, so we both know that Dad is with the Lord--we moved on in pain.

Death is an abusive drifter who appears unexpectedly, ravages savagely, and disappears quietly into the darkness to hurt someone else in the next town.

Like an F-4 tornado, death seems to drop from out of nowhere, moving quickly and randomly through homes, schools, churches, communities, and unsuspecting souls leaving in its path a trail of broken hearts, sleepless nights, tear-stained pillows, empty seats at dinner tables, fatherless children, and widowed spouses.

I know God exists.
I know God loves me.
I know that Jesus is God's Son.
I know that Jesus died so that I could live forever through obedient faith in him.
I know that heaven is as real as Chicago.
I know that my Dad is with the Lord.
I know that my Grandpa is walking with the Lord, too, and no longer in pain, or maimed, or seeing Paradise through clouded glass.
I know all of this, but I also know that funerals were never a part of God's plan.
He didn't design our hearts, bodies, and souls to deal with death.
God created us for life.
So, in the next few days as I confront the realities--and results--of death, I am going to also confront the realities of life and--in honor of my Father, my Grand-Father, and my Heavenly Father--I'm going to re-commit to living the life for which we all were created.

Finding God on MySpace

Reluctantly, and after a lot of thought, I joined MySpace a week ago. A friend convinced me that it would be a good way to connect with people and for people to connect with me.

Honestly, as I was setting up my MySpace I felt juvenile. I felt like I was embarking on a colossal waste of time. I felt worldly, but I also felt curious and a little excited, too.

So, I set up my profile, downloaded artwork for my site, selected a nice Christian song for my profile, and a wholesome picture, started blogging, and surfing MySpace and before I knew it I found that people wanted to be my friend.

In a week and a half 75 people have become my myspace friends.

I find this a lot of fun.

I've found that--in the past 10 days--I've connected with about 6 people that I haven't heard from in over 20 years and a bunch of friends I've lost touch with more recently.

I found a friend that I went to elementary school with and was friends with all through High School. It was encouraging to find that she's a strong Christian woman who is shining the love of Jesus to alumni from our old High School.

I found a friend with whom I used to work and whom I love deeply, but haven't spoken to in a couple of years. His MySpace reflects his love for God and his family.

I found a blog from a Christian friend on which he offers encouraging daily devotions.

I found the MySpace of two missionaries my wife and I support and I found it interesting--and encouraging--to read comments from the people they are working with in South Africa.

This morning I received an email from the owner of a very successful company that produces Triathlon wetsuits. He wanted to be added as my friend. He's a dynamic Christian. I read his blog and found spiritual nourishment that started my day off on the right foot.

Yes, I have found a lot of junk in pop-up adds and in the pictures sometimes associated with comments, but--to my great surprise--the biggest thing I've found on MySpace in the past 10 days is God.

I guess you find what you're looking for.

Child Prodigy is a Picture of Faith

This is an amazing story about a child prodigy named Akiane Kramarik and the artwork she claims she sees in visions from God.

Check it out. I'd love to hear your comments.

Sermon Inspiration

Something happened this morning at 4:32 a.m. that happens on a regular basis to me and I wonder if it happens to other preachers.

I've been working on a sermon for next week and struggling with how to say what I think God wants me to say.

I've been wrestling with the text, my thoughts, and how to present the message coherently for the past two days.

I just can't seem to get a clear direction for this message.

I start every sermon with prayer. I mean the process, not just the presentation, but this week I've been praying even more than usual.

Well, I woke up this morning at 4:32 a.m. with an entire introduction and sermon outline in my mind. I grabbed a scrap piece of paper and a pen and outlined the entire message.

Wow!

But this happens on a regular basis. My wife often reminds me--when I'm at a mental brick wall--to walk away from my sermon and do something else and it will all work out. And she's been right every time.

I don't know if other preachers have this experience, but I find comfort in this because I find God in this.

