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“It’s inevitable. No matter what line of work you’re in or how much you love it. No matter how good you are at what you do. Sooner or later, you’re going to get into a funk.

It happens to everyone. The best authors experience seasons where they hate writing and are lucky to have one good sentence in a hundred pages. The most passionate musicians have days where they don’t even want to pick up their instrument.

While funks are unavoidable, we don’t have to resign ourselves to them. “

Good stuff from Pastor Steven who has a very active blog with some great practical stuff about life, ministry, and being a follower of Jesus. You can read the rest of this post at stevenfurtick.com.

It’s been a busy time lately, so I got a very late start on my set list for this Sunday.  The Lectionary readings for this week have several different themes running through them including the wisdom of God, enduring trials and suffering, the glory of God, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the revelation of the Holy Spirit, and the wonder and joy of knowing the the God who made the Universe not only knows us, but loves us deeply.

Here are the songs I have gathered this week:

• God Of All Glory – Riddle
• I Will Hold On – Briggs
• How He Loves – McMillan
• Full Attention – Riddle
• Rain Down – Delirious

Have a wonderful Holiday weekend and great Sunday with God and His family tomorrow.

From the NY Times:

“Pastor Allen Jenkins of the First Missionary Baptist Church in Bay St. Louis led over 20 members of the congregation in prayer at 3pm Sunday afternoon, in hopes of divine intervention with the oil spill. According to Jenkins, other local churches in the area held prayer groups at the same time in a ‘show of unity and strength.’ ” “‘We were praying that the oil slick would dissipate,’ said Pastor Jenkins ‘And that it wouldn’t create any ecological or economic problems for our coast. We know the Lord can work miracles and has our best interests at heart.’ “For the past five years, people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast — with the help of volunteers throughout the country — have worked to rebuild our cities after the devastation of Katrina. Now, in the face of this man-made disaster, we’re utilizing things we learned from Katrina recovery — like directing energy toward volunteer training for eventual clean-up. In ways as diverse as our culture itself, we’re finding comfort and strength in the kinship of community.” Bay St. Louis, Miss.
Credit: Ellis Anderson

I liked this photo of a church from the Gulf coast – and I like their response.

When we feel like there’s nothing we can do, we can always pray.

A song that is my anthem for life right now. Enjoy!

From americancatholic.org:

At 16, he (St. Patrick) and a large number of his father’s slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold.

After six years, Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre, France, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the Good News to the Irish.

In a dream vision it seemed “all the children of Ireland from their mothers’ wombs were stretching out their hands” to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north, where the faith had never been preached, obtained the protection of local kings and made numerous converts.

Because of the island’s pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ.

He suffered much opposition from pagan druids, and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission.

In a relatively short time the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe.

Patrick was a man of action, with little inclination toward learning. He had a rocklike belief in his vocation, in the cause he had espoused. -Read the rest

I especially like the historical commentary about St. Patrick’s education. The author writes, “Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task.” He wasn’t educated at the greatest schools and wasn’t approved by the establishment, but the Holy Spirit still rocked a nation through this man’s ministry.

He seems to have been a man broken for a people he deeply loved, and filled up by the Holy Spirit to do ministry. It’s a good thing for me to take a look at St. Patrick’s life and realize that this day is about more than shamrocks, food, and celebration. It’s a chance to pray that the same zeal, that same heart for the lost that St. Patrick had would be given to to me.

Our Charlie Brown tree after Christmas 2007

Last Sunday at the Live Oak Vineyard, pastor Steve taught on the important of Advent, and the process of preparing our hearts to receive the coming of Christ the Messiah. And part of that teaching time involved participation by our congregation, by standing up and telling about old and new traditions we carry on with our families for Christmas. This exercise pointed out how traditions and familiarity help us to prepare our hearts for Christmas.

I’ll admit that up until last night, it sure didn’t feel to me like Christmas season had arrived. We’ve been having very warm weather lately (we’ve had to run the A/C at our apartment more than once in December), and it just hasn’t been very “Christmasie” here. No sleigh bells, no snow, no Jack Frost nipping at my nose. I’ve been in California for four years now, so you’d think I’d be used to it. But this year has been different.

Well, last night, Melisa and I dragged out our three little boxes of Christmas decorations, and put up our little Charlie Brown tree. We tuned our TV to the XM Holiday station, and started putting up the decorations. Being a sweet tooth, I took on a little side project of making iced sugar cookies from Momma Keller’s famous recipe while Melisa placed ornaments on the tree. I brew some coffee, and the house filled with the wonderful blend of sugar cookies and java.

