Hyperventilate...or breathe deep?

We're wrapping up our closing session as I'm typing this. The past 3 days of fellowship, networking, encouragement, and food (we ARE Baptist...) has been great. Did I mention how much I love San Antonio?

Thanks to the SBTC for putting this together again for the 4th year. Wolf, Lasater, and all the staff have done an outstanding job.

We're heading back home after lunch....good times.

Sigh..

sigh.

It's About Time...

From the May 4th Baptist Press article:

Baptists from diverse backgrounds issue an apology for our 'narrowing', 'unloving', and 'narcissistic' actions. They issued the 'Memphis Declaration'.

"Expressing displeasure over what they call a
“narrowing of cooperation through exclusionary theological and
political agendas” in the Southern Baptist Convention, a group of
Southern Baptist conservatives issued a document May 3 announcing their
desire to seek renewal in the convention, their churches and their
personal lives through repentance."

There are eight points to the declaration. Here are a few to whet your appetite:

#1- We publicly repent of triumphalism about
Southern Baptist causes and narcissism about Southern Baptist
ministries which have corrupted our integrity in assessing our
denomination bureaucracy, our churches, and our personal witness in
light of the sobering exhortations of Scripture. Therefore, we...

#2- We publicly repent of an arrogant spirit that
has infected our partnership with fellow Christians in the advance of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, without the hearing of which men are
incapable of conversion. Therefore, we .....

#3- We publicly repent of having condemned those
without Christ before we have loved them, and that we have acted as
judge of those for whom Christ died by failing to live with a
redemptive spirit toward them. Therefore, we...

#6- We publicly repent of having misplaced our
priorities on the building and sustaining of institutions of secondary
and far inferior importance than the local church. Therefore, we...


BTW, it comes as no surprise that our buddy Wade Burleson was part of this...

I'm not sure how this can possibly be a bad thing for the Kingdom (although I'm sure someone can spin it as such...). If you'd like to read the whole article, go here.

Any thoughts?

Don't Read This

If you're going to read this, don't bother.

After a couple of posts you'll move on to something else. So forget it. Get out before things change. Save yourself.

Or, at least try.

There has to be something better on television. American Idol? 24? Desperate Housewives? Or since you have so much time on your hands, maybe you could take a night class. Become a court reporter. Make something out of yourself. Treat yourself to dinner out. Color your hair.

You're not getting any younger.

If you click here, and follow the instructions, your neat little life may just take a dramatic change.

So don't do it.

ReImagining Youth Ministry

Some good thoughts are going on over at Mark Riddle's blog (even for an Okie).

The YS/Zondervan marriage.

An upcoming film on the life of Kyle Lake (former pastor at Waco's UBC).

For those interested, there are 3 posts concerning the 're-imagining of student ministry' here. Good things. It's about time we, as student ministers, grew up and started becoming pastoral. Start looking at the big picture. Start seeing parents as allies instead of obstacles. Start ministering to the family.

I'm glad others see it.

But it saddens me that it needed to be blogged about....

Starving Jesus

"Too often Christians spend their time praying, talking, and being spiritual but not getting their hands dirty. The book of James says, “Faith without works is dead.”

On August 5, 2006, Craig Gross and J.R. Mahon of XXXchurch jump into an RV and head out on a 40-day, 40-city tour across the United States. The tour begins in Northern California and concludes 40 days later in New York City on September 13th. The tour is designed to help
Churches meet the needs of people in their cities. The tour will also be an encouragement to people to act out their faith."

Go here to read a preview of the conversation at StarvingJesus.com

Looks like a great way to get out of the pew and into the community. We'll be keeping tabs on this!

Table for 2? Smoking or Non?

Thanks, Steve. (Enjoy Resurgence...)


If you want to win the world to Christ you’re going to have to sit in the smoking section.
- Neil Cole

He's Alive!!!

Sheesh. It's been just shy of 60 days since my last post.

What started out as a temporary layover in Downtime, turned into a hectic flurry of projects, family crises, ministry urgencies, and a side trip into the the land of ....rest.

It began as a critical need to unplug. I was way overstressed. Over-committed to the wrong things. Good things, like 'working for God' kinds of things. But I found myself without time to be a Dad, a Husband, and a Lover of Christ. All of a sudden, I had gone nearly two weeks without reading the Scripture for the sake of knowing God...I had only studied it for the purpose of teaching a lesson.

What the heck?!?

As God has a tendency to do, he provides. He's provided some great men in my life I consider as friends. Men I can vent to, pray with, cry with, and be encouraged by. God provided me a boat (seriously) that I can escape to and just be with Him. I've been reminded of how often Jesus withdrew to lonely places to be with his Abba Daddy. Good times.

Through a handful of bloglinks (I'll share another time...I've got staff meeting in 10 minutes), I've run into other guys and girls who also struggle with the balancing 'pursing Christ' with 'event planning'. Face it, after 19 years of doing this, event planning is cake. If you can't put together a weekend retreat or a camp after this long, you need to see if Best Buy is still hiring.

But the struggle is finding time to 'waste' with God. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to be quiet and removed enough to hear that still small voice we're always blabbing about. Unplug. Log off. The messages in your inbox will be here when you get back. Your IM conversations will still be blinking. The world will continue to revolve....without your help.

My wife and kids don't need a manager, they need a Daddy/Husband who knows God, not just knows about God. The students in our ministry don't need another lesson on why they shouldn't have sex on Prom Night. They need adults who drink deep from the Living Water, who's bellies are full on the Bread of Life, not ESPN.

I'm in the process of breaking in a new Bible (which I HATE, btw). But it's time to do so. It's for a number of reasons which we'll have to talk about later---I have staff meeting now. So, yeah, the clock keeps ticking, my Outlook appointments keep reminding me of my LIfeway meeting tomorrow, my lunch appointment at 11:30, my need to call and check on a parent that recently had surgery, a follow-up with a couple of volunteers, band practice tonite, an interview with a summer intern, .....you get the picture. Sure, God understands all this. But He demands I put Him at the top of the list.

Remember...