Western Spaghetti...

This is an amazingly creative video!



“Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility." - Rosabeth Moss Kanter

What Metaphor Best Describes Your Church...

You’ve most likely heard the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” I’m sure most of us would agree that images often communicate in more dynamics ways than words. So, here’s the question and topic of the day: "What metaphor would you use to describe your church and why?"

I’ve found that these kinds of questions produce a clearer picture of who churches really are. For example, one person described their church as an airport since they saw their church's mission as refreshing people and releasing them to pursue their God-given passions for Kingdom purposes.

Once you've identified your response to the question above, consider how you'd answer the following follow-up question: "Which metaphors do you think people outside of your church would use to describe your church and why?"

Respectable Sins...

I've been reading Jerry Bridges' book Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate and have received a spiritual kick in the rear-end. Here are two excerpts from the book that I highlighted and underlined:

We who are believers tend to evaluate our character and conduct relative to the moral culture in which we live. Since we usually live at a higher moral standard than society at large, it is easy for us to feel good about ourselves and to assume that God feels that way also. We fail to reckon with the reality of sin still dwelling within us.

The acceptable sins are subtle in the sense that they deceive us into thinking they are not so bad, or not thinking of them as sins, or even worse, not even thinking about them at all! Yes, some of our refined sins are so subtle that we commit them without even thinking about them, either at the time or afterward. We often live in unconscious denial of our “acceptable” sins.

The Conundrum of Calling...

I had approached my recent vacation with a sense of expectation. My expectation was that God would somehow speak to the inevitable frustrations of ministry I was wrestling with.

I listened for the Lord for most of my vacation week... and heard nothing. Frustration and impatience began to bubble inside me. I took a long walk one night and let God know that I really needed some direction. Ministry is hard, and I was looking for some relief.

And then, on our last day at our friends' lovely lake house, I read these words Ruth Haley Barton had written in her book Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership regarding the conundrum of God's calling:

This is not about making a brilliant career move. It is not about security. It is not about success or failure or anything else the ego wants for us. It is not about choosing from several attractive options. This is about the Spirit of God setting us on our feet and telling us, "This is yours to do. Whether they hear or refuse to hear, whether it feels to you as if you are failing or succeeding, you are to speak my words."

And when I had finished reading these words, I was ready to head home.

Back Home...

Susan and I are back home in ABI following a wonderfully relaxing vacation. Lots of reading, catching up with a few old friends and watching season 4 of Lost (watching the previous season of Lost on DVD has become a Conwell vacation tradition). It was a great week recharging mental, physical and spiritual batteries.

While Susan and I were away, our daughters, Katie Lea and Caroline, took care of things around the house. They fed our cats, brought in the mail... and even (this was big news) killed a cockroach.

Let me hasten to say, our house in not roach infested. We do have an occasional roach making a guest appearance... and I am quickly called upon, as the man of the house, to dispatch our unwelcome guest.

However, being a thousand miles away makes it tough for me to perform my roach-killing duties... so my girls had to take care of dispatching the bug. Let me be clear, this was a big step (no pun intended) for my daughters to take. They both possess a healthy disdain for cockroaches. But the bug was on the stairs, which was the way downstairs, so a showdown between daughters and roach was inevitable.

Grabbing the nearest weapon (a bottle of Windex), my girls proceeded to douse the bug with vigorous sprays. The resilient roach resisted, but was finally rendered immobile due to puddle forming around him. The cockroach was finally dispatched with a whack from a broom.

The roach passed from this life spotless and without streaks.

It's good to be home!

Vacation Break...

I'm taking a break from blogging for a few days as Susan and I vacation at a cozy lake house in Hartwell, Georgia. I'll return on Monday, July 6.

Putting The "No" In Innovation...

This very funny commercial for Shredded Wheat (which I have eaten my share of) is inspired... if not downright genius.



Made me laugh. Made me think.