I'm Thankful for...Part Five

I'm Thankful for the Church:

• It is the Body of Christ

• It is the Bride of Christ

• It is the Family of God

• It is a group of believers who share everything

• It is a group of people who have common purpose
  

• It worships God together

• It gives sacrificially together

• It is an example of what can happen through unity

• It is all about helping each other
  

• It is all about love

• It is all about generosity

• We connect together

• We grow together
  

• We serve together

I am thankful for the big "C" church, as well as my little "c" church.

ACC, you are an awesome church and I cannot wait to see what greater things God will bring through you!

I'm Thankful for...Part Four

I'm Thankful for God's Word:

• God's Word awakens faith, the source of all obedience

• God's Word convicts us of our sin through the Holy Spirit

• God's Word gives us the knowledge that we have overcome the enemy

• God's Word frees us from corruption

• God's Word empowers godliness

• God's Word serves love

• God's Word gives joy

• God's Word reveals the Lord

• God's Word teaches the purpose of the Lord

• God's Word is truth

Tomorrow, I'm thankful for the Church

I'm Thankful for...Part Three

I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit:

• He teaches me what to say

• He gives me boldness to talk about Jesus

• He encourages me

• He gives me courage

• He is evidence of God's love for me

• He helps me in my weakness

• He enables me to live a life of goodness, peace, and joy

• He gives me love for my brothers and sisters in Christ

• He marks me as identified of God

• He is a guarantee of God's promises to me
  

• He produces good fruit in my life

• He gives me the power to pray

Tomorrow, I'm thankful for God's Word

I'm Thankful for...Part Two

I'm thankful for Jesus:

• He is God's Son
  

• He is the truth
  

• He is the life

• He is the only way to the Father.

• He is the Word of God

• Jesus did not leave us as orphans in this world but gave us the Holy Spirit, the Helper.

• He is my Savior
  

• He is my Lord
  

• He is my Healer
  

• He is my Provider
  

• He is the Glory and the Lifter of my head
  

• He is my King
  

• He is my Master
  

• He is my Friend
  

• He is the lover of my soul
  

• He is the Prince of Peace
  

• He is the Counselor
  

• He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth
  

• He is the Only True Giver of Joy and Peace in our Lives on this earth and forever

Tomorrow, I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit

I'm Thankful for...Part One

This week we'll journey through a few things that we can stop and be thankful for. My hope is that you can find some new things to praise God for. And where better to start than to be thankful for God. Here's a few things for which I am thankful to God for:

• God's righteousness and holiness
  

• All God's marvelous creations

• God's guidance and instruction to us

• The hope God has given us

• Salvation
  

• The joy God gives us in His presence

• God is great and worthy of praise

• When you were in trouble, God hears your cries for help
  

• Deliverance
  

• Mercy and kindness
  

• For not staying angry with us and not giving up on us

• God's blessings and benefits

• God's laws and commands

• God's judgments and the warning they have provided to us

• God's power
  

• Faithfulness

• For the strength and confidence God gives us

• For listening to our prayers

• God's Word

• For being truthful

• For filling the earth with His love and goodness

• God's thoughts, many and deep

Tomorrow, I'm Thankful for Jesus.

Remembering

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. An Act approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday; "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day.

In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. King had been actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II.

He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into "All" Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11, 1953, to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.

Congress amended this act on November 8, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with Veterans, and it has been known as Veterans Day since.

A huge thank-you to those of you who are Veterans or who know someone who is a Veteran.

I am so thankful for my freedom, for all who made it possible, and those who are serving now to keep it that way.

God Bless Each and every one of You.

Tattletale

When I was younger, I used to tease my brother a whole lot.

I can remember a time when I held him down on the floor and made him shout out my name over and over again and I still didn't get off of him because I was just mean that way sometimes. I'll never forget what he said after I got off of him though:

"I'm telling dad on you."

Those words struck fear in me because I knew what my dad would do if what I had done was ever discovered and brought to light, so I would usually bribe my brother with something good such as a signed baseball card or some such trinket that he greatly desired. That way, my rear end would remain safely intact, away from dad's belt.

Fast forward to last night with my seven-year old.

After a wrestling match ensued, (no, I did not hold him down on the floor and make him shout my name), I grabbed a hold of his foot and he tried to get away unsuccessfully. After a minute of this, he wriggled his way free, turned defiantly toward me and said,

"I'm telling God what you did."

There's no bribing my way out of that one.....

Timeless Advice

Carlos Whittaker posted this picture on his blog this morning.

Having already contracted and survived the epidemic formerly known as the swine flu, I find things like this extremely humorous.

However, I know several people who still fear this disease hitting home.

Here's my counsel to those of you who are in that boat:

No matter what happens, God will still be God, and he is bigger than anything life can throw at you.

Now go and have a pork chop for dinner in honor of our friend P..P..P..Piglet.

Greater Things Are Yet to Come

Well, it's been a month since I've been logged into the Blogosphere, and if you'll check out our main church website:

Amelia Church of Christ

I think you'll see why.

We just launched a brand new vision for our church over the last three Sundays which is very simple.

Here it is in a nutshell: Connecting, Growing, Serving.

For those of you who haven't heard yet, my role at the church will be transitioning to Worship & Small Groups Pastor as the Growing area of our vision falls directly into my path.

