NUMBER 1!!!

Getting to this point will be unavoidably anti-climactic.

So...She is the best woman I know. Period. No arguments. No question.

The last song for the Countdown to 43.



You can see all the posts on '43' by clicking the countdown to 43 label

Countdown to 43...#2

2. I can imagine being w/ anyone else. To me she has no equal.

Countdown...#6,5,4,3

6. She loves people.
5. She has boundless energy.
4. She loves me.
3. She is wise.

Here's today music...



I apologize for all the country music attached to these posts. It's just that Ted Nugent never wrote a good love song :-)

Sunday Wrap Up

This Sun PM was our big kids Christmas Program.

The kids did a fantastic job. Alyson, Eli, and Brianna did an excellent job in their leading characters. Jim and Lydia did great as our underprivileged rappers.

It was a fantastic night, well attended and well received.

Countdown to 43...#13-7.

13. She is so enthusiastic about things she loves.
12. She works fine behind the scenes. She doesn't need the limelight.
11. She is forthright. She isn't into flattery.
10. She is beautiful but doesn't realize it.
9. She knows what she wants. She isn't trying to find herself.
8. She considers being a wife and mom a high calling.
7. She's content without being complacent.

For the music this week we will go with an old standard...I Will Be Here

Convicting words from an atheist

There's nothing to add. Except maybe...ouch.

Action Ministries

Tonight about 5 of us went over to Action Ministries in Latonia to help organize the food products. The youth served in this same manner last month.

I was very impressed by the professionalism. To understand that it was run solely by volunteers was phenomenal.

AM provides a much need services to struggling families. Their work seems to be top notch.

To use a phrase on our way home (with donated Crunch Ice Cream Bars in hand)the two hours we put in were 'meaningful'.

My hat is off to the leaders and volunteers @ AM.

Countdown #16,15,14

16. She has a beautiful smile.
15. She is thoughtful.
14. She has a great voice.

We'll let Steven Tyler give us our music for today's post...

Countdown to 43...#19,18,17

My musical thoughts on what I often think about...



19. She feels very deeply.
18. She has the respect of her peers.
17. She gets prettier w/ age.

Countdown to 43

On my continued quest to narrow down to 43 things I love about my wife as she approaches her birthday...

25. She is good @ whatever she does.
24. She doesn't enable whiny-ness.
23. She doesn't do anything half-way.
22. She is beautiful.
21. She runs the day to day details of family life very well.
20. She models a godly wife to the kids.

For my musical tribute...

Lord's Supper reflections

As is often the case the Lord's Supper was moving and thought provoking.

On the previous post you can listen to some music we used. The first 3 songs were pre-service music. The last song was a closing congregational.

One of the best changes of the church over the last decade was to move the service from being an after service after thought to an 'ancient, quasi liturgical, service'.

There is always a greater sense of gravity. There is solid participation from the church w/ readings etc.

This time was special in the fact that we had father/son teams serving. The Bamforths, the Kohls, Ayers, Dutys and Mike Kay.

I think it is past due for the leaders to not always be the default servers. They need to be w/ their families. Plus others need the honor of serving.

Lord's Supper Music

What Have We Done by Mars Hill band: Northern Conspiracy

"

Come Thou Fount by Sufjan Stevens


My Jesus I Love Thee
"

Jesus Messiah

Today my son turns 17

Zak is 17 today.

All the cliches are true. It has went by too fast. I am not ready to see him leave for college. Etc, etc.

He is a good kid. I've been continuously proud of him.

If I were to narrow down one prayer for him on this birthday it would be...
"Lord make him the kind of man that you can use. Make him the kind of man that will matter in your church and your kingdom. Make him the kind of man that a godly wife can trust and lean on. Make him the kind of man that rules his family well and his kids can respect. Make him the kind of man that an employer would want. Make him the kind of man that will provide for his family, give to his church and help those in need. In it all help him to believe the words of Jesus, "Without Me you can do nothing."

Clarity

This Wed I am teaching on the value of modern translations. I'll use these clips to show both speeches are powerful. But the Mel Gibson speech has the added benefit of clarity.

