Ramblings…and an MJ thought

• Starting a four week series this week we’re calling “15 Minutes”.  In the context of this series, I’m going to be looking again at some biblical characters and their unique moment that speaks to our life experience as well.  Should be fun.
• Feel very bad for Steve McNair’s family.  The real tragedy is another guy who is living a double life outside of his family.  He was a great competitor, football player, and contributor to his community.  However, come on guys, we can’t reap all the accolades while spending time with a 20 yr old in another apartment.  If I do that… I’m not a great man.
• REALLY looking forward to the baseball All-Star game next week…
• Really grateful I got to connect with some of our neighbors whose son played on my baseball team this past Spring.  I gotta tell you… anybody who does what I do for a living has to stay connected to just regular people.  That’s where life really takes place.
• I think I am a closet pyromaniac.
• Here’s the audio of a recent interview I got to do with Blair over at Mix 94.1 in Las Vegas.  It was an awesome opportunity to spend a half hour talking about what is happening at The Crossing to a wide audience in Vegas.  Check it out.
• Read way too many book all ready this summer… I’m a bit burned out.
• Anybody else rent movie with every good intention of watching them… only to see them sit and build of late fees.  I bet “Defiance” is a great movie… maybe I should open the case and give it a watch.
• Had a little health scare this past week so I’m headed in for the whole series of cardio tests this week.  Gotta run on the treadmill, etc.  So looking forward to it.
• This week I was really craving Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries.
• We got our 10 yr. old his first phone this week in prep for 5th grade.  He has discovered texting.  The only problem is that he has no one to text besides our family so I get random texts from him on a regular basis like “hi”.  Kids.
• I mentioned to someone yesterday, “Whatever happened to Waterbeds?”  They had no reasonable response.  We had one.  Got extremely tiresome to pump the water out of the thing every time you had to move it.   Do they still sell them?
• The next six weeks is the time you DO NOT want to be in Vegas as we experience 100+ temps.  Gotta love the dry heat though.
• Turned off my XM radio today.  With my Iphone (pandora, etc.) there is really no need for it anymore.  Goodbye $22.00 a month.
• Finally, thoughts on MJ:  He was an extremely flawed and disturbed individual who made incredible music and was magnificiently gifted by God.  I remember standing in a locker room in 1983 getting ready for BB practice and the boom box (that’s right, I said Boom box) was playing Billy Jean.  As the years went by, the stories got crazier, his behavior more bizarre, and the accusations more serious.   He is an easy target for our desire to feel better about ourselves, our own flaws, and the disgusting part of each of us.  It is not for us to make final calls on a person’s life and legacy.   Be careful (see Matt. 7:3-5)  If my life (and yours) were to be fully on display would reveal deep issues as well, perhaps of a different nature, but unpleasant and unpopular all the same.  For more great thoughts on this, Click here.

Have a great week!

Ramblings upon Ramblings

• Put a slip and slide out for the kids yesterday afternoon – didn’t know about the whole liquid soap secret.  They had a great time on a 20 x 3 ft. piece of plastic.   My grass sure took a hit though.
• Re-reading Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz book as a part of the group of guys who meet on Tuesday morning.  It really is good stuff.  If you haven’t visited it in awhile, it might be worth a second look.  Great passage in chapter 2 has been haunting me a bit throughout today, “I wondered what it would be like not to live in a house of mirrors, everywhere I go being reminded of myself.”
• Did a little 30 minute Radio spot with Blair for 94.1 regarding the work of The Crossing here in the Las Vegas community.  Pretty cool, but man 30 minutes is a long time to feel.  It was great to get some free airtime for The Crossing.
• Got to speak to our students this past Sunday… always a thrill, but man I feel a bit ancient when I walk in there.  Had a few flashbacks of some great years, but confident I don’t have the energy to ever attack that again.
• Why is it that Father’s Day feels so different than Mother’s Day?  I have to believe that the female gender has put much more emphasis on their whole holiday deal than we men have.
• Plan on wearing flip flops as often as possible this summer.
• Twitter is taking off like crazy.  It will be interesting to watch how the usage evolves moving forward.  Life is now being lived in 140 characters or less.
• Been watching The Next Food Network Star with the wife.  Good summer reality while everything else is off the air, but hard to take seriously since none of the previous “Network Stars” are doing anything.  Reminds me of when ESPN was holding competition for SportsCenter anchors.  I think the winner is now doing the 3 minute local sports spot somewhere outside Des Moines.
• The whole Jon and Kate thing is a fiasco.  Never watched the show… something about the whole concept made me extremely uncomfortable but my family loved it.  Another example of an abnormal life leading to predictable results.  The most ridiculous part is they insist on continuing the show.  time to move on…your 15 minutes were up awhile back.

