You sow a thought, you reap an action.
You sow an action, you reap a habit.
You sow a habit, you reap a character.
You sow a character, you reap a destiny.
Archive Page 2
I just finished this book by Seth Godin. Its a pretty quick and easy read that challenges the traditional top down change patterns in business and organizations.
He calls people that are doing this “heretics” that challenge the establishment. Every one from Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses to the door in Wittenberg to Nathan Winograd who has saved the lives of millions of dogs and cats by challenging the status quo of the processes of how animals are put to sleep. Not that I am a big animal rights activist, but mentioning this example to show the huge variety of people who are challenging the establishment in good ways and making organizations better.
He argues that we live in a world that is easy to connect to others because of the internet and social media. Its incredibly easy to connect with like minded people in whatever your venture. The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that there are no chapters, its basically half page to page thoughts of his stories and thoughts of how to do this, so sometimes it seems a little scatter-brained.
In conclusion, find your Tribe. Create your Tribe. Motivate your Tribe and create change. People are waiting for someone to lead them, be the answer to the problem that you see. Don’t complain about it.
Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
Launch, Starting A New Church From Scratch
Published August 30, 2009 Book Reviews , Church Planting Leave a CommentThis book was by Nelson Searcy & Kerrick Thomas from The Journey church in New York City. It is a super practical guide for planting a new church, the do’s and the don’ts of church planting and how to build & run things from the beginning.
I enjoyed this book and will probably read it again and use it as a resource when that season is a little closer for Amy and I.
This book covers everything from the calling of a church planter, to raising money, building systems, growth barriers, outreach ideas, staffing ideas and how to launch, etc.
If you are looking for a how to guide to church planting than this is a good one. If you are looking for a super spiritual book on love for God and developing a relationship with Him, this is not for you. If you are entertaining or planning on planting a church, then I would encourage you to go ahead and make the purchase. Overall it was a worthwhile read and I’m glad I have it on the shelf when I’ll need to reference it again.
So last night I went to the Allen Boyd, “town hall” in downtown Tallahassee. Even though it wasn’t much of a town hall because they chose to put it in a room that seats 240 people in a city of 250,000 so then way less people could get in.
Brilliant, of course, if you are opposing Allen Boyd and the democratic health agenda. If only we had a big arena downtown that seated over 10,000 people, or two universities near by that would have big rooms for classes that could easily hold 1,000+ people. Then everyone could come who wanted to and it could actually be a representation of people voicing their opinions, since after all that’s what being a Senator in our great Republic is all about.
Its about “representing” the people of your constituency, not pushing your own agenda, but then that would make you a civil servant, actually serving the people in your district and listening to them and asking their opinions, oh wait……..
This book is by Mark Steyn and he is so smart he makes Dennis Miller look like he rode the short bus to school everyday. This guy would absolutely demolish anyone in an argument. You know the book is gonna be good when the endorsement on the cover says, “The arrogance of Mark Steyn knows no bounds.” – Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Ambassador to the United States. Mark Steyn is actually Canadian and conservative. I didn’t know America’s hat had any of those. When I read this book I read with the book in one hand and a dictionary in the other. Its not an easy afternoon read, but very worthwhile.
Anyways, this book is really about the spread of Islam from a non-religious, non-American perspective and the incredible ideological contradictions that surround western nations.
The first half of the book is dedicated to birth rates from nations all around the world. For a nation to continue at the same population it needs to have a birth rate of 2.11 children per couple. That’s exactly what the US has right now. Apart from immigration if the US closed all our borders and let no one immigrate legally or illegally we would stay the exact same population wise and not change at all.
Europe on the other hand is quickly fading away. Here are a few quick stats about Europe.
- Denmark’s birth rate is 1.77
- Netherlands is 1.72
- UK is 1.6
- France is 1.89
- Germany is 1.35
- Japan is 1.32
- Italy is 1.23
- Spain is 1.15
- Russia is 1.14
If you’re wondering all the other European nations not listed are just as bad or lower. Sociologists say this trend is irreversible. What that means is that these nations will cease to exist. Here’s a stat that will blow your mind. In Italy, by the year 2050, 60% of Italians will have no brothers, sisters, aunt’s, uncle’s or cousins. Part of the reason France and the UK’s birth rates are higher is that they have a higher percentage of Muslims living there.
If you are wondering why the birth rates are so low, generally I think its selfishness. In our culture, we are fed this garbage that kids are too much work and a nuisance and God forbid don’t have more than two. I’m sick of people giving me weird looks when Amy and I say we want to have more then two kids, especially by Christians. If you read your Bible at all, you would know we are to be fruitful and multiply, its hard to multiply when you never have more than two! Its sad that Mark Steyn has more of a Biblical worldview than 95% of Christians out there.
The second half of the book is really about the hypocrisy of these western nations. For example, the English parliament made it illegal to fly their own nation’s flag around prisons because they did not want to offend the inmates who were Muslim because of St. George’s cross which is on the flag. They won’t fly it over Heathrow airport because that might offend some poor chap from another nation. All I can do is shake my head in disbelief.
The European officials that lead these countries know these birth rates are so low and the problem is because they are so socialized over there, they are not making enough babies who will get jobs and pay into the system therefore, all their social services will implode on themselves and run out of money. It hasn’t happened yet, but European officials know its coming.
There is so much I wish I could tell you from this book it would just make this too long. I want to leave you with one quote. “Secularism cannot be a future: it’s a present-tense culture that over time disconnects a society from cross-generational purpose. Which is why there are no examples of sustained atheist civilizations. ‘Atheistic humanism’ became inhumanism in the hands of the Fascists and Communists and, in its less malign form in today’s European Union, a kind of dehumanism in which a present tense culture amuses itself to extinction. Post Christian European culture is already post cultural and, with its surging Muslim populations, will soon be post-European.”