I have a vision for launching small groups at this church that I believe will not only succeed, but will draw people into our church and help to grow them with one another in a way that we never even imagined.

I can't wait to get going on it, but the first thing we have to do is hire a Part time Youth Minister to take my place.

Any takers?

Log onto Amelia Church of Christ's Webiste and click the link for Jobs on the left hand column.

Can I See God?

We were driving in the car the other day and my son Joshua had some building blocks in the backseat of the car and was putting them together in a complex arrangement. Trying to have a conversation with him, I asked him what he was doing.

His response was, "I'm trying to put God together."

I kind of half-smiled and replied, "And why would you want to do that?"

My 7-year old almost made me melt when he said, "So I can see Him."

How often do we as people go through life and wish we could catch just a glimpse of what God looks like? I mean, God is everywhere, all around us, so why can't we see him?

Jesus tells the story of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, and he says that he "was hungry and we gave him something to eat, thirsty and we gave him something to drink," etc....

Then he concludes the passage with this statement, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

God is all around us, and we can see him, but we have to first open up our eyes.

Mini-Vacation

Cara and I are taking off today for a couple of days of R & R.

It's good sometimes to get away from it all and just kick back. That's what I fully intend to do this weekend.

See you all Sunday morning!

Power 90 at the .25 Mark

I just completed Day 23 of Power 90 which puts me at the 1/4 mark. Having taken all of my stats before I began this process, I am now amazed at the results I've gotten in just 23 days. Here are some figures for you to compare: (everything in inches)

Day #	Day One	Day Twenty-Three
CHEST	43	42
UPPER ARM R	14	13.5
UPPER ARM L	14	13.5
WAIST	43	38
HIPS	42	39
THIGH R	21	22.5
THIGH L	22	22.5
WEIGHT	204	191.5

As you can see, I have lost 5 inches off of my waist, and 3 off of my hips, but the biggest one for me is the 12.5 pounds I have lost in weight. I am absolutely amazed.

Big props to Josh Young for suggesting this program. I can't wait to see what Day 90 brings.

Church Music

It's finally here. I've been waiting for them to deliver for two years and I'm not disappointed. David Crowder*Band's "Church Music" hit the streets today and it is a great album.

Church Music picks up where the band left off with their Sunsets & Sushi E.P. It is chock full of electronic loops, heavy driving guitar riffs and solos, orchestral arrangements that make you want to spread your arms and fly, and lyrics that will calm and challenge your soul to its innermost depths.

Some of the music is softer than their previous albums, while some songs are rock anthems that will drive to the core of who you are. All in all though, Church Music absolutely delivers. I need to listen to it longer, but in the end, this may give my favorite worship album of all time, A Collision, a run for its money.

If you need some new music for your personal worship time, don't hesitate. Pick this one up.

Encouragement

A lot of times, I feel like this quote:

"Leaders in ministry have a lot of fans and a lot of foes, but very few friends."

Yesterday though, God did some amazing things at ACC. I received a lot of encouragement and so did everyone that was there.

All you have to do is look at one of our longtime members and what this person had to say on their Facebook status.

I am in awe of God's timing. Brian and Mike both hit it out of the park yesterday. There was someone there who is struggling and needed to hear exactly what was said at exactly that time.

Nuff said. Thanks for the encouragement. All praise and credit goes vertical.

Rest in Peace

By now, I'm sure you have all heard that Patrick Swayze has died.

The iconic man's man who commanded an almost idol-like following was 57 and lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

I had a friend from high school comment on Facebook that she wonders if Kanye West will show up to Patrick's Funeral and say "Pat, you were great man, but Michael Jackson had the best death this year."

Whatever happens, I keep seeing posts on the social networking sites that say "R.I.P." which is the acronym for Rest in Peace.

So, the question is, where did Patrick Swayze go when he died?

There are only two options. Heaven or Hell.

Either way, He won't rest in peace.

You see, Hell is a place of eternal torment. There's no peace there. There is fire and darkness and pain. The Bible only describes Hell in seven different verses and that's enough to frighten anyone. There is no rest. There is no peace.

But, what about heaven? I thought that there was peace there?

There is, but not in the sense that you may be thinking.

You see, while Patrick Swayze may have enjoyed his sense of idolness down here on earth, if he goes to heaven, he won't enjoy any idleness.

In heaven there is no pain or suffering. There is also no night. The Bible also tells us that we will be worshiping and serving through celebrating God. Ergo, I can safely conclude that while there is peace in heaven, (the lion will lay down with the lamb), we will not be resting. We will be serving and celebrating and feasting and working. Anything but being idle.

Only God knows where Patrick Swayze has gone. But I know this - he's not resting in peace.

The Nines 09-09-09

Greetings all,

I spent the majority of today at a leadership conference and I did it all in the comfort of my own office!
Leadership Network and Catalyst presented a one day leadership seminar for church leaders entitled "the Nines".

The premise was simple: A conference on 09-09-09 that began at 9:09am CDT where speakers from around the globe had no more than 9 minutes to deliver an address to the church on any topic they wanted.

It was amazing.

I got more encouragement and positive reinforcement about where ACC is as a church and the direction we're headed in than I could have gotten anywhere else. And the best part was the price: FREE.

