Make a Mess

I can find no real redeeming value to this site, but it is interesting to those who like to play with the mouse. Move fast, slow, click, make a mess. A spacebar press will clear the screen so you can play some more.

Eclectic “Information”

I’ve been a bit slammed with work these past days but I’ve been storing up some eclectic posts that will interest a few, alienate a few, convince a few that I truly am a Philistine, …

• Thanks to Gary for pointing me to The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks. And if you like that one you will “literally” like this one as well.
• Tafiti looks to be a demonstration or experimental search engine that demonstrates the “coolness” of Microsoft Searchlight (which you might have to download), a potential challenger to Flash.
• Sermon Jams are an interesting use of the web’s resources. Might have some impact in communicating to a younger generation.  Not something for a Sunday Worship Service, though I wouldn’t be surprised ….
• I used to be a youth pastor which may explain why I found some things on this site humorous. You’ll have to decide for yourself if the sarcasm is on point.

I Know Some Preachers Who Might Want to Listen…

Thanks to Dan Philips at Pyromanics for this video. Check out his comments for some application to our Christian teaching.
 

Become a Famous Blogger

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons. I also found this cartoon on his site a bit too true.

Nothing Wrong With Being an Introvert

This is an insightful article on introverts. There really is nothing wrong with them. Or should I say … us. Yep, no brainer for those who know me. I am an introvert. I do like people. I do like being with people. I do like parties. But I do need to pull away to recharge. I like being alone sometimes. I’m glad that God made introverts and extroverts. I have found a couple of folks that seem to think that the introvert side is broken. I think not. What do you think?

Willing to Change?

“We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Max DePree

As much as we might believe this pithy insight, we consistently fight against it. Most of us really dislike change – especially when it requires us to change. We tend to like change when it is others that must change. As Howard Butt says, “If only I can somehow get other people to change their ways, life will be wonderful for me.”I think that one reason we don’t like change is that we are often sinfully proud. OK, I am sinfully proud. You can sniff out your own reasons, but I bet they will come back to pride at some point. We can get so upset that something is changing that affects OUR world, OUR life, OUR sense of propriety, OUR comfort, OUR apparent rank in the world. And in doing so we miss out that God may be at work in the midst of the change bringing opportunities to our lives to become what we need to be. It takes humility to become like Jesus – but we tend towards demandingness – usually displayed in a sulky, whiny, attitude of complaint. Humility lets me understand that change that “happens” to me is often used by God to bring change into me.Butt reminds us that humility requires that we consider God as our basic premise. If God is, then all of my self-importance … is unrealistic. And it is usually my self-importance that gets me off track when things change in ways I don’t like. Of course, fighting against inevitable change is one of the ways God tends to break our pride and build our humility.

Missional is…, Missional is not…. Helpful Links … maybe.

I “parked” some links to various “missional posts” in my email archives and just found them again. Good timing since we have been talking about “what does it mean to be missional?” as a church staff over the past few months. A question that is difficult to answer since there seems to be no accepted definition. Being one that likes bullet points I found 19 Things Missional Is Not to be insightful. Chuck Warnock, aka Amicus Dei, says a list of things that missional is not includes:

• A church growth strategy with mission projects.
• A strategy of any kind.
• A really cool word.
• Getting a group together to do “servant evangelism.”
• The externally-focused church.
• The sixth purpose of the church — or even one of the five.
• A program.
• A philosophy.
• Layering outreach projects on top of what you are doing at your church.
• The latest jargon for the same old thing.
• The same as emerging, ancient-future, house church, simple church, or any of the other flavors out there.
• One-size fits all.

More helpful is his post on 10 Things Missional Is. What I like about both posts (by one who seems unabashedly “missional”) is that they underscore that it isn’t some new technique to build your church or do evangelism or manipulate people. It is something that we, and our churches, must “be” at the core.

Missional is not a new call or task for the church (though it may be a new word). Dave DeVries emphasizes that missional activity is not optional. In a comment on this post Dave also has some thoughts on foreign and local missional activity. He says,

I don’t think there should be a debate of foreign missions versus homeland missions. Both are necessary.
Missionaries are needed to transform America. Local churches must prepare missionaries for both global and local ministry. Jesus is the One who sends; local churches are to prepare those whom He is sending. Every believer is sent somewhere—either to their local culture or to a distant culture.

Finally, this short paper by Tim Keller might be helpful.

Finally, finally, for some missional is a “spiritual” word used as an excuse to be worldly.