In today's world of language the KJV is still powerful and majestic. But the faithful modern translations gives the added plus of clarity.

This is the prologue from one of my fave movies Henry V


This is a clip from We Were Soldiers...

Mission Trips

In case you aren't a geography major it is Mexico, Kenya and Peru.

visited 4 states (1.77%)
Create your own visited map of The World or try another Douwe Osinga project

States we've done mission work in...KY, New York, Vermont and Montana


visited 4 states (8%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or try another Douwe Osinga project

New-vember 30th Family Service

~ The set up was excellent. It felt like being in someone's living room @ Christmas. We even had a fireplace.

~ Cooperation and leadership was great. People pitched in and knocked out the work very efficiently.

~ The solos of music, poetry and even origami was really fun and well done.

~ Why can't we have cookies in all of our servies?!

~ Preached on getting involved in the Kingdom of God beyond just our local church. It was a good theme, well received I hope.

~ New-vember has been great. I'll miss it when things get back to normal.

~ Next Sun PM...Lord's Supper!!

I know what you are asking...

Ron could you recommend a good headbanging Christmas song circa 1984? Break out the net tank tops, parachute pants and crank it up!!

Heavy Christmas by 220 Volt

Countdown to 43 part 4

As we march towards my wife's 43rd bday I am glad to list 43 things I love about her. Here are a few more from an ongoing series of posts.

29. She is a leader.
28. She is smart and driven.
27. Responsible to the extreme.
26. She is fun to be around.

Here's my song for today's countdown...

Countdown to 43 part III

32. She challenges me. Thus, she makes me better.
31. She has beautiful blue eyes.
30. Her spiritual life is real and mature.

This week's music for countdown to 43...When I Said I Do

I admit it...I have a man crush

Tim Keller ~ Redeemer Presbyterian NYC

Countdown to 43 part 2

This is my continued series in the countdown to my wife's 43rd bday. These are a continuation of the 43 things I love about her...

36. She's a model of hard work (sounds Prov 31-ish)
35. She's a combination of tough and feminine.
34. She's very generous.
33. It's funny trying to watch her try to be funny.

My weekly musical (and corny @ times) contribution to my wife as she nears her bday.

My 100th post!!!!

What should this historical post be about?

How about you know your battery is dead when you have to jump it 3 times to get your car 1.5 miles. Yep, that was my Friday morning. Yes, I did change the battery.

Follow up: Alternator shot. Ouch.

Thought Provoking

This video is rooted in Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley CA. They are a mega church that was preparing to spend $60 million on a new building. The pastor Francis Chan was convicted that it was wrong for them to spend so much on a facility when so much else could be done w/ the money.

They have decided to build an amphitheater instead. Now they are giving away 50% of all that comes in.

Pretty amazing.

Countdown to 43

My wife Lisa will turn 43 @ the end of Dec. Between now and then I want to list 43 things I love about her (due to my lack of organization these won't necessarily be in order).

43. She is Zak's mom (she is a great mom).
42. She is Alyson's mom (she is a great mom).
41. She is Eli's mom (she is a great mom).
40. She is strong & independent. A quality I hope is reproduced in our kids.
39. She demands respect from her kids. She can drop the hammer like no one else!
38. She is the best mom ever! (from guest blogger ~ Eli)
37. Hot.

Here's for the hot mom of my kids...

Random thoughts

I am conflicted about Saturday. It was great hanging out with 10 fellow MMA fans @ Buffalo Wild Wings for the Couture/Lesnar fight. I hated seeing Lesnar win. He just oozes smugness.

Watched Get Smart on DVD. I like Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway and Dwayne Johnson so that was an immediate plus. It won't go down in the annals of movie genius, but it was entertaining. I laughed out loud when Maxwell Smart was in the airplane bathroom trying to get out of his handcuffs.

This is a tattoo that I am considering to have arch over my zeal tattoo. If you are unfamiliar w/ the zeal tattoo it stands for my family Zak,Eli,Alley,and Lisa.

To try to stay motivated with running I have created a running blog to track my progress. It is here.