Here are just a few snippets from different speakers that stuck out to me:

"Take off your mask, your fancy hair, your cool clothes and say, 'this is who I am, who God created me to be.'" - Anne Jackson

"Obeying God means obeying Him in the small things as well as the big things." - Scott Hodge

"A movement of God cannot be planned but it must be prepared for." - Perry Noble

"I hope that I can give you inspiration and information that leads to transformation - not stagnation that can breed frustration. I just used five -ations." - Steven Furtick

"Well intentioned but ill informed efforts often eliminate the crucial step toward maturity." - Noel Hekkinen

"Do ministry out of the overflow of the Spirit of God. Seek Him out until you're so full of God that it overflows into every area of your ministry." - Craig Groeschel

"We cannot be a 'sky-is-falling' kind of people - because we know how the story ends." - Larry Osborne

"It's not the church's job to save, fix, or change anyone. That's God's job." - Jim Burgen

"In your world as a leader, don't get so busy in ministry that you forget to fight for your home, your wife, your children." - Reggie Joiner

Awesome stuff.

What Does God Look Like?

We like to ask the question, what would God look like if we could see him? We typically picture God as an old man with long white hair and a beard who is aged beyond time. So is that a correct picture of God? Does God really look like that? For the answer, read Deuteronomy 4:10-20

¹⁰ That day when you stood before God, your God, at Horeb, God said to me, "Assemble the people in my presence to listen to my words so that they will learn to fear me in holy fear for as long as they live on the land, and then they will teach these same words to their children."

^11-13 You gathered. You stood in the shadow of the mountain. The mountain was ablaze with fire, blazing high into the very heart of Heaven. You stood in deep darkness and thick clouds. God spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but you saw nothing—no form, only a voice. He announced his covenant, the Ten Words, by which he commanded you to live. Then he wrote them down on two slabs of stone.

¹⁴ And God commanded me at that time to teach you the rules and regulations that you are to live by in the land which you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.

^15-20 You saw no form on the day God spoke to you at Horeb from out of the fire. Remember that. Carefully guard yourselves so that you don't turn corrupt and make a form, carving a figure that looks male or female, or looks like a prowling animal or a flying bird or a slithering snake or a fish in a stream. And also carefully guard yourselves so that you don't look up into the skies and see the sun and moon and stars, all the constellations of the skies, and be seduced into worshiping and serving them. God set them out for everybody's benefit, everywhere. But you—God took you right out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to become the people of his inheritance—and that's what you are this very day. (Deuteronomy 4:10-20, The Message)

According to this passage, God has no form that we can comprehend in our limited capacity to understand things as human beings.

You see, God created time and is therefore master over it and is not bound by its limits. God does not sin and therefore remains unscathed by the curse of sin, part of which is age.

These are deep things to understand, but there are times where we try to anthropomorphize God and we cannot begin to understand what God really looks like.

John gives us as close of a description as we could ask for in Revelation 4:

²Right then the Spirit took control of me, and there in heaven I saw a throne and someone sitting on it. ³The one who was sitting there sparkled like precious stones of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne.

When you wonder what God really looks like, try that picture on for size. It's about as close as we'll get this side of heaven.

God Lives Here Too

I just came across this passage while reading from the book of Numbers in the O.T.

Numbers 35:34 - "Don't desecrate the land in which you live. I live here, too—I, God, live in the same neighborhood with the People of Israel."

God set his law in place for us to follow. We love Him and that drives us to want to obey His commands. In turn, He dwells among us through His Holy Spirit.

Question - How would your behavior towards God change if you were constantly aware of His presence around you?

Quote of the Day

I'm reading through Rob Bell's "Jesus Wants to Save Christians" and I came across this quote:

"A church is an organization that exists for the benefits of non-members."

Nuff said.

Worship Album of the Year....So Far

I've currently been listening to Hillsong United's latest Live Album which is entitled: "Tear Down The Walls: A_CROSS//the_earth."

The cover looks like this if you're in a music store:

In a couple of words, this album is the best Worship Album since 2005's A Collision by the David Crowder*Band.

I can't get it out of my head, my car, my office, or my iPod.

Every song on this album is amazing. I'm not exaggerating.

Notice the play on words in the title. not only is it "Tear down the Walls: Across the Earth," but it is also "Tear Down the Walls between A Cross and The Earth."

If you are looking for some new worship for your personal time, buy this album. iTunes has it for cheap.

Seriously. Go. Buy it Now.

It's Good to Wrestle With Things

I've been prepping a Sunday School lesson for this weekend based on Matthew 7:13-23.

In particular, one part of this passage has bothered me more than others this week. It's Matthew 7:21-23 which says: ²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Here are my hang-ups with this passage, and actually the first one, is a question.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

According to what Jesus said in the above passage, not everyone who professes Christ as their Savior will be saved. Even confessing Him as "Lord" is not enough. Apparently something more is needed.

So if you don't get into heaven on the fact that you call Jesus your Lord, how do you get in?

In Luke 6:46, Jesus gives us the answer in the form of a question. He asks, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?"

You see, it's one thing to say something. It's another thing to actually go and do what you say.

So, if Jesus is not your LORD, what are you basing your eternity on? Your good deeds? Jesus says that they are worthless.

The only way you get to heaven is based on your belief in Christ as the Son of God, AND your obedience to His will.

Now....wrestle with that for awhile.

Quote of the Day

I was studying for my Sunday School lesson this morning when I came across this quote that rocked me.

