Monday, December 28, 2009

"A coin in the coffer rings.."

This appeared over on Steve Wood's Blog ...

"John MacArthur writes: I don’t watch much television, and when I do I generally avoid the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). For many years TBN has been dominated by faith-healers, full-time fund-raisers, and self-proclaimed prophets spewing heresy . . . . If the scheme seems reminiscent of Tetzel, that’s because it is precisely the same doctrine. (Tetzel was a medieval monk whose high-pressure selling of indulgences—phony promises of forgiveness—outraged Martin Luther and touched off the Protestant Reformation.) Like Tetzel, TBN preys on the poor and plies them with false promises. Yet what is happening daily on TBN is many times worse than the abuses that Luther decried because it is more widespread and more flagrant. The medium is more high-tech and the amounts bilked out of viewers’ pockets are astronomically higher. (By most estimates, TBN is worth more than a billion dollars and rakes in $200 million annually. Those are direct contributions to the network, not counting millions more in donations sent directly to TBN broadcasters.)"


Does this disturb you as much as it does me. You can read the rest here.

Thought this video would complement it nicely...

Saturday, December 26, 2009

RSS Readers

Recently I've been surprised at the amount of people that I've come across who are not familiar with RSS Readers. Basically they are a way of staying up to date with multiple sources without having to visit those web pages. Let me explain...

Here's how I have mine set up. Google.com is my homepage. So every time I open my web browser my Google page pops up. On that page I'm able to customize features I want. So I have weather forecasts, sports scores, twitter, and Google Reader (one of many different RSS readers) Google Reader gives me a short summary of all the blogs I've "subscribed" to. Every time the author post something on their blog it shows up on my RSS Reader so I don't have to keep checking their websites. Simplifies life. We have a Really Simply Syndication (RSS ) feed set up for our calendar in the student ministry. (thanks Greg) So when we add something new it pops up on anyone's reader who has subscribed to our feed.

The majority of what I use RSS feeds for is staying challenged in my faith and on top of youth ministry topics. It's really a source of inspiration. Here's a few of the top people I'm listening to via their feeds...

  • http://theresurgence.com/
  • http://www.studentministry.org/
  • http://www.treadinggrain.com/
  • http://responsiblefather.com/
  • http://trinitypastor.wordpress.com/
  • http://artofmanliness.com/
  • http://trinitylearning.wordpress.com/
  • and a bunch more.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

99 Thoughts for Youth Workers

Recently I received a little booklet by Joshua Griffen called "99 Thoughts for Youth Workers" I'm only a few pages in and already a few things strike me. Mainly this book is super practical, to the point and easy to read for the youth worker with little free time to spare.

Here's a brief summary of thoughts 16-25 which struck me as especially relevant. (Each one has a little paragraph following it. I'll just share some of the headings.

5 Things a Youth Worker Has To Do Every Day...

  • Connect with God
  • Connect with a Volunteer
  • Connect with your Philosophy
  • Connect with the Team
  • Connect with your Family
5 More Things a Youth Worker Has To Do Every Day...
  • Connect with a Student
  • Connect with a Parent
  • Connect with the Calendar
  • Connect with Resources
  • Connect with Fun

Monday, December 21, 2009

North Charleston; Oak Terrace Preserve

Great video on the community where we live.





It's neat to be part of a community coming back to life.

A video that made my day.

Can I share something with you that made my day....

Basically its a video of a group filming something for a church service when a homeless man approaches them in Atlanta and starts worshiping with them. Be sure to watch the whole thing.


(If you're reading this on facebook you'll need to "view original post to see the video")

Props to.. The Resurgence

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The Last Battle

Every now and then I get the bug and plow through entire books. Two days ago I read all of Cloud's "9 Things Every Leader Must Do." and today (and last night) I read CS Lewis's The Last Battle if there is a book with a more stirring ending for the Christian, apart from scripture, I don't know it.



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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Parish Discernment

The following letter is the result of a massive discernment process my family as honored to be a part of. We are really excited to see what the next season of ministry has our community.


To our Sisters and Brothers in Christ at St. Andrew’s:

On behalf of the staff and former Sr. Warden’s we wish to thank you for your faithful commitment to engage the discernment process this fall. While the question before our congregation was a serious and sobering one, the depth and richness of the materials and sermons combined with your participation in LifeGroups has worked to deepen our corporate understanding of the Lord’s direction in our life and the call upon this parish, so, thank you.

Last night we gathered to count the response forms and by a 93% – 6% margin the congregation has overwhelmingly recommended that St. Andrew’s affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America and separate from The Episcopal Church. Here are the results:

902 total discernment response forms submitted.

  • 838 recommended that St. Andrew’s Church affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America and separate from The Episcopal Church.
  • 58 recommended that we remain within The Episcopal Church.
  • 4 response forms were submitted unmarked.
  • 2 response forms had the word, “abstain” written across them.

We were very pleased with the total number of people participating in this discernment process and we were equally pleased with the clarity with which you – and the Lord through you – spoke to us. We will gather as a Vestry in the New Year to take up this matter. Be assured we will keep you informed of our decisions. Please keep us in your prayers.

Know that this letter comes with our continued prayers for this parish and for you; especially that you may know the nearness of Christ this Advent and Christmas season.

With great affection in Christ,

The Vestry

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Praying For My Family

Soon after Abbie was born a family in the church gave Lisa and I a set of three key chains that has some prayer printed on them. One for the wife, one for the husband and one with prayers on for the child. In a world of cheese these are diamonds. The prayers are rock solid and grounded in scripture. They challenge me to be a better husband, father and follower of Jesus in the way I pray for and relate to my bride.


Here is the prayer that has come up today...
"Thank you Jesus, that my wife will reign in this life in right standing with God based on your death and resurrection. In you Jesus, she has resurrection power to breathe life into any situation. Thank you for the amazing gift of righteousness. (Rom. 5:17)


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