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Christian Teenagers and the Internet

I began a teaching a couple of classes to my youth group on Christian Teenagers and the Internet. It is going to be interesting I believe. This coming week I am going to be dealing with the whole mySpace craze.

I can't wait to see how they respond. Christians need to start spreading light into the world of the internet. I know some of you do already. I take great encouragement from some beautifully lighted (that whole light in the darkness thing) pages. I came across one last night and had a spiritual experience while I was slowly working through the pages. Here is the link: mayBe. Take sometime and work through the pages. I was encouraged and deeply moved by their faith and practice.

I would also recommend the following sites:

Online Labyrinth

OpenSourceTheology

Have fun with the sites and don't forget if you blog or whatever on the internet--be a Light!

12 People

A friend once told that if he could find 12 people totally sold out to Jesus. God would change the city of Portland.

I am looking for 11 people to change the city of Federal Way. Anybody interested? Since when did God want his church to be totally irrelevant in the culture it exists in? God is alive and active int eh world and in the city of Federal Way. I am looking for some people to journey together. Don't know what it looks like or how it is done. I do know that God is there in there in the journey so any takers?

Random Thoughts

Basketball is approaching. College basketball is my favorite sport to watch. I cannot wait! Maybe this year will be the year of the Jayhawks! That is Kansas for those of you that are not fans of college sports.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving. I have mixed emotions though. Shelia Dunaway will be coming over for Thanksgiving but her husband will not, he is in Iraq. Pray for him! He is spending a year there and just left last Monday. He also has a small baby daughter born earlier this year. I cannot wait to spend Thanksgiving with my wife, Shelia and Elizabeth!

Hope. God will take care of tomorrow because he is already there!

Talked to Jeff Sordahl, Jr. today. He graduated a few years ago from my youth group, but he is a friend! I enjoyed our talk Jeff!

Mike Lewis, I am still praying for you and your family!

Kevin Woods, I continually remember you in my prayers!

PUMP staff, I pray God will expand your loving touch into the community and lives of those families you are in contact with and pray for. Love them the same way Jesus loves them!

Moved Again

I watch Hotel Rwanda again today. I shed tears every time they save the children. One man making a difference that the whole world can see. One man can change the world. Actually he already did. His name is Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be him now.

Incarnational ministry!


A friend is leaving his ministry position. God will take care of him and his family. I am confident of that. Word to you Mike! Prayers going up for you!

Parable

I attempting to write a parable. I am using a swimming metaphor. I am trying to be blunt but not blunt (much like parables). Hopefully this attempt will do what I am desiring it to do. When it is done I will post it and let you read it.

White Sox rule!

One of my best friends leaves Monday for Iraq. He has already been there once. It wasn't that hard last time, but this time is different. We are much closer. AND, he has a baby girl now. It is going to be tough. I pray God will protect him. Pray a prayer for my friend if you don't mind when you are praying.

God, protect Pete! May he be a blessing to those he is around and may he show your glory. May he bring honor to your name. Bring him home safe to his family and friends. May his year go by fast. You can do anything! Please grant this request. In the name of your precious Son and my Savior, Amen!

Thanks for lifting him up in your prayers. I know his wife will appreciate it.

Transformation

What would it look like if we emphasized spiritual transformation? Conversion has been taught and abused (if I may say so)! But transformation? Nothing. Transformation speaks of journey. God's Spirit is transforming my spirit into what God intended all along.

That speaks to me. Transformation says even though I am not all together and sometimes my life isn't together at all, God is still continuing his saving work in my life and the life of the church. What if we taught transformation? Would we be more loving? Would we be more forgiving? Would we be more willing to extend grace and less quick to judge (because they do not look like us and I am not writing about our belief dogmas)?

Going a journey with God speaks of excitement, danger, and security. Going on a journey with God speaks of holiness, love, and faith. Going on a journey with God speaks of compassion to less fortunate, the blind seeing, and the lame walking. Going on a journey with God speaks of His Kingdom on this earth not just in the eschaton but NOW!