"In this life, you have to be willing to go against convention, custom, and crowd, being able to be different even if it means walking alone."

- Author Unknown

Jesus said we would face trials of all kinds in this life and a whole lot of times we feel as if we're walking alone. We face persecution from our family, our co-workers, and even our close friends. But if we expect to enter the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14) we will often have to walk alone.

The way to that gate will require effort, sacrifice and self-surrender.

Post-Vacation Part Three

Another reason that I absolutely love vacation is that it gives me a chance to take a few steps back and evaluate things. Especially my relationship with God and with others.

Here are a few questions I asked myself during my vacation:

• How am I responding to all that God's done in my life?
• What is one thing I am currently doing that if I stopped it, it would make my relationship with God much better?
• What can I get rid of in my schedule to make more room for God?
• What can I get rid of in my schedule to make more room for my family?
• How do I need to respond positively to my family differently?
• How can I be a better leader of God's people?
• How can God use me to make a bigger impact in my neighborhood?
• How can I use what God's given me to bless Him more?

There are obviously more questions than these, but my vacations are usually a good time of personal reflection and evaluation. Now, the answers to these questions bring about change. But the funny thing is, none of us like change.

Change is essential to a healthy relationship. You need to constantly be evaluating how you can do things better, or your relationships will always be in a state of complacency, and if they're really stagnant, you'll begin to develop an attitude of apathy.

Make sure you constantly ask yourself these questions above. You don't have to wait for vacation to do it.

If the answers you discover prompt you to make a change in your life, then do it and grow and learn from the experience.

Post-Vacation Part Two

One thing I did a whole lot of on vacation, was spend time with my wonderfully beautiful family.

As a minister, it's very easy to get my priorities confused. God has first place in my life, followed by my job as a godly husband to my wife, Cara and then I need to be a loving and compassionate father to my son, Joshua. However, after that it can get tricky.

You see, my job is ministry, and that means I serve God - which is my first priority.

So do I put my family's needs ahead of God, or do I put God ahead of my family's needs?

Well, actually, the answer is Option C which is neither. Let's break it down more than that. You see, by serving my family, I am serving God. God called me to be a husband and a father before he called me into the ministry of serving and leading his people, so when it comes to the importance of jobs that he wants me to do, he wants me to be a loving husband and father before I even think about serving the church.

And, I spend my time with God by serving and loving my family with the attitude that God has taught me to have. By reading, praying and worshiping God, and doing what he wants me to do, God is always a constant priority in my life and I always keep him at number one.

How do you need to rearrange your priorities so that God takes the number one spot in your life? Remember, anything that is above God on your priority list is an idol - and that includes your job and your family if you're not serving them with the right attitude.

Post Vacation Thoughts - Part One

Well, vacation has come to a close again and its time to get back to what I love to do and that's talk about God and worship.

It's good to take a break now and again though, and I believe God meant for us to do that so that we wouldn't burn ourselves out. In order to help, God instituted a period of rest for the people of Israel known as Shabbat, or in modern day terms, the Sabbath.

Shabbat in Hebrew literally means "to cease", meaning that you were to cease all work from Sundown on Friday, until the stars came out on Saturday. For us in modern day, it would be the equivalent of a weekend. But that doesn't mean that we become lazy couch potatoes. You see, in the modern era, we typically misunderstand God's point about Sabbath.

Jesus and his disciples were out one Sabbath morning and you can read the account of what happened here: Mark 2:23-28.

Notice particularly, Jesus' response in verse 27: "Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." " Jesus tells us that God instituted a period of rest for man's benefit, but it doesn't mean that we can't do the essential tasks that we need to.

You see, the Pharisees at this point in Jesus' ministry, were trying to trap or trick him at every turn and Jesus, being God, was way too smart for their games. He responds further by saying in verse 28: "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Our Sabbath as we understand it means that we need to take a break or a vacation from our work for a period of renewal and refreshment. And now that I've done that for the last week and a half, I feel renewed and refreshed to continue with my service for God.

Do you need to stop and take a Sabbath?

Top Ten Albums of 2009 Hopefully

I posted this on the youth website back in January, but I wanted my readers over here to get a peek at it as well.

I've updated it to include the titles of the albums that I know of now.

Here are the 10 albums that I think will rock the boat this year in Christian Music. Make sure to click on the photos of the artists or albums to visit their websites.

And now in the immortal words of Heath Ledger…..

“And here…we….GO!”


#10 - Rebecca St. James - “untitled”
Release Date - Sometime Late 2009

Rebecca St. James has been at the “forefront”(no pun intended) of Christian Music since her debut album “Refresh My Heart” in 1991. Her Rock style of music countered by her Pop style of vocals makes her an easy artist to listen to. I gave up on her a little while back when she seemed to be catering to a specific style of music, but then in 2005 she released “If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something” and instantly I was hooked again. Say what you want about her style and music, but she is a juggernaut in the world of Christian Music. Her new album will be a tour-de-force if it’s anything like the last one.