I then took on the “guy” stuff of decorating which means I took down some of my stereo equipment to make room for a manger scene, and I hung our wreath on the front door.

It was a blast. We had both had a pretty rough day…..Melisa was pretty down as Melisa goes. She’s not usually the Eeyore, I normally am. But at 10:30 when we finally sat down to enjoy the finished job, she was full of cheer, and so was I.

And now it feels like a lot more like Christmas. Maybe it’s the sugar rushing through my veins from the cookies, but I think it’s more than that. It’s taking time to do the preparation, to mark the traditions, and make new ones. I encourage everyone out there to do the same.

Merry Christmas!

I know that millions of people have read the daily readings of Oswald Chambers in My Utmost For His Highest., because it is one of the most amazing and poignant writings in the history of Christian theology. And if you have read enough of it, Oswald has probably “kicked your butt’ a time or two.

Chambers must have been a David-like person, with an incredible passion for obedience to the Lord, because he wrote about goals for Christian living that seem almost ridiculous and unattainable to the “average Christian”.

Today’s entry was a commentary on Philippians 3:12, “I have not yet reach that goal, but I continue trying to reach it, and to make it mine…..” Chambers wrote:

I am called to live in such a perfect relationship with God, that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others, not admiration for myself.

Ouch. That one hit hit like a dart this morning as I read this.

First, I was taken aback by the words, “perfect relationship with God”, because my walk with Him is nowhere near perfect, and who’s could be? Oswald is at it again!

But then I read again the second part: “that my life produces a yearning for God in the lives of others”. And I realized that I’ve seen other people that seem to live such a wonderful, if not perfect, relationship with God, and they make me want to be closer to God. Maybe there is something to this.

Secondly, Oswald hurt me the worse when he said, “not admiration for myself”. That dreaded word: Pride. I think a lot of the “evangelical” church is caught up in “admiration for itself”, and I’m included in that. It really made me think.

I comforted myself by going back into Philippians where verse 3:12 finished up. It says:

I continue trying to reach it, and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me His.

Wow, God has made us His own. What a glorious revelation that is to every believer.

Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church, recent put up a great post on his blog about worship. He talked about the role that pastors and leaders should take on in regards to setting the atmosphere in worship.

Furtick writes:

I usually only get to enjoy one or two of the songs of the worship set due to the demands of preaching 4 times back to back at different campuses.

But when I do get out there, I go for it. I don’t stand with my hands in my pockets like I’m too cool for school, or like the senior pastor is above worshipping God.

I also try really hard (and it’s difficult!) to break out of critical evaluation mode and get after the presence of God with my whole heart.

David is a great example of a leader who modeled worship for the people he led. Nobody “out-worshipped” the king of Israel. He demonstrated passion for God publically and privately.
I want to do the same. – Read the rest of Steven’s post

I think that following Furtick’s lead (and David’s lead ultimately) is important for pastors and worship leaders.

For worship leaders, it is important that the worship we give while on stage is authentic.

And I think being an authentic worshiper means you can give yourself to God in worship while off the stage with the same passion and reverence as when you are on it. It’s both honoring God, and also modeling the heart of worship for the church. And as leaders, people do pay attention to our actions both on and off the platform.

Washington, DC—October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

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Ok, so this is a little over the top, but I got a couple of laughs. I especially liked the part where they tried to go into the building, but found that one set of doors was locked. That’s a classic one. And the bumper stickers are hilarious, yet embarrassing at the same time. We all know that Christian bumper stickers and T-Shirts are pretty cheesy sometimes.

Hat tip to churchmarketingsucks.com.

13 Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts…… – I Peter 3:13-15a

Sometimes while I’m leading worship, the Lord gives me a very clear picture of something to pray or sing out. Last week, the band and I were leading the song “Only You” (David Crowder), and as I was leading, I saw a picture in my mind of an empty throne, and I knew it was the throne of my heart.

As the song continued, I saw a picture of a flurry of things that were all pushing toward the throne. It was things like media, music, magazines, possessions, and they were all piling on. It kind of looked like that big pile of gold you see on the Pirates of the Caribbean where its’ just piled up.

And then I saw hands, throwing all those things off the throne, making way for the rightful possessor of that place in my heart.