I desire to journey with God like that! Anybody with me?

Dogs

We have two dogs. My wife's dog lives inside with us and my dog, Maximus (his name should resonate how big he is) lives outside. This week Daisy got really sick. She could not keep anything down. I will save the details from you. We went to the vet on Wednesday. All of us were effected by our sick dog. Julie was worried. I was trying help where I could. Maximus didn't get the normal nose touching from Daisy.

There was uncertainty in the air. She is all better now. A shot and some medicine later makes thing better. It is interesting how dogs become part of the family. When they become sick, the whole family is affected.

Knife of Dreams

I can't wait. Tomorrow is the day. Book Eleven (that's right eleven) of the Wheel of Time series written by Robert Jordan. I am predicting a Borders stop on the way to the office Tuesday morning.

The evil empire lost tonight. Cheers for the halos.

Post Christian

I have been looking for where youth ministry has been needing to go for some time. I have read and read and read about postmodernity. I have been excited and disillusioned at the same time with the postmodernity mindset. I knew it was not going to last. Postmodernity (in my opinion) is a house divided. It is only a matter of time before it begins (if has not already) to collapse on itself. I was down at ElderLink at sponsored by Abilene Christian University. I heard a phrase that I had heard before but it was defined in a new way. The speaker defined the West as a Post Christian place. Augustine made Christian beliefs the norm for culture. And we have been living in this "norm" for hundreds of years. Now for the first time in a long time, Christian beliefs are not the norm. Christianity on the west coast has been pushed to the margins and even had hostility vented against it. The margins. Think about that. The margins! Christianity has not been in the margins for a long time. When the Church was being persecuted early in the first century, Christians lived in the margins. Persecuted. Look down upon. Humble. Living day to day by the Spirit. It is going to be good in the margins again. Hello youth ministry in the margins.

How far will you go?

As I sit here writing this blog, I am currently on another computer (office laptop) working up a video for my friends who just addopted a baby girl from China. It is late and they are leaving town to go to their parents house tomorrow and they really wanted to take a dvd video with them. I went to their house this afternoon because he was having problems with his computer. Thought I would take all his videos home and deal with at my house and I had problems.

I am still having problems. But I told my friend that he would have his video by in the morning before they fly out. In the big picture of things, this is really nothing but I find myself thinking about "how far will I go?"

How far will I go to help save a life? How far will I go to love God? How far will I go in dying to self and letting Christ live in me? How far will I go to surrender my life to God? How far. . .

Sometimes I know how far. Other times I can honestly say that I have no idea. How far?

Hiking

Julie and I went hiking last Sunday. We went to the a place called High Rock Firehouse Lookout. It was close to 6900 feet up. It is now one of my favorite places to be.

Summer

This summer is going by so fast. If is hard to believe it is almost August. Our mission trip to PUMP is in a few weeks, but before then I need to get my CDL. Pray that is happens. Otherwise we do not get to take our bus.

Star Wars

Tonights the night. Here I come to see Yoda kick some Sith butt.

Shocked. . .Not really

One of our local news stations reported a story about an offensive license plate. On the license plate was "John 3-16). A woman who was driving behind the car reported to the State Department of Licensing that she was offended and did not want to be "prayed over" by a license plate and that there is separation between church and state. Since this was a filed complaint, the owner of the plate will have to defend her plate in front of a review committee. She has had the plate for 21 years.

You can read the story by clicking on this link. http://www.komotv.com/news/story_m.asp?ID=36833

I am not shocked at this story. We live in a post-Christian society in America. We have left the times when church and faith was the norm. I live in a state that the majority of the population is nonreligious (and that includes any religion). Not only has America become a secular country, it has rebelled and revolted against Christianity. All religions will be tolerated except Christianity.

I will not be surprised if the owner of the vehicle is required to change her license plate. I will not be surprised if this story gets more involved. Sadly, I will not be surprised if this goes to court or even the Supreme Court of Washington. I believe now more than ever the world needs the message of John 3.16. Christians need to be introducing people to God's love. God loves everyone so much, that. . .

