Archives for February 2008

Um… after my first day of facebook existence it has become clear to me, I’m obviously very late to the facebook party. Half the world is on facebook. I think everyone in my world but me.

My church just finished a 21 days of prayer and fasting period. Evidently we missed the mark.

This church issued 30 days of sex according to this CNN video. After watching this video, I have nothing to write here that is appropriate. Most of my snide remarks are going to remain in my head. I just voice these 4 ponderings:

• their website they created for this “campaign” has crashed due to too many hits.

• I wonder if this pastor is really trying to re-kindle marriages or just get on TV?

• I really want to know what his wife thinks of his plan. I’m sure he thinks it’s pure genius and gets him lots of high fives at the mens group.

• I wonder if they’re passing out condoms in the bulletins or if they just have plans for expanding their church nursery, but are struggling to get enough congregational support.

Today I got the chance to sit and have lunch at Bethel Seminary with about 50 people and Barry C. Black, the 62nd US. Senate Chaplain. In light of my frustrations with Politics, I was hoping to get some fresh eyes and perspective from a man much older, much wiser, and very much on the front row of history in America. He has a list of degrees and ph.d’s and awards, and achievements that takes about 10 minutes to read. He’s seen the world from so many vantage points. I was eager to listen.

Well, my lunch did not disappoint.

I loved the insights he had on ministry and faith on Capitol Hill. He is obviously a well studied and very very smart man. I felt stupid and ignorant just being in his presence- not because he was arrogant, just because he was so clearly so much farther down the road than I. Dude is sharp, witty, fun, sincere, humble, and clearly walking with the Holy Spirit. I wish I could have had a year of lunches with him. I’d pay for that.

But the nuggets I most walked away with today were ones for preaching. Here’s what I gleaned today by watching and listening to Barry C. Black- a very eloquent African American pastor, Retired Navy Admiral, father of 3 boys.. and well… a whole lot more.

• Read. Read. Read. I need to read more. Smart people read. Well studied people read. People who don’t repeat the mistakes of the past and learn from History read. I need to read more. This dude clearly reads. A lot.

• Pray. Pray. Pray. He holds 5 bible studies a week for senators. He is a father and a husband. He has a list of responsibilities and opportunities a mile long. He does one on one spiritual counseling for everyone from the president to the senate floor and still makes time to pray for one hour a day. He said he learned it from who he considers to be one of his greatest mentors in his life: Fulton J Sheen, a catholic priest of which he has read a lot of his works. Evidently Fulton Sheen prayed in a church for an hour a day every day for 20 years, only missing twice. It was the position they found him dead in, praying in church, on his knees. Black says he no longer has to write sermons, he just talks to God and listens to God and reads his word and talks to people out of the overflow of that time. Well, however he does it, it’s working. Trust me.

• Memorize Scripture. Lots of scripture. I’d be a better preacher if I had more of my Bible memorized. Period.

• “If I have not experienced it, I don’t preach it.” Take that to the bank. That’s good stuff.

• Use pauses, voice inflection, and words on purpose. It really is a great speaking skill to master. Anyone can rant and ramble. Great communicators choose their words, tone, speed, intensity and volume carefully and intentionally.

If you ever have a chance to hear the Chaplain, Barry C. Black, drop what you’re doing and go. It will be some of the best hours you’ve spent in the presence of a truly genuine man of God in a long time.

“It’s a volcano”.

“Let’s shoot people with them. Peeneeer. Peneeer.”

“Mine’s bigger. Well mine’s the cleanest. Yours is a sand monster.”

“Look, it’s like a video game controller.”

We took our family out to breakfast and to dog beach after last monday. It had been a long week and I worked almost all weekend and we need some family time and the dog deserved some time too. But, despite out plans to just let the dog run in the ocean, um all 3 of kids got soaked. Soaked and sandy from head to toe. So the only way to get them home without ruining our car or causing me to have to clean it for 3 days was to strip them down and let them ride home, all 3 buck naked in the back seat. It was a warm sunny day, so what the heck- why not?

Well, um for future notice… naked boy boredom is the answer to “why not?”. Shannon kept telling me I had to make them stop. I just sat there laughing to the point of tears and wondering what will happen to me if I get pulled over. Oh the joy of raising boys.

I have a myspace. Cuz several years ago I was told to be a good youth pastor and stay in touch with my students and some young college students at the time, I needed one. So, I created one. I have not spent anytime on the darn thing in like 4 months. It was kind of embarrassing tonight to respond to e-mails on there that were from November. I suck.

We have a student ministry myspace for our high school students cuz lots of them still use the site and I virtually pay a student to update ours for me cuz I’m so stinkin horrible at caring about it. It’s a necessary evil of sorts I guess.

But then, this last December, I got a chance to speak at the church I did all my internships at and there were like 15 or 20 people from my former youth ministry in the audience. Go figure. When I asked how they all heard about it, they said.. Facebook. I said, “Oh great. One more thing to suck at checking.” Well, anyway, today I took the plunge and got a facebook account. I have no idea why and I have only one friend. Someone who had actually sent me some kinda e-mail through facebook to get me started.

Anyway, if you want to give me some facebook lesson or tell me what in the world a wall paper is or how to use my iphone to check my facebook or just join my friendship circle so I can learn the ropes of this new medium, well THIS IS ME. I’m told this place is not filled with constant invites from porn stars and hoochie ads like my myspace account is, and will change my life forever for the better. Guess I’ll find out.