Changing Methods, Same Message

Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle has a great treatise on our 'methods' of delivering the gospel. He takes both a theological and historical look at the subject. I enjoyed this presentation and it challenged me to think about how we do church and to imagine new methods in presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ. Enjoy.

Sad Realizations

Over the Labor Day weekend my family and I ran off for the weekend to visit friends and sites of our first ministry post in Spirit Lake, IA. It was a welcome break and truly restful (once I gained some victory over the terrible cold I had). We returned home mid-evening on Monday. Then we proceeded with the typical post-trip activities, you know; unpacking clothes, resetting the thermostat, looking for evidence of a break-in, throwing out spoiled milk, etc. When we finished, the night was still young, so we did what most people would do and plopped down on the couch, reached for the remote, and looked for something mind-numbing on TV to flesh out the remaining weekend.
As some of you know, Ti-Vo in my book is the best invention ever outside of the automobile and Better Cheddar snack crackers. So we push the on button and [insert sound of record scratching] there were no channels to be found! Snaps! I restarted the receiver - nothing. I unplugged and replugged the receiver - nothing. I ran all the system tests...still nothing. Now the joy of my restful weekend was slipping away from me. Then I ran the checks to verify the positioning of the dish. Lo and behold, it somehow magically moved. Now I am steamed. I glance outside and sure enough it looks a little out of whack. Then in my mind a memory flashes from the other day; Two neighbor kids in full football costume playing 1 vs 1 in my side yard....just beneath my dish. The next image in my mind was one of these hoodlums kicking a football smack into my dish and then running for cover. That did it, my weekend rest was lost. By now, the evening was coming to an end. So I shrugged it off and determined I'd call my satellite provider in the morning for a service call.
Tuesday arrived. I had some glint of hope that the satellite would magically realign itself (kind of like waiting out a good rain storm for a signal) and all would be good. No chance. So I called the satellite folks. To my shock and horror, they couldn't make it out to our house until a week later. There was no reasoning with them. Apparently, I owe all the NFL ticket purchasers a big 'thanks for booking all the installers during my crisis' thank you. What in the world would we do? NO TV?! No Ti-Vo'd shows?! This was ridiculous!
So what to do? Let's see...we spent more time reading, talking, getting things done around the house, and actually ate a meal at the table...together! Wow. Not that we don't do those things as needed, but certainly not in this quantity or quality. Now, before you get a grim picture of our lives, we don't spend hours and hours a day in front of the TV, but when a quiet or dull moment arrives, like most Americans, we tend to pick up the remote.
Today, my repairman arrives to restore my precious ability to Ti-Vo. As I wait, I come to the realization that it has been a nice week - none of us actually died and I kind of liked the quiet. My kids even commented that it has been kinda nice not having a TV. I was also reminded years back when when we for almost 2 years didn't have any sort of TV and how nice that was. Of course all this quiet gives me time to reflect, and I got to thinking...even challenging myself. Coinciding with all this bonus quiet time I have been preparing Sunday's message. This weeks message is dealing with the second commandment, which happens to look at the topic of idols (dig into that one, and see what in your world needs changing.) So here's a challenge for myself and my family: Give up 1 week of TV a month. For those who may be quick to say, that's no big deal...give it a try yourself and see what changes.
Who knew two little punks could have such an impact on my life, by impacting my satellite dish with their football? In a way, I find myself grateful. So, 'thanks' little troublemakers. And now if their parents would just bless me by paying for the service call.

Ask-A-Ninja

Man...this guy makes my sides hurt. Funny Stuff.

The Island and the Losties are making me crazy!

Like many of you, sometimes I am in a hurry to leave church on Wednesday nights. That's because I have to scurry home, throw on some sweats, take a Bayer aspirin (to reduce my risk of a heart attack), and sit down to watch the lastests Tivo-sode of LOST. For those that haven't been on this drug called LOST, I caution you not to start. Because if you do, there is NO going back. You'll be hooked, sucked in, and Lostified.