I can't do anything without God. My life would be a joke without God and my preaching would be disastrous, so I'm grateful for 4:32 a.m. reminders that God still cares about this world, me, and sermons on parenting.

Meaningful Conversations with our Children

I was reading Psalm 78 this morning. Here's some of what I read:

1 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.

2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old-

3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

8 They would not be like their forefathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him.

I read this week that the average child has 3-5 minutes of meaningful conversation with his/her parents each week!

God commanded the Israelite fathers to teach their children the commands of God and to tell them the stories of God's mighty deeds so that they will "put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands."

It's seems that a lot of parents are scratching their heads and wondering, "What are we doing wrong?" "Why aren't my kids going to church anymore?" "Why don't my children love God like I love God?"

Maybe it's just that we aren't talking to them enough and about the right things.

Maybe it's because we'veinadvertentlyy taught them--through our actions--that God is a father with every-other-weekend visitation rights with whom we don't speak much and of whom we say even less?

The Art of Innovation

At a recent meeting of the Christian Standard Contributing Editors I was first exposed to some of the teachings of a former Apple/Macintosh/software guru/and visionary entrepenuer named Guy Kawasaki (for bio info on Guy: How to Change the World: A Brief History of Mine).

Mark Taylor, the Editor of the Christian Standard, started our meeting with a presentation of Guy's "Art of Innovation." I found the presentation to be challenging, stimulating, and full of lessons that could help church leadership teams and they strive to fulfill God's vision for his church in their location.

I wanted to make sure that you had a chance to check it out for yourself. Here you go . . .

The Art of Innovation
I'm getting tired of writing about lies, so today I'm covering truths. Specifically, the truths of innovation. I hold these truths to not be self-evident; hence we see so little innovation.

Jump to the next curve. Too many companies duke it out on the same curve. If they were daisy wheel printer companies, they think innovation means adding Helvetica in 24 points. Instead, they should invent laser printing. True innovation happens when a company jumps to the next curve--or better still, invents the next curve, so set your goals high.

Don't worry, be crappy. An innovator doesn't worry about shipping an innovative product with elements of crappiness if it's truly innovative. The first permutation of a innovation is seldom perfect--Macintosh, for example, didn't have software (thanks to me), a hard disk (it wouldn't matter with no software anyway), slots, and color. If a company waits--for example, the engineers convince management to add more features--until everything is perfect, it will never ship, and the market will pass it by.

Churn, baby, churn. I'm saying it's okay to ship crap--I'm not saying that it's okay to stay crappy. A company must improve version 1.0 and create version 1.1, 1.2, ... 2.0. This is a difficult lesson to learn because it's so hard to ship an innovation; therefore, the last thing employees want to deal with is complaints about their perfect baby. Innovation is not an event. It's a process.

Don't be afraid to polarize people. Most companies want to create the holy grail of products that appeals to every demographic, social-economic background, and geographic location. To attempt to do so guarantees mediocrity. Instead, create great DICEE products that make segments of people very happy. And fear not if these products make other segments unhappy. The worst case is to incite no passionate reactions at all, and that happens when companies try to make everyone happy.

Break down the barriers. The way life should work is that innovative products are easy to sell. Dream on. Life isn't fair. Indeed, the more innovative, the more barriers the status quo will erect in your way. Entrepreneurs should understand this upfront and not get flustered when market acceptance comes slowly. I've found that the best way to break barriers is enable people to test drive your innovation: download your software, take home your hardware, whatever it takes.

“Let a hundred flowers blossom.” I stole this from Chairman Mao. Innovators need to be flexible about how people use their products. Avon created Skin So Soft to soften skin, but when parents used it as an insect repellant, Avon went with the flow. Apple thought it created a spreadsheet/database/wordprocessing computer; but, come to find out, customers used it as a desktop publishing machine. The lesson is: Don't be proud. Let a hundred flowers blossom.

