Natalie is developing her spelling and writing skills. tonight she just sat down and wrote her name, and i had to share it with you. you can also see the video from our spelling session. she learned the word “PIG” tonight.

in other news, i have finally realized i might be dependent on caffeine. i went to bes last night at 11pm and opened (4am) this morning at Starbucks, and it was my worst morning ever. i think everyone else could tell too. i was just so tired. the funny thing is i get free coffee on my shift, and i didn’t drink any, and i didn’t drink any the rest of my day. that was not a good idea. it turns out i need it more than i thought - i could hardly function. i have also been putting in long hours, and not seeing much sleep. so am i addicted to caffeine, or just need rest, or both?

see: defend your coffee habit

after seeing this movie and previously watching the behind the scenes special, i had a thought about the integrity and morality of using entertainment to tell “based on true” stories in film. denzel said he didn’t want to make frank lucas look like a hero in the movie (and i think he did a good job). but i was still left feeling like it might have romanticized a life of crime. without the movie, this is one story from the streets of harlem i would have never known about, and i think it may be an important part of american history.

was there a book written about this time in history? was the movie based on that book? i have no clue. but if there was, i bet most of us would feel more comfortable with the telling of the story. and i am guessing that most of us would prefer the book over the movie (especially in accuracy and historical documentation).

isn’t that funny? the book would still be entertaining. in fact, a lot of people read for entertainment, and even reading a true story is entertaining. see where i am going with this? whether it is a book or movie, if it is based on history, reality or a true story with facts and witnesses, it is an acceptable form of telling a true story, communicating to, AND entertaining an audience at the same time.

why would God write a book? why would God use a tool of entertainment to tell His story, and communicate with earthlings. just a thought.

unrelated link: The Ministry of Morality

it’s obvious. apparently the world needs change…

does prayer change anything?

if God is, and hears us, interacts with us, listens when we talk, does God respond? does prayer move God? does God do things that would not be done without prayer? can all of God’s dreams come true through prayer? is God waiting for us to pray?

does prayer actually change anything?

can it change someone? can it change circumstances? does it get results? can prayer be the catalyst for outcomes? when we engage God through conversation, and ask for something… does anything happen from that? is prayer outward and missional?

i am not asking if God says “yeah, sure” to every prayer. but does God do something when we pray? does it eventually end in action and transformation? is prayer action? is prayer ministry?

does our connecting with God in prayer change anything?
i know prayer changes me, and i have the potential to change things around me, but can my effort in prayer alone change anything?
if the answer is yes, then why would we do anything else? why are doing so much else?
if the answer is no…

if prayer just potentially changes things. if prayer is mostly for us. if prayer is primarily an inward act, that can only at it’s greatest potential only transform my own life. if prayer doesn’t change anything. if prayer is just a catalyst for me to do something. if people, communities, cities aren’t completely changed by prayer… then what does work? does it have to be a combination of prayer and my abilities and strategic effort? does world change really come down to my actions? is prayer really just optional?

does God have an agenda?… a plan, a dream. does God want to change things? God can do whatever God wants (that’s what makes God God) so what is He waiting for? does God want to see results? does God long for, and wish for transformation? God wishes?

what works? what gets results?

1. prayer (ask and trust God. live accordingly.)
2. me (we are the body of Jesus to the world. what we do, how we handle ourselves, and how we act directly affects the world around us. people are changed through other people. people see us, they don’t necessarily see God, and since we are His representatives on earth, they will conclude that God is like us. when we act like Jesus, and show people His love, it changes the world)
3. me and prayer
   1. prayer is optional. it’s mostly an inner heart thing for you to make sure you are on the right track, but the real change action is up to you and your abilities and being a good steward of what God has given you. you end up at #2. i have to make a conscious choice to behave (live) like Jesus, and that in turn will change the world.
   2. prayer is critical. prayer may change your life, but in the bigger picture it also changes the world. the change it does to you is only how much more outward you can make prayer. the relationship with Jesus you gain from prayer reaches other people (intentionally or unintentionally), and has transforming power beyond your abilities, and in spite of your best efforts. prayer doesn’t make you any better at anything, get you any exposure, or move you closer to your own goals. it’s just prayer. you end up at #1, and you rely on God to change the world.
   3. ???

please correct me if i am wrong…

• Christianity can be best summed up in the phrase “seek and save the lost”.
• Saving the lost means people are becoming Christians.

does that seem weird to anyone else? to me it sounds like we are saving people to the idea of saving people.

