Am I getting old?

I mean… the fact is that communication is changing like crazy in our world, and I’m treading water to keep up with it. I blog occasionally, thinking somebody might actually be interested in my thoughts. I am tweeting a little now, too, and as cool as I think it is following some interesting people like Tony Morgan and Todd Rhoades and Charlie Hall, I tend to think it’s silly of me to think that people care what I’m doing or thinking.

But…

If what I’m doing or thinking is leading toward Jesus… is that really getting old? I hope not. I hope it’s getting new…

REVEAL – It’s really simple!

Great talk from Bill Hybels this morning at REVEAL. For those who don’t know, the study identified four basic categories of believers in our churches: Exploring Christ, Growing in Christ, Close to Christ, and Christ-centered.

How do you get from one to the next phase? What are the “catalysts” for spiritual growth and development… Going to great church services, worshipping and hearing great sermons? Listening to Christian music? Listening to Chuck Swindoll on the radio? Nope. It seems (no surprise here, but it’s nice to see it in a study like this one) that the things that move people on are getting grounded in Scripture, getting in community with other believers, and serving, especially serving the poor.

Wow. It’s simple!

1. Read the Bible (I HIGHLY recommend the Life Journal. Check out our church’s Life Journal blog here.

2. Get into a small group. (Explore the Bible with them, too.)

3. Serve. Serve the poor. Give of yourself to those who need it.

Here’s a secret. All of those things are just GOBS of fun! And then when we gather for our worship services, we’re celebrating God’s life in our lives, and our surrender to his plan, and those celebrations, those parties, get even better all the time!

Why I do what I do

So I’m sitting in a hospital room visiting with a member of our congregation last night, and he’s telling me about all the ways that our church has helped him get closer to God. We are, it appears, not very judgmental, so he felt at home and kept coming back, and feels closer to Jesus than he ever did before. We encouraged our people to start really digging into God’s Word on a daily basis with the Life Journal and he and his wife have been reading the Bible like they didn’t used to. It’s good to do what I do after all! It’s good to serve here. It’s good to be alive.

Famous things…

So, the Goodyear blimp flew over today. Right over our building. I ran outside and snapped this photo. What’s the deal with the odd way we behave when we something famous, or somebody famous. What is the fascination? Is it because things and people that are bigger than life seem more lasting, more “important”, less fleeting than we are? Is this why Americans buy gossip magazines (and semi-gossip magazines) in the ridiculous numbers we do? There is only ONE who is eternal, though! Hang onto Him today!

Interruptions… The heart of your day

I’ve been reading Luke in my “Life Journal”, and just yesterday read the story in Luke 8 about two interruptions that happen in Jesus’ life at about the same time. (The Life Journal is a GREAT way to read the Bible. You can read more about it here or see Tri County Church’s online version on our web site here. It’s under “Resources”. For those of you who attend TCC with me, if you want one, we’ll get you one!)

So, on to the story.

His normal routine is interrupted when Jairus interrupts his “routine” to tell him that his daughter is sick. I don’t know if Jesus knew Jairus. I think he did, but the Bible gives us no indication, because it doesn’t matter. Jesus would interrupt his day for anyone.

On the way to visit Jairus’ daughter, Jesus is interrupted AGAIN by a woman who touches “the hem of his garment” and is healed. Jesus embraces this interruption fully, too. He stops what he’s doing to address the woman, and as a result, her example of faith becomes a lesson for us throughout the ages in God’s Word.

In the past couple weeks, my workday has been interrupted FAR more than usual. It’s good to be reminded that this is a good thing. I hope I get interrupted again today.

Embrace an interruption in your day today, if it’s just to talk to someone for a while, or to go to lunch with a friend. I think that if you embrace an interruption to maybe be God’s channel for grace, that it’s time well spent.

I gotta go, I’m getting interrupted…