Some Post Vacation Ramblings…

So since a lot of you had to put up with my endless twitters and Facebook updates from various locales in So Cal, I had to put a few rehash thoughts in place.  Here we go…

• Did some post Vacation Restaurant review yesterday.  
• Kids got to ride the Giant Dipper roller coaster at Mission Beach.  Listening to the thing scared me to death as it rattled and rolled, but they had an awesome time on this classic coaster.
• Austin made the Little League All-Star team even though he was still recovering from his surgery.  He is healing up well and will start practicing tomorrow night with the team.  Never made an all-star team myself so I’ll be living vicariously through him.  Is that ok?
• I’m pretty pumped up about the US Open (golf, not tennis) beginning this week at Bethpage in New York.  Great course, great competition, great event to watch.
• Vacation is great because the clock becomes meaningless and time slows down.  We spent a lot of time by the pool at our hotel just getting sun burned, reading, and listening to some great music.  I felt guilty for a few moments…but got over it quickly.
• Finished reading “An Unlikely Disciple”.  Gotta tell you, the book was really appealing and had some great perspectives.  If you are a Christian leader or consider yourself a Christian, you should get this book and read it sometime this summer.   You won’t be disappointed.
• Getting pretty excited about the fall launch of our Sunday evening worship service, the six.  Lots of work to be done before it launches, but this will open up a lot of new possibilities for The Crossing.
• Laid out and read all afternoon by the pool… realized how white I am.  Or was…Now I am bright red and pink.
• As I said earlier this week, anything you eat by the pool tastes really good.  I forgot to add, “it also is EXTREMELY expensive.”
• I find myself more and more wanting to be around people that inspire, motivate, and have passion.  Life’s too short to be pulling people along all the time.
• Starting to read Blue Like Jazz with my Tuesday AM group.  It has become a classic, but most of my guys haven’t been exposed to it so it will be a good, light summer read.  It should inspire some great conversation as well.
• I’ve played golf once in the last 3 months.  Is that a good thing?  Maybe.
• So the whole “church online’ thing is really taking off with more and more “campuses” popping up everyday.  We do a live feed each service with the accompanying chat but I wouldn’t quite call it “church” just yet.  I consider myself progress (my perspective only) but I’m still not sure this is ultimately going to be all it’s cracked up to be.  Can something be so attractive because it is innovative, yet have little impact?  I think so.
• Life’s a bit serious right now.  Need to find some stuff to laugh and write about.
• If you need some refreshing perspective,  listen to a baseball game on the radio.  From first pitch to last.

Vacation Restaurant Ramblings…

Vacation is designed to relax… and eat.  Having just returned from a fabulous week in Southern California, I thought I would post up some Restaurant Reviews.  We decided to hit some different places to eat that were a bit out of the norm.  Here’s a quick review of a few.  If you’re in the area, drop by some of these.

-”I Love Bagels” stopped there for a quick breakfast between LA and San Diego.  Was a little sketchy and considered a Panera or Einsteins (standard and predictable) but it was worth it.  Bagels made on site that are amazing.