Many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

At HOME groups tonight, we read most of John 6. Toward the end of the passage many of the followers decided that Jesus was not worth following. I asked the question "why is it so hard to follow Jesus?" That opened up over an hour discussion on reasons why it is hard to follow Jesus. We had answers anywhere from his hard sayings to taking the leap of faith. There comes a point in your life when you will be faced with the choice to take the leap. Sometimes we have relied upon science to help make this decision easier (but it can't). Sometimes we have relied upon our rationality to make this decision (but many of the things God does are irrational).

We are stuck with the leap of faith. Are we willing to take that leap and decide to believe or stay in our neat little "controlled" worlds? What would happen if we did have that faith as small as a mustard seed?

If we do take that leap, God begins to work through us but also he begins to transform us. Those are exciting and great futures. But God also begins to demand things from us. The rich man could not give it up. Judas couldn't see past himself. Pilot lost courage. But the roman soldier at the foot of the cross echoes in the house of faith "surely this man was the Son of God.

Faith is a simple but very complex thing. Good thing God gives it to us.

Must read

This is a must read. Read the Thursday May 12th post.

http://mikecope.blogspot.com/

The Atrium

I helped teach on 1 Corinthians 11 this morning in the adult class. Paul is writing to the Corinthians about how they are abusing the Lord's Supper. They have split the Christians into socio-economic groups. The rich and the free get to eat in one room and the poor and slaves arrive late and eat in the Atrium. All the late comers get to eat is the leftovers, if there were leftovers.

I told them how I grew up having the "latecomers" (those that came to Sunday night rather than Sunday morning) sent into another room to take communion. And I ask wouldn't it be a better representation of the Lord's Supper if we the body (to use Paul's language) took communion with them? Most agreed from what I saw.

Fast forward to Sunday night. We had our quarterly singing tonight. What happens at the end? They ask if anybody had missed the Lord's Supper this morning. And what do they do? You're right! We send them out. Go figure!

Ready

I am ready. I am ready for people to let God transform them from the inside out. I am ready for us to get over our selfishness and let God work through us. I read an email about Jeff Cash today. For those that do not know who Jeff Cash is let me tell you how God is using him.

He is a missionary in Uganda. He has been asked by two warring tribes in the eastern Congo to hold a peace conference. If you have no idea what is happening in the Congo, go see Hotel Rwanda. The tribal leaders have approached Jeff to hold two conferences, both are four days long. Everybody from the tribes will be invited for the first three days (estimated 15,000 in attendance at the first conference and 10,000 at the second conference) and the tribal leaders for the fourth day. Imagine God placing this opportunity to be a "peacemaker"--a true peacemaker at your feet! Tribes that have been at war with each other are now seeking a humble Christian to help bring peace to their tribes and regions.

Jeff is currently praying for God's wisdom of what to do. If he chooses to accept this opportunity he will have to get the UN's approval and then imagine peace being talked about. God trying to restore peace to a land of civil war, not by human means but by God's means.

WOW! Can you see God there? I can. I see God working through someone who is ready to do God's will. I see God working through a single individual to bring a message of peace (and probably Christ). You can encourage him at this email address: jeffcash@infocom.co.ug

I am ready for that to happen over here. I am ready for our "religiosity" to be replaced by people who are ready for God to work in powerful ways.

I am ready! Are you?

Ethical decisions

I do not know what to think about the Terri Schiavo situation. On the one hand, I believe the protection of life is important. On the other hand, is she really "living"? Have we over developed our technology without a good theological base for it to function properly?

Can technology and faith live together harmoniously? Living in a fallen world, what we create for good seems to always be tainted with our fallen nature. We corrupt the very things we create for good purposes.

I do not know what the ethical decision in the Terri Schiavo situation is. Living by faith in a fallen world is tough. Decisions are not always black and white. Living in the greys presents many quandries for faith (when both sides seem to have merit).

Many people will disagree with this and say it is very "black and white", I do not know if it is that easy. Maybe we should be looking at God's love?