Reflections on New-vember 16th PM service.
~ Great turn out.
~ Great vibe.
~ I liked learning about people's accomplishments, especially our more introverted people.
~ It takes many people to make these things happen. Dave K, Dave S Sr., Josh, Tim, Lisa and Mike Kay just to name a few.
~ I did feel the sermon was off. Maybe suffering wasn't the best topic for that setting.

~ My wife gave some of the best insight of my adult life this week. Nope, I am not going to tell. But it illustrates, "he who finds a good wife finds a treasure" like the Bible teaches.

Really, really bad theology!!

"Only willing love is worth the price..." This anti-Calvinist song neglects the fact that sovereignty does recognize 'willing love'. The difference is we cannot love God as He commands by our nature. He has to change us. This is the born again we read of.
So we are made truly willing, by His grace. It is the natural 'free will' of man that is 'not willing so that they may receive life.'

On so many levels this song is amazing.

Websites I like

It is interesting when blogs first came on the scene I thought who would be interested? Now, I feel that way about twitter. Nevertheless, very few websites stay on my radar. But of the few here they are...

Hulu...I hardly watch TV. I catch the few shows that I do like on hulu @ my convenience.

The Art of Manliness...The title says it all.

MMA Linker...Catch some of the fights from time to time.

That about does it.

I still don't get twitter.

Obama = Anti-Christ? Thoughts borrowed from 9 Marks

9Marks Blog:

"I don't know if Obama is a Christian or not. If he's not, then he's antichrist in the sense that anyone who is not for Jesus is against him (Luke 11:23). But then so is my next door neighbor who smokes pot in his garage until 5:00 AM on Sunday mornings. Whether or not the president-elect is for Jesus or against him isn't my call to make.

But more importantly, this question seems to take a very America-centric view of eschatology. Monsters like Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and Josef Stalin have all risen and fallen and have not been the harbinger of the end times. But this guy wants to socialize our health care, and Jesus is supposed to be so enraged that he will come storming back to save us?

Please. The Christian faith is doing great. Christ's church is being built. The gospel is exploding in other parts of the world. It's not the end of the world... just because you think America's going down the tubes or because you don't like the guy elected to lead one branch of the government for the next four years.

If you're struggling... just take a deep breath, put down your copy of Left Behind, and pray for the president-elect."

HT: Vitamin Z

Yep that's me ...No common sense

Blogs I follow

I enjoy blogs. They are short and succinct. I only have a few I check on each day. Here they if you are interested.

1.Bigfoot Boys
2.Reformissionary This is a cheat. I go to his "blogs I read" and check out Ben Arment, Ed Stetzer and Justin Taylor.
3.Buzzard Blog
4.Gary Lamb

Except for the Bigfoot Boys (my fave blog) the rest are ministry blogs.

Next time I may toss out a few websites that I find beneficial.

Spoken w/ clarity

I am too much of a contrarian to fully sign off on virtually any person or position. But I do love clarity. I also admire when a person speaks having clearly "thought their thoughts through."

I read Gen. Powell's bio years ago and was impressed. This interview impresses me as well.

It's a good thing....

Weird title coming from a conservative Christian. So let me explain...
*It is a good thing that a racial divide has been crossed. 40 years ago MLK was shot.

*It is a good thing that the black community has someone representing them that is not the angry black man i.e Sharpton or Jackson.

*It is a good thing that people on both sides moved beyond the malaise and voted their conscience.

*It is a good thing that Sen. McCain spoke with such grace and honor during his concession speech. It may be the finest speech I have ever heard. It was far better than Obama's victory speech.

*It is a good thing that as a political nation that America is in the words of Bill Bennett "the last great hope." As a great nation we can still be supportive of our leaders where they stand for right, stand as an obstacle when they are wrong (on such issues as abortion and gay marriage) and pray for them as they lead @ a level we will never know.

*It is a good thing that the only vote that counted came from Heaven. Romans 13 all gov't is given by Him.

A good post on the subject of the election can be found @ the resurgence.

Can these guys do no wrong?

This is the Ghost of Floyd from Blackstone Cherry's new album...

Wow...

The context is a young Muslim mother wants to come to faith in Christ but is terrified.