#9 - Skillet - “Awake”
Release Date - August 25th, 2009

Skillet was a band that dropped off the face of the planet after their hit song “Best Kept Secret.” A lot of us thought that they were just going to be a one-hit wonder, but boy, were we wrong. They were quietly building momentum for something huge. In 2001, Skillet released an album entitled “Alien Youth” which I really didn’t pay much attention to. I remember picking up a New Music Sampler CD in the Christian Bookstore and Skillet’s title track from that album was on it. I listened to it and kind of shrugged my shoulders, but nothing, NOTHING could have prepared me for what happened in 2003. Skillet released their album entitled “Collide”, and I couldn’t take it out of my CD Player (they didn’t have iPod’s yet.) I love every single song on the album. As a matter of fact, it was my second favorite CD of that year. Fast forward to 2006, where Skillet releases “Comatose”. Not as good as “Collide”, but certainly very good. We used their song “Rebirthing” from that album as our Nexus intro theme last year. I think that Skillet will do a good job with their new album.They usually put a lot of time and thought into their music and lyrics, so we’ll wait and see.

#8 - tobyMac - “untitled”
Release Date - November 2009

Toby Mackeehan was the first Christian artist I can remember laying ears on. Except, he came in a package with two other guys in a well known band by the name of dc Talk. I was an instant fan and stayed a huge fan until the band (AHEM! Kevin Max. cough, cough) decided to break up in 2001 and pursue solo projects. Toby became known as tobyMac and launched a very successful solo career. 3 solid albums later, I find that I can’t get enough “Mac” in my music diet. I didn’t think that “Portable Sounds” (2007) was as good as “Welcome to Diverse City” (2004), but tobyMac is a solid artist that you can count on to deliver the jams time and time again. I can’t wait for his new offering this year. Oh and will someone call Kevin Max up for me and tell him that dc Talk needs to do a reunion tour. I miss my Jesus Freaks!

#7 - Decyfer Down - “Crash”
Release Date - May 5th, 2009

You know you like Hard Rock. And lately, a lot of bands have been trying to mimic a Harder Rock sound. Not a lot do it successfully and they end up sounding like carbon copies of Creed, Disturbed, or Three Days Grace. Enter Decyfer Down - a little band from the dirty, dirty south. In 2006 they release a small, ten song album entitled the “End of Grey”. I couldn’t stop listening to it. Their music just hooked me in a way that hadn’t happened since Seventh Day Slumber came along. Great lyrics, tight guitar riffs and Melodic sweeping symphonies lifted this album to my top ten in ‘06. This album also netted my top song of ‘06 with “No Longer.” In 2008, Decyfer Down had almost completed the “Crash” album when they lost their lead singer, Caleb Oliver. Since then, they have been working feverishly to find a new singer (which they have) and re-record fresh vocals on their tracks. I have heard three songs from their new album and I must say, it rocks harder than “End of Grey” did. I’ll have to see how this album pans out though before I make a final determination on it.

#6 - Switchfoot - “Hello Hurricane”
Release Date - October 6th, 2009

Okay, I have to credit my wife with this one. I didn’t like Switchfoot when they released their first couple of albums. I thought their music was a little too “Pop” for me and although I enjoyed their song “A New Way to Be Human”, the other ones really fell short. My wife really liked them though, so we somehow ended up with their albums. Fast forward to 2003. I took a youth group to CIY’s Summer Conference like I do every summer and their theme that year was “To Live.” As the intro for their Celebration services, they used a song called “Meant to Live” and I couldn’t figure out which band had done the song. I came back home still wondering and then I heard it on the radio and the D.J. said, “That’s Switchfoot with their new song “Meant to Live.” “ I shook my head in disbelief. There was no way. Switchfoot? Write a really good song? Yeah. It turns out they not only did they write a great song, they wrote a whole stinking great album. 2003’s “The Beautiful Letdown” is the only reason that Skillet didn’t have the top CD that year. Every song on that album was pure genius - to the point that I wondered if Switchfoot hadn’t pulled a switch and changed their tactics. Well, now 2 albums later, I love everything they write. They have had two dynamite albums since ‘03 and I expect their new one to be just as good. Here’s to hoping they never go back to the “Legend of Chin.”

#5 - David Crowder*Band - “Church Music”
Release Date - September 22nd, 2009

It would appear that the name “David Crowder” is synonymous with the term “Great Worship Music.” The dichotomy between usable worship music and awesome worship music widened when this worship leader from the heart of Texas took the stage at CIY in the 1990’s. This band has set the tone for what worship music should be, and that’s glorifying God. Their album “A Collision or (3+4=7)” in 2005 remains my top worship album of all time. Crowder released “Remedy” in 2007 and,although not as strong as “A Collision”, it still had some great stuff on it. Since then, they have put out a live CD/DVD combo which took album #8 in my top ten of last year. I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us this year. New worship stuff is always great, but when it comes from DC*B, it’s simply phenomenal.

#4 - Falling Up - “Fangs”
Release Date - April 7th, 2009

This is where we’ll take a departure from the Hard Rock genre for just a little bit. In 2004 a little known band released a single called “Broken Heart” from the album “Crashings”. I took notice because it was Hard Rock. However, when I picked up the album, it was nothing like what I expected. I love Falling Up’s music because I cannot classify it. They are a lot like Coldplay in the sense that you never know what to expect musically from them, but you’ll love whatever they do. Now, they sound nothing like Coldplay, but Falling Up’s music becomes almost visual if you close your eyes and listen to it. Their last album in 2007 - “Captiva” was a work of genius. Not many people liked it, but it’s probably because Falling Up went in a new direction musically with the album. I love “Captiva” and if “Fangs” is anything like it, I’ll love it also.