I'd try to explain this show for you who don't watch it, but that's the hard part. I can't explain it because it can't be explained (at least not yet). That's the whole point of the show. Some people crash on an island. Crazy, bizarre, unexplainable natural and super-natural stuff happens to them and just as soon as you think your getting an understanding, the writers and producers jack you all up in the head. It is crazy...and you can't get enough. If you have been watching LOST from the start, you will likely agree with me that it just keeps getting better and better, intense and then MORE intense. So intense and mind blowing that this week following the show, my wife and I spent 1 1/2 Googling and reading crazy people forums to see what the latest speculations and explanations were out there in cyber-space regarding the show.

Most of these are kinda whack and frankly it's hard to imagine how some people have the time to come up with this stuff (then again, some of you are wondering why I would take time to watch and comment on the same stuff). So I am wondering what great LOSTY explanations and theories YOU buy into? Here is the latest one I read that seems pretty well thought out: http://theoriesonlost.blogspot.com/2007/05/great-gedanken-experiment-tale-of-time.html.

Give me your thoughts. Maybe together we can demystify this whole thing. Of course...if we do solve the mystery...then we are back to ice cream socials after church on Wednesday nights. Uh oh, I think I need to pray about my priorities!

Sunny in Georgia

Just a brief update for those who care. Things are going well in Georgia. The weather is sunny and 70 - gorgeous. The particular area I am in (Alpharetta), is especially nice. Very upscale - real cozy place. Great place to plant a church (if Andy Stanley hadn't already had a corner on the market). My training here is not too strenuous and the hotel is nice. It'd be a nice vacation if my family could be with me. I'll post some photos later on. When I have some down time later, I post a more interesting blog. Until then...
B.

Flying Tip: Be sure to locate your paper sack prior to take off so that you are not scrambling around for one when needed later, especially when encountering some nasty turbulence.

Brian Stanley's Day Off

Wow! March was a super crazy month and so was the first week or so of April. For those that have been praying for me, many thanks. I have had a couple of days off here at home recovering from one intense project at work. The project was a huge success and my boss rewarded me with some free time - yippee! So, I turned off my cell phone, unplugged my home phone, and have resisted checking on my email at work. I have been in my house pants and a t-shirt playing Battlefield2 (my most favorite PC game), catching up on Pastor Jim's messages, reading and relaxing, and doing some web work (which I call fun). I am genuinely feeling refreshed.
Next week I will be in Alpharetta GA all week for my day job. So anyone needs anything next week from me, I can be reached via email @ bbigbri77@msn.com. Alright, enough writing - back to my day with Ferris ~ out.
B

What Really Matters

Easter 2007 has come and gone. And since in America we don't celebrate Easter Monday or Dyngus Day or Wet Monday there will be no egg rolling or whipping of boys and girls (for real! check it out on wiki-pedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Monday). This Easter Monday I am struck with a few thoughts coming out of Sunday:

When you're a pastor Easter is a BIG deal. This is the highest and holiest Christian holiday. At Easter you'll have all sorts of visitors that come just this one time a year. With most of those visitors you will usually wish them a Merry Christmas as they go out the door - because that's the next time you'll see them! But for everyone one of those 'perennial attenders', there is someone who is genuinely seeking. Seeking a new church home, seeking a God they don't know, seeking friends, seeking community, or seeking any number of other things. As a pastor you're thinking, 'this is our one shot and we'd better make it count'. So, every little detail matters in your mind. How things look, how folks are greeted, what we do, what we sing, what we say, how we say it, etc, etc. The day is spent thinking about a lot of things and doing a lot of things.

Once church has ended and the people have gone home, and after Easter lunch, and family activities, I come to the end of the day and find myself doing some self-evaluation. I challenge you to ask yourself these questions as well.

1. Did I celebrate Easter? Or was I busy with so many things that Easter was lost on me?
2. Did I help my kids celebrate Easter?
3. Did I truly connect in any meaningful way with someone that was visiting the church for the first time?
4. How have I helped communicate the gospel through this Easter opportunity?

Now those can seem like some unforgiving questions and you must resist your first personal reaction to be that of condemnation. They are simply soul-searching types of questions. However, I do feel challenged to think about what really matters and stop getting caught up in the things. What really matters? My personal relationship with Christ, my family's personal relationship with Christ, and the personal relationships that others have with Christ. The order of the list is important as well. What I may have missed on Easter Sunday, I want to live this Easter Monday. That's the beauty of a new day! Lord help me to do it.