Go to jihad watch and scroll down to Oct 25th to read the context.

Great subject makes great songs...

Some songs are great because they have great music behind them such as Blackfoot's Train Train. Some songs are just catchy like 3 Doors Down 'Train'. Others are great because of the subject. The following is in the latter category ~ Great subject...

Planning for Missions...

Every other year our church takes a mission trip. We alternate between domestic and international. Thus far we have been to Mexico ('99), Kenya ('01), Montana ('03), Peru ('05), New York City ('06), Vermont/NYC ('07). So it is time to plan for summer of '09.

The problem arising is there are so few affordable international flights (under $1,000 per person). So I am looking at different possibilities. Nevertheless a decision has to be made soon. The following video get me excited about going international again. Enjoy...

Steve Brown Southern Baptist Missionary to Moravia Eastern Europe

Walk down memory lane...

When Zak was born I hand painted a Tiny Toons Mural on his wall. Here is why Tiny Toons was great!!

The latetest brain food...

Lately, I have been a little more mentally active. Here are some of the latest things that I have been processing...

1. So You Don't Want to go to Church: the premise is the local church is so institutionalized and given to keeping the machinery running that it sucks the life from people. I agree with the book that there is always the specter of professional church looming. I also agree that there is too much focus on keeping the machinery running. In the end the author throws out the baby with the bathwater.

2. Simply Church: the premise is that there should be more house churches. I think that house churches or micro churches are good in theory. I know for a fact that the early churches met in homes. I also like the fact that house churches are probably more flexible and more relational.

Overall, the book is good. It paints the house church as the Promised Land for those who feel like the traditional/institutional church has lost sight of the prize. The authors fail to mention that house churches generally don't have long lives and have their own issues.

3. Total Church: Still processing this book. It is written by the leaders of the Crowded House church planting movement. They are far more theological robust than is represented in 'So You Don't Want to go to Church' and 'Simply Church.' I would like to see a few more anecdotes and practical illustrations. Overall I think it is a great resource to work through.

4. The Smurfs Season 1~ Volume 1. Little blue people. La-la-lala-la. What else needs to be said?

I know I'm a nerd but...

...I like this song:



But I also like Jethro Tull which is similar.

Random Thoughts...

*I find this song thought provoking.

Casting Crowns are one of those rare bands that take the human condition and the Bible seriously. They don't seem to have Christian diddies as a musical goal.



*I am reading The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch. Intriguing. One quote jumped out @ me, "Consumerism is an alternative religion." His premise is: we are looking for identity and peace in what we consume. ~ Interesting.

*I really, really, really love my family.

*I am bummed about having missed running over the last week. Strained knee tendon. I overdid it.

*I am going through the book of Acts and highlighting each time a church is planted. It is amazing how much got done w/ little of modern day ministry resources.

*I am firm believer in theological preciseness. Yet, I weary of 'the way' to do such things as ministry. People are complex. Communities are complicated. To think that we can develop a particular way of doing church as the only possible way is naive and frustrating.

Here's my problem...

First off, I reject evolutionary theory and it's Christianized half brothers and sisters. I know there are Christians who embrace it, I know guys like Spurgeon was a fan of the gap theory. But since this is my blog I'll go on record as leaning towards Young Earth Creatiionism (admitting there is still a lot of questions and too many nuts).

But awkwardly forcing Jesus into every nook and cranny where at best it is a non-issue and at worst is silly is damaging to the claims of Christianity.

We have no record of Jesus riding a dino. We have no need for Jesus to ride a dino. Nor do we have a record of Jesus playing soccer w/ kids or bench pressing the Cross.

Why can't we let Jesus be power w/o being a gym rat, a lover of children w/o being the permissive weekend Dad and the ancient of days without being a dino-cowboy?

The answer? We are a people who want to reverse the imago dei. We don't desire to celebrate being made in the image of God. We want God made in our image.

Either that or we are a bunch of shallow rednecks.

And...?

Benched from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

This is my cantankerous comment: Some young Christian guys built a bench at a bus stop.Great. But this thing is flying around the internet Christian world like they had led Osama bin Laden to Christ. Too many normal decent activities are being defined as kingdom work etc. Come on people! Let's stop lowering the bar and making mountains out of molehills.