#3 - Mute Math - “Spotlight E.P.”
Release Date - February 10th, 2009

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there was a little New Orleans Rock/Jazz/Fusion Band by the name of Earthsuit. This five man combo spearheaded by Paul Meany and Adam LeClave put out a hit album entitled “Kaleidoscope Superior.” Thus was born a brand new style of music that few dare try to imitate. Fast forward a couple of years to the inevitable breakup of the band and the formation of two new ones. LeClave formed the band Macrosick and Paul Meany went on to form the group known as Mute Math. I followed them both, having been a huge fan of Earthsuit, but when Macrosick went nowhere and Mute Math hadn’t put an album out, I became extremely disappointed. Then, in the year 2004, an E.P. hit store shelves from Mute Math. I was so excited that I went immediately and got it and was not disappointed. It sounded like Earthsuit’s music, just without the grungy rap-style vocals from Paul Meany. I loved it. Then, to my ecstatic joy, two years later we got the self-titled debut from Mute Math which sold well over a million copies. However, the band hasn’t been heard from since that time. But as luck would have it, they plan to release something brand new this spring. I’ve heard a couple of tunes from this “secret” album and I think they’re dynamite. Look for this album to be one of the hottest of the year.

#2 - Seventh Day Slumber - “Take Everything”
Release Date - March 10th, 2009

I took the students to the Acquire the Fire Convention in Louisville, KY in 2003. We usually see bands that perform at those conventions, but typically they’re bands we already know in advance. Playing at the convention that year was a no-name Indie band called Seventh Day Slumber. We weren’t too excited to see them because we hadn’t heard them, but after their concert, we were in awe. Their music combined with lead singer Joseph Rojas’ lyrics make this band a force to be reckoned with. They went on to have a single from their 2005 album make an appearance on MTV Jams. I just got word that they are prepping a worship album and as there are not too many hard rock worship albums out there, this one piques my interest. I had a worship album as number 2 last year. I just hope this one doesn’t disappoint. We’ll see.

So who’s number One?

Scroll

Down

To

Find

That

It

Could

Possibly

Be

This

Band:

#1 - RED - “Innocence & Instinct”
Release Date - February 10th, 2009

In 2006 another no-name band broke onto the Rock scene. This time, they did it through scary tactics and dark foreboding music. “End of Silence” was a cry for people to admit that they are helpless without Jesus. But nothing could have prepared us for what this album would sound like. The album quickly went to #1 on all of the Christian Rock charts, as well as high as #7 on the secular charts. The lyrics scream of originality, while holding onto reality. They define a generation who is lost, broken, battered and desperately in need of Christ. The symphonic strings behind Distortion driven guitars launched Red into the stratosphere of rock music. This album was a shocker and garnered the best new band award from me in 2006. I cannot wait for this album. I will be at the store Feb 10th to procure my copy.

So, did I get it right? Only time will tell. Look for my blog near the end of 2009 to see whether I nailed it, or like last year, only got half of them right.

Make it a great week.
-Brian

Quote of the Day

Here's a quote I heard today that is rocking my world.

Speaking of people dropping out of the church, or leaving the church because they feel that going to church is non-essential, Perry Noble said this:

"If we don't need church, if church is not important, then why did Jesus give His life for it?"

In Perry's words, DANG!!

Staff Addition at ACC !!!

Yo, Acc'ers. If you haven't seen this yet, you're living under a rock.

We launched a very exciting announcement in our e-newsletter yesterday. (If you don't currently receive our email newsletter, you can subscribe on our website. It's free.)

Josh Young has accepted the position of Creative & Communication Minister at ACC. You can read the news item about this staff addition on our website.

Creative & Communication Minister

As of now, this is an unpaid position. Josh will retain his current job at an engineering firm. But just because Josh won't receive a paycheck from our church does not mean that he is not on staff at our church. He is just as much of a staff member as I am

This is an unbelievably awesome move by our leadership and I am stoked about this hiring. Josh will share his vision for this new ministry position in both services this Sunday. You've got to be there!!!!

And we're off....

Today, I journey with the High School Students to Move, a summer conference to help them with their relationship to God. We are taking ten students (5 boys and 5 girls) to Indiana for the week.

Pray for the students as they deal with their struggles in life
Pray for God to break their walls down completely
Pray for wisdom for the sponsors as we build them up in encouragement
Pray for a spirit of peace amongst the group
Pray for our journey there and back
Pray for the leaders who are taking students all over the country
Pray for the programming to impact lives
Pray for the gospel to be clearly heard and received
Pray for a fire to be ignited in the hearts of our young people.

I'll try to find a computer to give some small updates while we're there.

James 3 - Teach? Well, Maybe Not.

Let's pick our study back up with the book of James.

James 3:1-2 - ^"1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check."

^"1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers" - In the Jewish culture, young boys are trained in scripture at an early age. By a certain age, they had to have committed the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Pentateuch, to memory. If they could accomplish that feat, then they were to move on to memorizing the rest of what they called the Torah, which is most of the Old Testament as we know it.

Can you imagine that? I mean, I have trouble sometimes remembering what day it is, let alone Scripture, but in an age without computers, these children memorized almost the entire Old Testament. That's absolutely amazing.

