Hurricane Katrina

I just got home from speaking at a local church this evening and I turned on Fox News. All the photos, videos, and news comments are simply overwhelming. From lives that have been lost, to homes that have been destroyed and a city that is nearly destroyed. Our hearts are full of compassion for these people. David Finch's blog listed an action plan that anyone could be a part of.

ACTION PLAN
• Pray that families who are separated would reunited
• Pray that those that are missing would be found
• Pray that elderly would be rescued and properly cared for
• Find local charities that you can donate time and money to
• Include your family in giving of your time and prayers

Give financial contributions to: The American Red Cross or The Salvation Army

Here is a link to a photo gallery to get a small glimpse of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Lessons in Thirteen days

I am currently reading Thirteen Days by Robert Kennedy, his memoirs of the Cuban Missle Crisis. The unique, gripping account of the perilous showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union. During the thirteen days in October 1962 when the United States confronted the Soviet Union over its installation of missiles in Cuba, few people shared the behind-the-scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In a clear and simple record, he describes the personalities involved in the crisis, with particular attention to the actions and attitudes of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. He describes the daily, even hourly, exchanges between Russian representatives and American. In firsthand immediacy we see the frightening responsibility of two great nations holding the fate of the world in their hands.
President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, & Kenny O'Donnell, along with the coutless other men had upon them an overwhelming pressure to make the right decision. In the manners of diplomacy, they responded, instead of reacted. The power of a conversation, as odd as it was between Kruchev & Kennedy, the message was delivered. My point? Talk. Sometimes things get worked out in our life, career, ministry, & church, if we just talk. The Bible says, "Come Let us Reason together." It is the good will of men to do good.

Hank's Assessment of Kenneth Copeland

Hanegraaff's assessment is to distort Kenneth Copeland as the "worst of all the false teachers". He attempts to prove in his book that Kenneth Copeland does not believe in the diety of Christ, quoting one of Copeland's taped sermons about the atonement as proof:
"What (why) does God have to pay the price for this thing (the Price of sin)? He has to have a man that is like th first one. It's got to be all man. he's got to be all man. He cannot be a God and come storming in here with the attributes and dignities that are not common to man."
Well Copeland's statement sounds conclusive; he is indeed a heretic! However, by giving attention to the rest of the taped sermon (which I personally have) it becomes clearthat in the quoted segment Copeland was stressing Christ's human nature. But He goes on to quickly discuss Jesus' divine nature by saying:
"There had to be a man, but it also had to be man as pure as that first one (Adam), and there wasn't anybody left like that but God. Now somehow or another there's got to be an incarnation, there's got to be a man filled with God - there's got to be a God-man come into the earth."
So in this context of his sermon, Kenneth Copeland was completely orthodox on this issue. Anyone looking to come distort any denomination, movement, church, or ministry, they probably should get the whole truth in context. I think Hank thought everyone would just take his word for it. Well, we didn't. But Hank we love, honor & respect you. See if you could find out what's right with the Word of Faith/Charismatic Movements, you would actually find out it's biblical. :-)

Assumption is not Truthful Representation

I am reading William DeArteaga's Quenching the Spirit. It is the most coherent, well-documented and balanced defense to date of charismatic belief and practice. The chapter on Hank Hanegraaff and CRI was especially informing, due to his all out assault on Charismatic/Word of Faith/ believers. Hanegraaff's book "Christianity in Crisis" portrayed poor discernment and actually slipped into modes of destructive heresy hunting. His lack of a broad Christian historical perspective really contributed to his misjudgments. Although his book appears to be a work of great scholarshp with its massive notes & quotations. But behind that lies a profound methodological error; the assumption that listing the worst errors of a movement is a truthful representation of that movement. It is an error easily made, but it results in caricature, not analysis, and results in destructiveness, not biblical reproof. Unfortunately Hanegraaff allows his abhorence for these Movements to take him where no Christian should go....to plain distortion. I will continue tomorrow....

Henry Nouwen on Forgiving the Church

I was recently reading Dan Kimball's Vintage Faith blog and he posted this quote from Henry Nouwen on Forgiving the Church. "When we have been wounded by the Church, our temptation is to reject it. But when we reject the Church it becomes very hard for us to keep in touch with the living Christ. When we say, "I love Jesus, but I hate the Church," we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too.

The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the Church seldom asks us for forgiveness, at least not officially. But the Church as an often fallible human organization needs our forgiveness, while the Church as the living Christ among us continues to offer us forgiveness.

It is important to think about the Church not as "over there" but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer."