i am a millennial. this is one of the labels for the generation (who hates being labeled) probably best described vaguely as being born between late 70’s and late 90’s. this seems to be the generation that everyone in america wants to figure out. i have identified a couple statements that describe how i approach the world around me, and i think some in my generation might agree with them. *

i prefer written communication. the implication is that i do whatever i can to say exactly what i mean, and i expect the same. mean what you say, or don’t mean anything that you say (for complete sarcasm: see Stephen Colbert’s book) i can handle either of those, but i am not good at translating whatever is in the middle - part lie, sometimes honest, mostly dramatic vacant language.
marriage works? most of our parents’ marriages ended up in divorce (i am a rare exception!). preachers do evil things that get exposed, and i grew up in a culture branded by broken promises. i watched words not translate into life. i have learned our obsession with security and sanitation is empty. the god of money is disappointing and boring. i noticed that hiding and faking it didn’t work for the generation(s) before me. if you need a good example of how our words have become meaningless just look at prayer. most of the phrases you and i use in prayer are cliche (see: [re]understanding prayer by Kyle Lake, the best book i have ever read! Thank you Tanya!). we use prayer for transitions and crowd control. also, what does it mean to have a “best friend”.

i am skeptical of all advertising. and everything is advertising.

The purpose of the vast majority of advertising today is not to inform consumers so they can make wise choices; instead, the intention is to persuade consumers to buy the advertised product, regardless of whether it will yield the satisfaction they have been led to expect. Much of today’s advertising is targeted at children, turning impressionable children into naive persuaders of parents. Most advertising today could be correctly labeled as “disinformation by design”. [from Sustainable Capitalism by John Ikerd]

most of the kids in my generation reject marketing. this doesn’t mean it doesn’t work; we just don’t like being brainwashed. i want to know: what do i really need and why? give me something useful and meaningful. i feel this most in the church. to ask “how can we get your generation to come to church?” is like asking “how can we get your generation to sing karaoke?” the flip side is that i like anti-marketing marketing (complete sarcasm: see Apple commercials)

in conclusion: (and application!)
- get a thesaurus and dictionary combination and use it. find the word that means what you want to say. if you can’t find a word that means exactly what you are trying to say use multiple words, or make up your own word.

- don’t “try” to reach me. don’t create another program for me or assume that i love the programs you already put on. please don’t get angry at me becasue i don’t understand why you are doing what you do. if you want to have anything to do with me i prefer a friendship with a real “no strings attached”. and i am good at smelling out the hidden agenda. save the money you would spend on marketing and use it to do something meaningful in the world. help someone. if we hear of it, we might be inspired to see more about the who, what and why you are. please spend the time to think through the why you are. if you try to fake an answer or it isn’t an inspiring answer i will be very disappointed.

church? just because we reject or question the modern church doesn’t mean we reject Jesus. you can’t get offended at our rejection of your advertising, programming, or the performance currently called church. it’s nothing personal, we just don’t feel right about it, so we probably won’t show up.

*i do not claim to be an expert on this subject in any sense or dimension, nor do i feel like i have exhausted the subject. i am most likely very wrong and wasted your time by even suggesting that you consider reading this. this is probably just a rambling post of complacency and cynicism. and sorry if uncapitalized words, bad grammar, or misspellings offend you. oh yeah, i don’t like fine print either!

Whenever Valley Christian Church sets out to do an “all hymn Sunday” (which is always the 5th Sunday of the month) Daniel always asks me to help lead the songs in worship. This for two reasons: he misses me and i miss him, and we want an excuse to get together, and my extensive and almost abominable knowledge of hymns.

Tonight was practice, and one of the songs we are doing this Sunday is “I’d Rather Have Jesus”. I had some interesting thoughts as we went through this song tonight…

First, i couldn’t sing a word of it honestly. It’s a typical Christian song. It expresses typical Jesus Follower values right? Jesus is worth more than anything else right?

Well in the context of my life i am really not sure what that exactly means. I am learning that what i perceive as me “struggling” to really know God, is me maturing spiritually - i am looking closely at the words i say, and how i really act toward God.

So here is an example of what i mean….

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold.

Ok, that means nothing to me, but if i reworded it:

I’d rather have Jesus than be out of debt.

uh… maybe not. I mean if you presented me with the option: spend time with Jesus or be out of debt, i am pretty sure i would take financial security for a missed day with God. It’s just the logical choice - some would even argue the “spiritual” or right choice… or maybe not, i don’t know.
The chorus echoes this crazy mantra:

Than to be the King of a vast domain

My first thought is what domain? Google.com? Godaddy.com? iamfreakingawesome.com?

Ok, enough silliness - of course the writer means a nation. So how about America? Does the present of the United States have to choose between his title or following Jesus?

In this typical Christian song is a dormant lie that beautiful music has masked the church to repeat for a century or more.

The song’s meaning seems obvious me really, It’s not talking about trading an hour with God for money, it’s talking about trading eternity with God for human wealth (a no-brainier!). My question is: Can we really trade anything earthly for a spot in heaven?