As students, they were also tested on what they knew, as our students are today in their proficiency exams, but the catch in Jewish school was this: If you couldn't pass your proficiency test, you were removed from school and the possibility of ever becoming a rabbi, and you had to usually take up the family business of fishing or carpentry, etc...

In James' time, he was instructing people not to try and presume to be teachers. It was an arduous road to memorize everything, but for those who made it, it was a good thing. Why was he stopping people from becoming teachers? Read on.

"because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." - Teachers are held more accountable to God than others because it is our responsibility to teach the truth. Something I learned in college that I will never forget my professor saying - "The truth you teach to your students will be their reality, so make sure your truth IS truth."

The same applies to teachers of Jesus and of God's Word. The truth we teach will be people's reality, so let's all make sure that what we're teaching is God's truth. We'll be held accountable for what we have taught.

^"2We all stumble in many ways." - I love the bluntness of James. I can imagine that being the half-brother of Jesus, you might have picked up some of his blunt nature with people, but James has this tendency to really paint things in a clear light.

All of us have faults. No one is perfect. Jesus was the only one who lived a sinless life.

And the other key word in that verse is the word "many". We don't just stumble in one or two ways, we all stumble in "many" ways. We need Jesus' grace because we are all imperfect.

"If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." - There has only been one perfect man. No one else was ever able to do what Jesus did. He was tempted in every way we are, yet he was able to keep himself always in check. He never sinned. All of us have and will. We are imperfect - He is perfect.

The best $ 9.00 I've ever spent

Today was a sunny day. So sunny in fact, that my son Josh wanted to be in his element, which is the outdoors.

So I let him play outside on his playground while I mowed the lawn. After mowing, I pulled my weed-eater out to trim around the house and after one side, I ran out of line completely. So, I made a decision to make a trip to Wally World (that's Wal-Mart for all of you non-shoppers) and pick up some new line and Josh said he wanted to go with me.

After we located our line we needed, Josh and I made a pass through what he has affectionately dubbed "his section", otherwise known to you and I as the toy aisle.

Passing through the aisles, his eyes lit upon something that he marveled at. Now, before you get the wrong idea, let me inform you that I don't spoil my son rotten. I like to buy him things every once in a while, because I love him, but I don't want him growing up believing that he HAS to have everything.

So, anyways, in the toy aisle, he saw....the Slip and Slide. A wondrous toy. Ingeniously designed for those people whose HOA's won't allow an above ground swimming pool.

So, I asked him if he wanted it, seeing the longing in his eyes. YES! He exclaimed, without hesitating, and I said okay, and we bought it.

After seeing him at home, I now know that it was the best $ 9.00 that I ever spent.

Not because my son loves me. Not because he had fun, but because it was a moment where true joy shined through on his face and we made a memory. I love him and I want him to know that. I want him to experience joy.

Kind of how God wants things for us. God gives us blessings in our lives so that we can experience joy, just because he loves us. And He sacrificed his son, just because he loved us and I think he thought to himself, that's the best thing I ever spent it on.

Thank God for the blessings in your life today!

1st Corinthians 3 - You Are of Christ

1st Corinthians 3:21-23 - "21So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God."

"21So then, no more boasting about men!" - Paul concludes his argument by reminding the Corinthians that they shouldn't boast about following certain men.

"All things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours," - All things have been given to us by god so that we may know him more and worship him with all that we are. We shouldn't pick one person and follow them, rather we should follow God.

Paul throws a different name in here now, one that you may or may not recognize, depending on your bible background. Cephas is actually the word for Rock which is also known as Petros or Peter.

Don't worry about things such as the world, or life, or death, or the present, or the future. God has everything in his hands and he knows what will be with everyone and everything. It's a little talked about quality of his called omniscience, or "all knowing".

"23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." - God made everything for us so that we might know him more, but we are of Christ and that is really all that matters when you boil it all down. Jesus is everything. And Jesus is of God.

What do you have in your life that matters more to you than following Jesus?

Jesus is the only thing that matters.

1st Corinthians 3 - Foolish Wisdom

1st Corinthians 3:18-20 - ¹⁸Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; ²⁰and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."

^"18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise." - Deception is pulling the wool over your or someone else's eyes. You cannot deceive God, therefore, it is foolish to even try.

^"19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight." - You cannot be led away from the truth by having a high opinion of human wisdom. God's logic does not equal man's logic. God created logic and he can defy logic. You have to learn to follow God even when things don't make sense. The true way to wisdom is to submit your own understanding to God's will. Then you will be truly "foolish" in the eyes of the world, but wise in the eyes of God.

Which would you rather be?

"As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; - This would be a direct quote from Job 5:13.

^"20and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." - And this one from Psalm 94:11.

There can be no comparison between God's wisdom and man's. All knowledge ultimately comes from God. This is the reason that we have faith. We cannot explain what we do not know. Scientists have tried with the theory of evolution and the science of eugenics, but they cannot produce an answer that fits their logical patterns.

God knows everything - he is omniscient. As proof of this, I'll leave you with this quote from Jesus as he conversed with Nicodemus in John 3:11-12 - ^"11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?"

We'll polish off this chapter tomorrow.

What Worship Is

I haven't posted in a couple of days. I know. I'll be back shortly.