I Peter 3 says to “sanctify” Jesus as Lord in your hearts. The International Standard Version says, exalt the messiah as Lord in your lives.

We have to remember to sanctify our lives, sanctify ourself and rid ourselves of those things that seek to be exalted above Him. And I have to admit, that I focused more on the election this week than God. Forgive me, God.

Speaking of that, my cousin, Matt, has a great post on his blog about the election. Matt wrote:

Let me state my purpose for writing up front. The country is broken, and we all know it. We are now looking to one man to save our country. The simple fact is that Barack Obama cannot save our country. No man can save us. Only Jesus Christ himself can truly and literally save us.

We all have a center, and that is the point that we balance upon, the point that we hang onto. How much better would our lives be if Christ was always in that place, the Rock of our Salvation.

The Echoing Green blog had an interesting post today about John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods. Mackey has some interesting views on “conspicuous capitalism”.

According to Mackey, we need a new paradigm in business. His pick? Conscious capitalism, which seeks to expand and elevate the idea of the underlying purpose of business. As he put it, when someone asks why a business exists, the usual response is “to maximize profits.” However, if one were to ask that same question about a lawyer or doctor, there would be more to the answer: namely, fulfilling a social need.

Conscious Capitalism is the practice of running a business based on a deeper purpose. Mackey believes that, though capitalism beat out socialism in terms of implementation, it failed to capture the hearts and minds of the people; there’s still a deep divide between the idea of the greedy, exploitative capitalist corporation and the altruistic, martyr-like nonprofit organization. The process of bridging that gap is bringing us into a new era of business that manages to achieve success–both in financial and social return. – John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods

The millennial generation is going to do more business with companies in that “gap”. It’s obvious that this generation responds to “purpose” beyond the status quo of profit and monetary gain. (Either that, or they just enjoy shopping a supermarket that resembles a theme park!)

There is something the Church can learn from this, I think. I’m just not  how to exactly put it, other than this.  The millennial generation isn’t going to “do church for the sake of the church’s existence”.  Instead, they will “be the church for the sake of the lost”.

At least I think that’s one lesson we can learn from this.

What about you?  What can the church learn from Mr. Mackey?

On Sunday our church launched the first ever, “The Church Has Left The Building” Sunday.  It was a day set aside for the church to get out and serve the community.   I think it might have scared a few people away, because it seemed like the attendance was a little bit on the low side.  If you weren’t there, you really should come when we do this again sometime in the future.

I can’t tell you how it all went, because I was part of one of a bunch of different teams that went out.  I was part of a ministry team that went to the Santa Anita Convalescent Home in Temple City.  Melisa, Steve and I, along with our friends Kimmy, Stan, Karan, Aliza, and pastor Floyd, led a time of hymns and worship, a short message, and prayer ministry for a group of about 10 people.

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I had a rough week. It’s not that anything bad happened, I just had a rough week. Work wasn’t bad, I had the week off from worship leading, and had very little on my plate. I think I just needed to recover from a season of busy-ness.

Busy-ness: It’s all around us. It’s the American lifestyle in a nutshell. We leave the house in the morning to start the day snarled in the hustle and bustle of traffic goiing nowhere. And then we get to work, where Americans are finding that they are asked to be even more productive than they were last year. Many of us comb through dozens of emails every day that we write while we are on hold during phone calls. And then there is “texting” on our cell phones. We are in constant communication all day, but none of it is the kind of communication that “connects” us with people. After this is all over, we get back in our cars to “hurry” home at 10 mph on jam-packed roads.

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Mrs. Sara commented yesterday:

Speaking of the Lakeland revival, I’d be interested to hear your opinions on it! Would you be willing to write a blog post? Dan and I have been talking about it lately, especially in the wake of Todd Bentley separating from his wife.

I do have some opinions on it, but I’m concerned about posting about it.

First, I have not been to Lakeland, I’ve only been following this on GodTV since I got DirectTV earlier this spring. I first heard about Lakeland when Melisa and I were asked to lead worship at another Vineyard church here in SoCal. A small group from that church were taking a trip to the revival. So other than meeting a few folks who were going there, and reading up on a few blogs and websites, I have so little personal experience with the situation, that I feel I can’t form a very firm opinion. And the Bible says to be careful who you speak against, especially God’s anointed, so that is enough to make me shake in my boots.

So I’d rather speak in general terms, and speak about what I’ve experienced personally.

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