Friday, July 31, 2009

Death By Twitter

Those of you on Twitter will appreciate this rockumentary from the David Crowder Band. It's a riot! If you're not on Twitter, fly away now, as you'll only be scratching your head. Let's not puzzle your puzzler more than necessary. After all, it's the weekend.

Note. You'll never fully "get" Twitter until you take the plunge. Come on...everybody's doing it. And I don't want to hear any bridge jumping analogies, which you've likely committed to memory thanks to your parents. Despite what you may think...Twitter is not suicide.

So, look me up on Twitter here. Have a great weekend! Tweet twit away.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Eternal Or Tacky

What grabs attention? Perhaps something shocking? Do you slow to peek, peep, or peer at whatever debacle sits roadside...usually encompassing someone's misfortune. Yes, this misfortune is shocking at times. But, is shocking always better?

More than shocking...I love to preach engaging. Engaging grabs attention! An engaging conversation, culture, painting, people, picture, piece, etc. Engaging will accomplish just that. It engages people, which cracks the doors for true conversations...for soul conversations. These cracks are the significance of life. These cracks are what thrusts doors open for eternity. These cracks are an engaging concept.

To risk some silliness...this engaging concept is why Mickey Mouse poses within my watch. Sure, I love Disney. But, this watch is also a great conversation provoker and starter. Provoking and starting and hopefully leading to the significance of life...these cracks. Sounds silly, right? But, conversation tends to flow and grow quickly beyond a cartoon mouse. I recently applied this philosophy to my iPhone. A picture of my new case is below...my wife hates it. I tried to explain my engaging concept. But, we seem to lack a kindred spirit. Instead, she goes straight to...what was it again...oh ya, tacky. Your thoughts?

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Death By Paralysis

When Ishbosheth heard...he lost all courage and ALL Israel became paralyzed with fear. 2 Samuel 4:1.

First off...what kind of name is Ishbosheth. Poor guy. I bet he never got teased. Sure - ya right! So, for you expecting parents, take this one off your list of potentials for little Johnny. You'll thank me later...and so will Johnny.

Anyways...talk about the importance of leadership. The crippling of one leader froze an entire nation. ALL Israel. What? Say that again. One man froze one nation. An entire nation. Not ten men, five men, or even two men. But, one man.

So, leaders need to lead. Simple enough. Right? Despite what you may hear - cast your eyes upon the Lord and lead - cling to His cross and lead. Ignore the whats and whys of your ear, as they completely deflated our friend, Ishbosheth. They promise the same for you - while clapping, singing, and smiling along the way.

The alternate is paralysis, which generally leads to a slow and painful death. Until next time. Jed.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Whose Work Is It Anyways

Recently, I attended a book tour for Killing Cockroaches by Tony Morgan. Tony had some great insights and thoughts. Here's one that stuck with me...

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Now these are the gifts of the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-12 NLT)

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Back up. You mean God's work rests upon God's people? The short and long answers are yes. Regardless, we prefer to punt this responsibility to the pastors and preachers. After all, let's keep evangelism where it belongs...in the pews. People come to the pews. How they get there is a little foggy. But, once there, the pastors and preachers do their thing. They preach to the pews, as we sit and smile and pretend our lives are the perfect sunset. Let's review. Come to the pews. Preach to the pews. Sit, smile, and pretend. Call it a pew mentality.

This mentality racks up the victims, including myself. It's comforting. It's nonthreatening. It's warming. Let's be honest...it's just flat out easy! The one thing it's not is engaging. What did Paul say again? Something about equipping me and you to build up the church. Ok. Slow down a notch and allow this truth to sink in. ME and YOU. Who? ME and YOU. One more time. ME and YOU.

So, no more belly aching, complaining, finger pointing, griping, or name calling. Evangelism must no longer be an event. An event is planned. An event is scheduled. An event has a start and finish. Evangelism must be a lifestyle. Bottom line...God's people must be engaging!

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Fairly obvious God is trying to tell me something...perhaps about my personal life. :-) After all, there's always room for improvement. Right? Any thoughts?