- Henry Nouwen www.henrinouwen.org

Aspiring to Lead a Quiet Life

I am concentrating this morning on what in the world it means in I Thesselonians 4:11 to lead a quiet life. i think this aspect of my life is a certain struggle. I want to be good at this, I want to be content and quiet and simple instead of filling every moment with...something. I do understand that God is not calling for laziness, but balance. It is my ambition and endeavor to live quietly and peacefully. We are in a society that says "busy" is productive. I am attempting to live out of my purpose, Only doing what I can do. Today is actually my "day off", so I am sitting here blogging, my kids are playing around my feet, they have cleared my books off my bookshelf, and I am listening to Andrea Bocelli. So I am actually going to begin to make my day off, a day off. No work, no ministry, no business, just rest, relax, and whatever my kids want me to do (and Tricia). From this point on I am going to attempt to live quietly, simply, peacefully, and stress free, without the feeling of always having to be busy. God requires it, my health needs, my family longs for it. I have to go to see a Cardiologist next Wednesday due to chest pains, out of breath, etc...I am actually to young to be dealing with this, so this is my wake up call. Thank you Apostle Paul for you words of wisdom.

More Thoughts on the Emerging Church

I recently came across this article on www.glennkaiser.com, he is one of contemporary christian music's founding fathers. When my parents didn't allow me to listen to "Secular Rock Music", groups like Rez Band, Petra, and Whiteheart, saved me. :-) Anyway, Glenn posted his thoughts on the Emerging Church. Check it out and let me know what you think?

My Favorite Bistro

I must tell you about one of my favorite Bistro's. It is actually right here in Savannah, TN. When we moved from Ohio, one of the frustrating things was no Starbucks around. I was used to one on a daily basis, plus I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. I found out that the nearest one was in Jackson and that was over an hour away. But one day I walked into this quaint, artsy, bistro, called Uptown just minutes from our home, and WAM,BAM,THANK YOU MAN, the Starbucks sign. What a comforting feeling that came over me, I knew all would be well. Here is what the Chester County Independent Newspaper said about Uptown;"A walk down any Manhattan street would go something like this: Gap, trendy restaurant, bank, trendy restaurant, hotel, trendy restaurant, restaurant, restaurant... However, take the restaurant out of the East Village and stick it in downtown Savannah and you have something novel."
My favorite lunch hot off the grill is the Pan grilled chicken, monteray jack cheese and sun dried tomato mayonais Panini. It is out of this world. It is sliced chicken, jack cheese and sund dried tomato mayoniase on freshly baked sour dough hoagie with lettuce, and tomato, served with kettle chips and a dill pickle. So if you are ever in the area, you must stop and visit Uptown and tell them I sent you.

I hope this doesn't hurt your feelings

I came across a great article on leadership by Peter Drucker this week. I don't write much about leadership because everyone else does, but I thought some of this was pretty profound. Check out the following excerpt...

What leaders know
All the effective leaders I (Peter Drucker) have encountered-both those I worked with and those I merely watched-knew four simple things:

1. The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. Some people are thinkers. Some are prophets. Both roles are important and badly needed. But without followers, there can be no leaders.

2. An effective leader is not someone who is loved or admired. He or she is someone whose followers do the right things. Popularity is not leadership. Results are.

3. Leaders are highly visible. They therefore set examples.

4. Leadership is not rank, privileges, titles, or money. It is responsibility

Point number 2 really smacked me upside the head. I spend way too much time worrying about what people think about me, how telling the truth will make them feel, whether my 24 hour deoderant is still working. (Well, maybe I should worry about that last one) Those under my leadership need my honest feedback, not empty pats on the back and generalizations.

Leadership is measured in results, not popularity. I hope everyone is okay with that.

Answer to the question, "why"

It seems from one of my previous blogs some have asked me to answer my own question of "why" this had to happen to Christopher Lyons. And truthfully it must be answered with "I don't know". I do know this, it takes character and integrity in an individual to fight for a cause and a nation, knowing the possibilities of death, and still stand strong and fight against the evils of the world. We all know Freedom isn't Free, it cost somebody something....Life. But not knowing the answer to certain questions in life is ok. Asking God questions is ok. It is at these moments that we walk by faith and not by sight, and truly trust in the Lord with all of our hearts, and try not to lean on our understanding but in all of our ways acknowledge the Lord and he will direct our paths. As heartbreaking as it is, death is a part of life. It is just our desire to live a long, healthly, & prosperous life here on earth, because it is a gift from God. There is hope and peace when a believer in Jesus Christ passes away, because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And as I heard one minister say about the passing of his mother, "she is not in my past, but in my future".
A possible logical answer to the question could be in what actually took place: War: Islamic Terrorist (insurgents) fired rocket grenades and gun fire at our soldiers resulting in death. The possible root of this event is caused from the heartless actions of Radical Islamic terrorists who are attempting to rid the world of what they call unbelievers, so they can earn their salvation & rule the world. The Prayer of the MUFTI of Jerusalem, SHEIKH EKRIMA SOBRI, Two weeks before September 11, 2001 said, "Allah, there is no strength but your strength. Destroy, therefore, the Zionist occupation and its helpers and its agents. Destroy the U.S. and its helpers and its agents....Allah, grant victory to Islam and the Muslims in the coming war." I trust this may bring some clarity to the question of "why".

The Number One Mistake Most Preachers Make

The Monday Morning Insight blog had an interesting article on the number one mistake most preachers make. Here is the Link: The Number One Mistake Most Preachers Make