Think digital, act analog. Thinking digital means that companies should use all the digital tools at its disposal--computers, web sites, instruments, whatever--to create great products. But companies should act analog--that is, they must remember that the purpose of innovation is not cool products and cool technologies but happy people. Happy people is a decidedly analog goal.

Never ask people to do what you wouldn't do. This is a great test for any company. Suppose a company invents the world's greatest mousetrap. It murders mice better than anything in the history of mankind--in fact, it's nuclear powered. The problem is that the customer needs a PhD to set it, it costs $500,000, and has to drop off the dead, radioactive mouse 500 miles away in the middle of the desert. No one at the company would jump through those hoops--it shouldn't expect customers to either.

Don't let the bozos grind you down. The bozos will tell a company that what it's doing can't be done, shouldn't be done, and isn't necessary. Some bozos are clearly losers--they're the ones who are easy to ignore. The dangerous ones are rich, famous, and powerful--because they are so successful, innovators may think they are right. They're not right; they're just successful on the previous curve so they cannot comprehend, much less embrace, the next curve.
(Written at: Marriott Hotel, San Francisco, California)

Here's a link to Guy Kawasaki's Blog: Guy Kawasaki

Great Calvin Miller Interview on Wineskins.org

I'm a huge Calvin Miller fan. I think I've read about 20 of his 40 books. My favorite is a book he wrote back in 1984 called, "The Table of Inwardness." In this book he writes, "No one who rushes into God's presence is content to stay for long."

I was visiting www.wineskins.org and found an interview their editor did with Calvin Miller.

Here's an excerpt:

Wineskins: You quote Edward Markquart, calling him a brilliant homilist, who wrote this: “People want their preachers to be authentic human beings . . . who experience the same feelings and struggles as the laity, who do not hide behind the role of reverend so and so.” Can a pastor hide behind the pastorate or scholarship?

Calvin Miller: I do believe confessional preaching is really important. I think what you’ve hit on here . . . I live in a really academic world—and I rarely hear these people talk about their own experience: here’s what Jesus showed me on Thursday. I love Alister McGrath, but I’ve never heard him say that. And I think preachers who live with the people absolutely have to talk about what Jesus showed them on Tuesday or Thursday, or they become irrelevant.

Wineskins: That’s the affair with the text that you spoke about.

Calvin Miller: Exactly.

Wineskins: What kind of affair are you talking about? Illicit or Elicit? (laughs)

Calvin Miller: (laughs) I do think for one thing, it’s not illicit, it’s at least romantic. I think that’s a real good way to think about it. That’s what’s missing: the divine romance with Jesus, the Bible. It’s missing in a lot of contemporary churches that get into jumbotron sermons. It’s missing among the scholars who are looking for the Sanskrit word. It exists for those people who live in the middle.

If you'd like to read the rest of the interview you'll find it here: New Wineskins

Enjoy!

Coach Dungy and a Powerful Witness

Way to go Colts!

I'm happy that the Colts won. It was a sloppy game, but ended well with the Colts winning the game and Peyton winning the MVP.

Something that has never been sloppy is Coach Tony Dungy's witness. Here are his postgame comments from the AFC Championship Game:



And here are some of his comments before the game at the Super Bowl pregame breakfast:


Way to go Coach Dungy!

Another reason to pull for the Colts!

I found this update on www.christianchurchtoday.com:



On Sunday Connection Pointe Christian Church (Brownsburg, IN) celebrated two of its members (and some recent victories by the Indianapolis Colts) as lead pastor Steve Reeves interviewed Ben Utecht, a tight end with the Colts (#86), and his wife, Karyn. The Utechts participate as active members at Connection Pointe. Reeves gave the couple e-mails and cards of encouragement from the church family, and the service included a time of prayer that God will strengthen them and use their witness.By the way, Utechts Colts play in a little thing called the Super Bowl this Sunday vs. the Chicago Bears.