-“Lucha Libre Gourmet Tacos” saw this in magazine as one of the best cheap eats in San Diego.  Located on Washington St. just of the 5 south, this is an unbelievable experience.  Themed with all the wrestler paraphernalia (think Nacho Libre), the tacos are amazing.  Tried the Turf and Surf Taco which was carne asada, shrimp, and a fabulous sauce.


-”Wahoo Tacos” in La Jolla.  I understand this is a chain, but the outlet in La Jolla is very cool and the fish tacos (both blackened and grilled) were amazing.

-“Casa Guadalajara” is located in the Bazaar del Mundo shops in Old Town.  Just renovated, the atmosphere is awesome
with outdoor seating, fire pits, and all the festive decor.  Big portions… so we shared. “

-“Ciro’s Pizzeria” we actually followed one of those dudes with a big sign into this little pizza joint just off the beaten path in the Gaslamp district.  Two slices of pizza and a drink for six bucks met the budget and didn’t disappoint.  The guys behind the counter actually flipping the dough made for a great atmosphere.

-“The Living Room” has a couple locations in San Diego (we went to the one in Old Town).  Incredible coffee and some outstanding desserts in a really chic atmosphere.  There was a small meeting taking place and other conversations when we were there so it definitely is a gathering point.

And Finally… A Confession:
The last night of our vacation we were going to eat at Anthony’s Famous Fish Grotto on the pier, but the line was too long, our wallets were too empty, so we headed to the OG (Olive Garden) with a gift card received for coaching baseball.   Exciting?  No.  Lame?  Yes. But a nice transition back into the normal world… and you know it’s all about the breadsticks.

Just a few Ramblings…

Been a bit slow here in the rambling department.  But for those who may have been missing their quota…

• Austin had his appendix out this past week.  A couple random thoughts from that experience.
  -Nothing moves very fast in the medical profession.
  -Hospital food REALLY is as bad as people say.
  -If you want to be bored out of your mind, head to the hospital.
  -There are definitely strange (ok, different) people in the ER after 10 pm at night.
  -Eating a Burger King chicken sandwich and fries at 10:30 PM on an empty stomach is a bad idea.
  -Hospital gowns are not exactly engineered correctly.
• Austin’s baseball team came and visited him at the hospital along with their parents.  They brought his 2nd place trophy  along to present to him as he missed the Championship game due to his emergency surgery.   Lots of talk in the “Christian” world about community, but I gotta tell you, when those folks walked into the room, it was amazing.  That’s community that can’t be coerced, programmed, manipulated, or forced.
• A girl was in the ER in the room next to Austin who had… get this… super glued his eyelids shut.  Seriously.
• I’m starting to wonder if the church in America is not replicated the world of academia.  Here’s the deal. We have a bunch of people who are now experts, coaches, and consultants who aren’t actually in the day to day practice and grind of ministry.  We’ve made an industry out of ideas and concepts while forsaking the actual realities of practice.  We’ve lost a couple more in the last few weeks to this phenomena.   Going into coaching and consulting is not a remedy for burnout or boredom.
• Really lovin’ me some country music right now.  Must be the weather or something.  Before you completely mock me, take a listen to Urban’s new album.   Great stuff.
• My vacation reads for next week in So. Cal.

1. An Unlikely Disciple

What would happen if a student at one of America’s most secular colleges spent a semester at Reverend Jerry Falwell’s “Bible Boot Camp” for young evangelicals?

The Unlikely Disciple answers that question, following Brown University sophomore Kevin Roose during his semester as a new transfer student at Liberty University, the world’s largest evangelical Christian college.  Hoping to connect with his conservative Christian peers, Roose leaps across the God Divide and embeds himself among Liberty’s 10,000 undergraduates, who call themselves “Champions for Christ.” At Liberty, he sings in Rev. Falwell’s church choir, takes classes like Evangelism 101, and makes surprising discoveries about the true nature of America’s culture war.   (from Keven Roose’s webpage)

and just for fun  2.  The Big Bam: The Life and times of Babe Ruth by Leigh Montville.