In the mean time, I thought that you all might like to hear a definition that rocked my world today. It's the most clear, concise definition of this I've ever heard, so I'll get out of the way and just let you all ponder it for a minute:

"Simply put, worship is our response to the presence of God." - Rory Noland

1st Corinthians 3 - The Temple of God

1st Corinthians 3:16-17 - ^"16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."

^"16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" - As a body of believers, we all form the church (God's temple) and God's Spirit lives in each and every one of us when we are baptized (Acts 2:38).

As the church we gather weekly to worship God. We the people are the church - not the building. The building was, is, and will always be just a tool for reaching others. The true church is the gathering of believers - in, or out of a building. Together, we are the temple of God.

^"17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." - This is a very important concept to grasp. God loves his church. In Scripture, the church is referred to as the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7).

I love my wife more than anything but God. If someone came to my house and tried to destroy my wife, I would absolutely want to destroy them. God loves his church so much that He sent Jesus to give His life for it. He sacrificed His only Son so that His church could have life.

If anyone destroyed the church, Scripture tells us clearly that God will destroy that person because the church is sacred to God.

The word "sacred" comes from the Latin root of the word sacrare. The basic meaning when you boil everything down is this - "set apart, made holy." God has set his church apart from everything else and made it holy through the blood of Jesus.

So that begs the question, how do you stop from destroying the church? Well, to answer that, the only things that would destroy a church are divisiveness and blasphemy. I have seen church members split a church over things as simple as decorations in the church. God hates when the church fights amongst itself because it throws us off mission from what we're supposed to be doing.

Blasphemy, we understand, because that is all about speaking out against the church and against God, but sometimes, we can be guilty of a divisive nature against Scripture and against the church. We have to stay away from doing that. We need to remember that the church is "sacrare", it is set apart and made holy by God and we should be building the church up, not tearing it down.

Remember, we are the temple of God and God loves us more than anything.

1st Corinthians 3 - A Day of Testing

1st Corinthians 3:12-15 - ^"12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."

^"12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is," - The only foundation we need to use as a base for faith is Jesus. This verse has always reminded me of the story of the three little pigs.

The first two pigs built their homes out of straw and wood (two things mentioned in the previous verse) and when the Big Bad Wolf came along and blew wind on them, their houses fell flat because the basic materials and foundations were not enough against the schemes of the wolf.

Satan is our Big Bad Wolf and our foundations of faith will not stand against him if they're made of anything other than Jesus.

"because the Day will bring it to light." - Notice the word "Day" is capitalized. That means it refers to something or someone very specific. This particular "Day" Paul refers to is the "Day of Judgment" when Jesus will return and God will judge the world. (Revelation 19-20)

"It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work." - In medieval times, a blacksmith would use fire to test the quality of the metals he worked with. A fire would usually expose any flaws a piece of metal had and would either purify that piece of metal or show that it was unusable.

God will test our foundations on the Day of Judgment.

^"14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward." - I would like to go a little deeper and give you the King James Translation of these last two scriptures as well. ("If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward." - KJV)

If the foundation you use to build for others' faith is Jesus Christ, you have nothing to worry about. Jesus is your rock and he is the only thing that can save you and those whose faith you choose to build up.

^"15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." - And now, the King James Version ("If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." - KJV)

If the foundation you use to build for others' faith is not Jesus, you have bigger problems. They will not be saved, hence - "suffer loss". You will be saved because your foundation is Christ, but you will pass through some pretty harsh judgment for not using Christ as a basis for other people's faith.

The only thing that we need to base our faith and the faith of others is Jesus.

1st Corinthians 3 - The Foundation

1st Corinthians 3:10-11 - ^"10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

^"10By the grace God has given me" - Paul makes a very short, often overlooked statement about grace. One of the many definitions of grace, and the one that applies here, is this - mercy; clemency; pardon. God pardoned our sins through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and God gave us the gift of grace. He didn't have to, but He chose to because He wanted to.

Paul did everything by God's grace.

Think of grace like an eraser. When you make a mistake with a pencil, you can use the eraser to wipe away your mistake forever. Grace does the same thing with your sin. It erases it away forever.

"I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it." - The foundation Paul refers to here, is the fledgling foundation of the faith of the Christ-followers at the church in Corinth. Paul came in an expertly told the story of Jesus and laid the foundation for the church's faith, but now they have a new leader, a new pastor at their church and he is building on the foundation Paul laid down.

Your job may be to get someone in the doors of the church. By doing so, you are laying a foundation for their faith. It may be someone else's job to build on that foundation though.

Bill Hybels once said to think of measuring a person's faith on a line with zero being the point where they accept Christ and the negative numbers representing their journey toward that acceptance. The positive numbers that follow represents their growth after they accept Christ. Now, taking that into account, your job may be to take a person from a negative 8 to a negative 5, whereas someone else may take them from a negative 5 to the zero. It all depends on God.

You may lay the foundation, but it may be someone else's job to build on that foundation.

"But each one should be careful how he builds." - If you are not careful how you build, you may end up building a house without a strong foundation and we all know what can happen to that kind of house. If you don't know, read this parable that Jesus told.

^"11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." - Everything is based on Christ. Everything revolves around Him. Nothing works without Him. If you don't build your foundation on Jesus, it will not last. It like sticking a towel bar on the wall with Elmer's glue. It won't stay up when you put any kind of weight on it.

Your foundation is the basis for your faith and that base has to be Jesus. Nothing else will work.