I am honestly begging you to go read and buy this book, even if you are not conservative there are still a lots of lessons to be learned from these birth rates and ideologies. It breaks my heart that these great nations are literally vanishing before our eyes. Every time I’m at a theme park I want to gather all the Europeans together and say please, for your country’s, please go get married, have lots of kids and save your nations culture and heritage, cause you may not know it, but it will be gone soon.
This is definitely one of the top 10 books I’ve ever read and I would highly recommend it, the guy is also very funny so don’t be intimidated by it. So in conclusion, go get married and have lots of babies!
Today, as I was reading on my twitter feed, I kept reading all of the tweets about people going back to the first day of school waiting in line, complaining about teachers or what not and it started to get on my nerves. I used to be that guy, I just complained about school and my crappy teachers and how much I disliked them, blah, blah, blah.
Then I got to FSU and started to get convicted about my attitude towards school and education. I started to be disciplined in my school work rather than just winging it like I had done all though high school and my first two years of college. I felt like God was challenging me to be thankful for my education, its a privilege, not a right like many people would want you to believe.
So as many of you embark on a new semester and year of education, remember a few things:
- In all that we do we are called to glorify God and do it with excellence. (1 Corinthians 10:31) Your Bible study is no more spiritual than your school work. Everything Is Spiritual.
- Be thankful for your education. By the sheer fact of you getting an education you are a blessed and privileged person. Its amazing how a simple attitude shift by being thankful can drastically change your view toward a teacher you dislike or a hard class. Do not underestimate the power of thanksgiving. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
- Make the most of your time getting educated. I have more desire to learn now than I ever have before. Honestly, the reason I think that is, is because God got my heart right towards Him and rewired the way I think about learning and education. It went from being an albatross around my neck to something I actually enjoyed. Don’t wait as long as I did. Enjoy it, soak it up, its a unique time in your life.
This book by Corey Russell is a call to do one thing. Simply, to know God. He is based out of the International House Of Prayer in Kansas City, MO.
If you are in a spiritual rut and just want to know God more, this would help stir up your heart for the things of God. But first I would just say, pray, read your Bible, worship and seek after God. That’s really the gist of this book.
I may not agree with everything in this book and he does take a few shots at some of the leadership conferences and church growth conferences that are out there. I think he has some valid points, I would just argue its a both/and, not an either/or. We need to know God but we also need to know how to lead and have good people skills.
All in all, it was a pretty good book to remind you what is the most important thing. Seek after God and pursue Him with all your heart.
Everybody loves a miracle, nobody likes to be in the middle of one.
Amy and I are right smack dab in the middle of a miracle.
I start my year long internship at National Community Church 3 weeks from yesterday, I would like to be there in about two weeks and we still have not sold our house or rented it in Tallahassee, FL.
Welcome to the amazing adventure of faith. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I can’t tell you how important closure is. When you end a season of your life and begin a new one, I think its incredibly important to have some event that marks the end of this season. Here’s why.
The Fisher’s, some of our best friends on the whole planet, hosted a going away party for us and invited a ton of people from our church and campus ministry to come. We hung out, ate some food and then many people shared kind words about how much their lives had been impacted by ours. I don’t say this to sound arrogant or boastful, I share to tell you how much it meant to us.
Many times you underestimate the effect that your life can have on someone else’s. The devil will lie to you about the effect your life has had. Things such as you hadn’t really accomplished anything significant or that people would not really miss you. I understand that we need to find our identity in Christ, and I think as a whole I have learned to do that very well, God has delivered me from much insecurity. But there is still a basic human need in my opinion to understand that you have lived a significant life and it hasn’t been wasted. That’s a God desire.
As people were sharing kind and encouraging words, it reminded me that you need moments like this because it creates a sense of closure. Just like at a wedding, many times during the rehearsal dinner people say nice and encouraging words to the bride and groom about their past and their future. I think it helps to tie a nice bow on that season. Its like saying, “We’ve been here with you up to this point, and we’ll be there for you in the future.”
Anyways, I can’t overstate how important and meaningful closure is and was for Amy and I. Thanks to the Fishers, everyone that helped out and all who attended our little get together. We are very appreciative. But now, its time to bring some closure to this post.
I am going to be doing a series on lessons I’ve learned during transition in your life, being that I am going through a major one personally.
First, I want to talk about emotions. The emotional toll can be high especially when you are moving away from your best friends and a church family that you love. I’ve been on the side where people are leaving you and now I’ve been in the place where you are the one leaving for the second time in my life. I have to say being the one leaving is a lot harder than being the one left behind. For the majority of all of my friends back in Tallahassee, 99% of their life will stay the same, one little cog, my family, will be leaving. There may be momentary sadness but they will get back to their regular life and it will continue to move forward.
When you are the one leaving, everything changes, all of my cogs are changing, so it creates massive life change. It can be very emotional. I’ll be very transparent, Amy and I have dreaded this decision. We’ve definitely had our moments public and private where we poured out our hearts before God and cried over all the people we are leaving behind. There is definitely an emotional tearing that occurs.
So when you may experience transition in your life, prepare yourself for a tearing in your soul and a mourning time that we will not be able to hang out with our life long friends that we have built over time. But at the same time, a new season is exciting and necessary for your personal growth. In some cases, relationships will actually grow and get more intimate when you leave. All in all, it hurts but its necessary.