• Tried to watch Jimmy Fallon last week on the Late Night… it was horrid and dreadful.   I actually felt bad for the guy.   I’m wondering how many weeks they will let it go before NBC cancels the show.  He was really good in Fever Pitch though.
• Starting a new five week series this week @ The Crossing were calling “Fortune Cookie Faith”… it’s a quick look at some key biblical principles in the book of Proverbs.  Got some great stuff planned to tie in with the theme and hoping everyone will read a Proverb a day throughout the month of June.  Great series as we head into summer.
• Starting a four week series in July tentatively called, “15 Minutes”.  The idea is to unpack the narratives of some obscure or little-known characters in Scripture.  Any ideas?
• Did you know that you can check out 50 items at a time per library card?  That means our family of four could have 200 items from the library at home.  Wow, no wonder they never have that book I want when I request it.
• Kids have been out of school two days… and they’re bored already.  It’s going to be one of those summers.
• Tried to celebrate National Donut Day, but didn’t realize that Dunkin Donuts no longer actually MAKES their donuts in the stores.  I guess there is some big donut factory that ships them out… which is why there are never any of the good ones.  As I said earlier this week, “Dang you, Mr. Dunkin”.
• Saw UP last weekend with the fam.  Really good movie, but not for little kids.  Nothing inappropriate, just not designed to hold their attention (ala Toy Story or Cars)  A lot of deep, meaningful stuff in the movie — go see it!
• The thing that stinks about the NBA (among many things) is by the time the Finals get here, everyone is pretty exhausted of basketball.  I mean March Madness was like eons ago and Preseason NFL is right around the corner.  Wrap it up already.
• Headed to San Diego next week. Can’t wait to have some Casa de Pico in Old Town and hang out on the beach.  It has to be my favorite city, but as they say, “never move where you vacation.”
• Only 202 days until Christmas.  Looking forward to it.

Church of The Shallow Soil?

Craig Groeschel said the following on his blog yesterday… “Salvations and baptisms would surely be celebrated in heaven, but these celebrations should be the beginning of success and not the end goal.”

With this in mind, I realized how much I have recently been pondering what “discipleship” might/could/should look like. Here’s some rough thoughts of the tri-emphasis of discipleship that wholistically contribute to a persons ongoing development of faith.

1.  Relationally Discipleship … this is discipleship and growth which takes place in the context of community.    It is the personal development that happens because you are doing life with other people, living in a certain degree of accountability with them, and receiving care and comfort when needed.  This happens best when it is largely organic in nature.  A large part of where the church struggles is trying to be the matchmaker for people and yet many who attend want the church to serve this role.  “Help me connect”, “I need friends”, and “I am tired of being isolated” are common complaints.  Funny how we won’t demand that sort of connection in any other area or context of our lives.  We tend to do pretty well elsewhere naturally connecting and making friends, but the church has always seemed to work really hard to help that process along or even twist arms if necessary to make it happen.

2.  Serving Discipleship … this  is discipleship that happens in the midst of helping and assisting others.   It is the tapping into the part of you that wants to make a difference, change the world, and affect someone elses life.  As we enter into this process, we are changed.  We are usually filed with perspective and a greater sense of purpose.  The process of serving in the context of faith  (and relationship) extends the love of God beyond our own felt needs and wants.  It also brings a strong maturity to our lives and a healthiness to our perspective.

3.  Maturity Discipleship … this final area is the one that gets the bulk of the attention.  It could be called the “knowledge” slice of the discipleship pie as it is in this area that we gain a greater understanding of God and what it means to be His follower.  However, this is the most difficult to navigate with a healthy perspective as knowledge tends to corrupt pretty easily.  However, it is also this slice that the contemporary church has largely been weak in.  We have pushed back against some largely ineffective models from our childhood and/or youth consisting of indoctrination techniques and in the process have neglected to truly build the necessary knowledge that will lead to growth and greater understanding.

What if we celebrated growth, not just first steps?