BOBO THE MAN

My buddy Bob Genis has just joined the ranks of blogdom. I strongly suggest that you visit his site to see what is cooking in his head. Although he doesn't have any posts, he will and they will be thought provoking at the least and possibly asinine at times. Bob is cool. He is talked about in my Mushy Mush post. Plus he slammed me in brotherly love in my Passion Smassion post. What a jerk!!!! hahaha

READ THIS BOOK

I started reading this book, "The Shaping of Things to Come" and it is by far the best book I've read since New Kind of Christian. Here is a little blurb from it: "For us the Incarnation is an absolutely fundamental doctrine, not just as an irreducible part of the Christian confession, but also a theological prism through which we view our entire missional task in the world...To say that this event is fundamental to a true conception of the Christian faith is surely an understatement. Without it, the work of Jesus lacks its redemptive merit. Orthodox Christian belief rightly stresses that the atonement is directly linked to Christ's divinity and to his humanity...It is from inside the human condition and experience that God fulfills his own requirements for the salvation of the human race." God chooses to save us from the inside out, He was human! We often try and attract people with good music, powerful preaching, great building, programs, etc....from the outside in. Rarely do you find a church that lives with the people, is incarnational in their approach to ecclesiology. I dare say that when we becoming sending churches the need for attraction will not be there because we will be with the people "on the inside" and God loves to work from the inside out. Jesus will be the attraction. Grace and Peace to you.

"Who being in the very nature
God
did not consider equality
with God something to
be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking on the very nature of
a servant,
being made in human likeness."

Weird

I just had a weird experience. I have written a couple of songs in my day but never have I allowed anyone to hear them. Well I have been goofing around with this one song and the JR. High Band liked it, so with the encouragement from one of the dads, we just played. Like 5 minutes ago at our Jr. High night. It is nerve racking to lay yourself out there to a bunch of Jr. High kids. I pray they were able to worship. To be honest the song isn't that great but it is my offering to God. I guess I just feel relieved that it is over. Well I got to get back and explain salvation to the Jr. High kids...I guess that is even more freigtening. Peace.

Interesting

Read Clifton's blog I don't know this guy from Adam but it is a interesting article concerning mission. He is an Orthodox Christian seems pretty cool and he is friends with Gowin so you know he is a little wierd! Peace.

It's Getting Close!

Well I thought it might be time a few days ago but alas I was wrong. It rained and the temp dropped. My steel steed is calling or moaning from the garage: Get this dust off me, lube up the chain, check my brakes and lets ride! I have had a desire to either race one time this year or participate in a 24 hour "race". The problem is all the races are on Sunday and I will be out of town the weekend of the 24 hour race. I am going to bite the bullet and take a Sunday off and to race. It will give me something to shoot for or at least an excuse to ride my bike more. I am going to ride more this year and golf less. Of course I say that every year and never do it but biking is so much fun and good for you unless you of course you crash like I do. With that said, I know some of you who read this ride, what is your take on not riding as much as you say you are? Michael if you are interested in doing a race this year we could plan on doing one in Peoria. Let me know and we'll try to see if the schedule works. I'm just anxiously waiting to blow off some steam and quite possibly pucking my guts out, it wouldn't be the first time. My motto: Keep the rubber side down as well as the pop tarts! Peace!

Cable TV

My sister-in-law purchased us cable tv for a month because she felt sorry for my wife. My wife who is on bed rest watches copious amounts of television because she can't do anything else, other than read. Who can read for 10hrs a day? Well anyway I watched "American Chopper" last night and thought I was going to die! The show is built around the big rough and tough dad and the talented son who builds everything and don't forget Mikey the goofy little brother. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. Two brothers throwing stuff at each other, pushing each other around. Then they went on to build a motorcycle. It reminded of my older brother and myself except I am much smaller than my older brother and he can still kick my butt. I just want to go to my dad's and get my brother and build something in the garage. It was cool. But I also have wasted a lot of time in front of the t.v. the last 1 and half. OCC rules...peace. keep the rubber side down.

Paul's Blog

Good stuff

But i am finding that the oath to follow Jesus is full of surprises. I am finding that His promise to use my weaknesses is really true. And i am overwhelmed by the fact that these "weaknesses" are actually being used for others' good. Kinda' strange. I am also finding that control really is a fantasy. The more i live, the more i see beauty in the chaos - God moving over the deep, God bringing magnificence to the ordinary. And that redemption includes everything - my failures and, heaven help me, my "successes." And at the end of the day, i can rest in that simple idea: that God redeems all. I can't understand it all. Actually, i don't understand a lot of it. Check at the rest here

Passion Smassion

I saw the much touted film The Passion of the Christ last night. My initial reaction was, "Couldn't Aaron get a better pirated copy than this!" You see my wife is on bed rest and really wanted to see the film with me and some friends so that obviously legitimizing the stealing of a movie, right? Well anyway it was okay. I must say that I must be desensitized to violence because it was not what I expected, I thought it was going to be worse. The buzz amongst some people from church is: "You must go see it!!!! It has changed me. I have a deeper and better understanding of what Jesus went through." I guess that is cool but couldn't you just read some history and find out what happened during a crucifixion? That is what I did and it was pretty accurate so it wasn't that shocking to me. It was what I expected. I of course hate to see anybody suffer through so much physical pain especially the Son of God. The parts that made me whince or mad the most were the continual whipping of Jesus as he carried the cross geezz...give the guy a break and the turning over of the cross was pretty brutal as well.

Here are someopints to chew on:
- If you didn't know the story the flashbacks would have been tough to understand.
-The devil and baby scene was freaky. I mean that was really freaky....like it was totally like "horror" movie freaky
-It was very Catholic but that is not a secret
-Is this the greatest evangelistic tool ever or in the last 100 years? No!
-Are Christian going to be stupid and buy dumb trinkets and coffee table books? Yes!
-Is this going to be a whore for the savvy business man? Yes!
-Can this bring people into a relationship with the Christ? Not sure
-Can people living transparent Godly lives, "preaching" the message of the Kingdom have more of an impact than a movie? Yes!
-Is the church willing to teach that rather than waiting for the next gimmick or outreach event? I hope so.
-Am I babbling? Yes
-Does anybody read this? I don't know.

I just am scared with the deployment of the Purpose Driven mumbo jumbo, now the passion what is next? Possible a reality TV show pitting Protestants against Catholics or even better yet Christian church peeps against non-instrumental church of Christ peeps. It could be titled: "Voice Wars" but nobody would listen. Be Jesus to people let them "rest" in the branches of the Kingdom. They will enter.

New Blogger

I have added Tyler Hughes to my blog list. He is a funny guy. I met him in college and thought he was cool. He has surfaced on Michael Gowin's page, so I have added him to mine. Both guys are at the right. Read.

Force and The Kingdom

I am very intrigued by Luke 16:16. It states that people were forcefully entering into the kingdom. Was the message that Jesus was preaching so revolutionary that people were forcing there way into it? Yes. What is meant by "forcing"? I am not sure and I don't have a butt load of commentaries lying around to read either but I can only imagine that it was total abandonedment to the old way of thinking about the kingdom. In our current state (I can only speak for where I am located) people seem blind or ignorant to the kingdom. What causes blindness or numbness to the kingdom. I believe at times it is the fault of the church and over emphasis on an individual's salvation. Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom, not individual salvation which does play a part. The kingdom is so much more than "salvation" it is freedom, grace, justice, service, dependence on the King. The king pardons, protects, instructs, disciplines his citizens. So exactly what is the message of the kingdom. Mt. 5,6,7 gives us a glimpse into the message. I believe if this was lived out and "preached" people would be rushing to enter the kingdom, not neccesarrily the church but the kingdom. Big difference! I believe people are hungry for a King, a redeemer, but it is not neccesarrily a hunger that exists within the four walls of a church. Can we change the focus from: a church focus to a kingdom focus? Yes. Do we need to open our eyes to the Kingdom? Yes. Is the Kingdom advancing forcefully? Yes. Does God want us to be a part of it? Yes. Am I a force in the kingdom? I am not sure. I hope I am motivated by Christ love and spirit which is the true force behind the advancement of Kingdom. What do you think about this idea of: force and the kingdom?

tattoos and Pregnancy?

I just got off the phone with my wife who is el prego. She was watching a baby story and mentioned that the woman had a big tattoo on her stomach. I began to think: "Was the tattoo big before her pregnancy or was it just stretched out? Does the tattoo go back to normal or is whacked because of the pregnancy?" For instance if a woman would tattoo a smiley face on her stomach would it be a frowing smiley face with droopy eyes after the pregnancy? I don't know but it is kind of gross if you really think about it. These are some of the "kingdom" issue I am dealing with, any input on how to handle such a dilemma?