I feel purged.

Just Because It ROCKS!!!!

Ray Boltz: Coming Out

For those who listened to CCM in the 80s and 90s the name Ray Boltz is a household name. Mr. Boltz may be best known for his song 'Thank You' (a song my wife and I had in our wedding at my insistence. She certainly does not 'thank me' for that choice).

Mr. Boltz has come out of the closet and went public with his homosexuality. You can see the link to the story by going here. WARNING!The link goes to the Washington Blade a pro-gay site that shows ads such as men kissing.

The profile closes with Boltz saying, “This is what it really comes down to,” he says. “If this is the way God made me, then this is the way I’m going to live. It’s not like God made me this way and he’ll send me to hell if I am who he created me to be … I really feel closer to God because I no longer hate myself."

Although, we can all feel for Mr.Boltz's inner battle with homosexuality, to 'Christianize' it and assume that it is the better choice because he feels better about himself does not justify his actions.

We live in an age where feelings justify actions. Yet, in Mt 15 Jesus reminds us bad actions stems from a bad heart. Feelings have their place. But they are not there to countermand the clear commands of Scripture.

9/11...7th Anniv.

What makes this video unique is it was originally a documentary on NYPD firefighters in training. While on a typical run the WTC gets hit. This may be the only video that shows the first tower getting hit. It also has the first minutes of the firefighters getting to the WTC.

It is said that Americans have short memories. In many cases that is a blessing. But allowing the the attacks of 9/11 to fade into the past is not a luxury we can afford.

Not anti-Cincy

I'm enjoying this video from 3 Doors Down. It's not that I think it is a great song (for a great song check out the Blackstone Cherry video). The reason I like it is it was made in Cincy. So I enjoy trying to recognize areas.

Living in N.KY it is amazing how people have a negative attitude towards Cincy. I love the way that we are within 30 mins of a quality museum, major sports teams, etc.

Maybe it stems from living half my life being so far back in the hills it took an hour just to get to a K-Mart. But I love being near the city.

Sunday Mind Dump 8/31/08

*I am taking off 2 weeks of teaching SS. Paul did a great job covering for me. Participating and not leading the class is different. I really like the way people are thinking through the issues.

*AM Church -Church Dinner-12:45pm 'evening 'church. The way God meant it to be!

*Danny did a great job speaking on how the Gospel had tangibly changed his life.

*Gearing up for the big Fall Push. We haven't done something like this in a while. It's one of those things where we can do our part but if God doesn't show up it's a flop.

*We had someone chunk down $1,000 to use for our Fall Push. Amazing!!

*In the words of the old preachers, I felt that God assisted me in the preaching.

*Under the 'things I wished I could change' category: The lay out of the auditorium. It is like preaching down a hallway. I feel so disconnected from the people when I speak.

*Attendance reflected it was a 3 day weekend. Of course I have never been a fan of the preacher induced guilt of not going to see family when you can because attendance may drop. In today's society you have to see distant family whenever the opportunity arises.

*Right now the Holy Spirit seems to have the church in 'the groove'. We just need to see Him bring people to faith.

It ate my lunch

Since I turned 40 @ the end of May I decided I would start running. First, it was for the fitness. I had become extremely sedentary. Then I set a goal of running the Flying Pig Half Marathon in May 09. The amazing thing that has come out of the last few months of pounding the pavement isn't fitness or goal setting but how much I enjoy running. Even stranger, is the harder the run the more I enjoy it (after it is done). For instance the run I did this last week, a simple 4.7 miler that has a 1 mile vertical climb, ATE MY LUNCH! The first time I tried it I literally got sick and had to walk. The next time I was able to make it all the way with my lunch in tact.

It is funny how our natural default is ease, nevertheless there is nothing more satisfying than an all out challenge.

A lesson from the land of Democrats

In the honor of forthright honesty: I neither watched nor listened to the DNC speeches. What I have heard was from listening to NPR.

The strain of questioning on the Diane Rhem Show revolved around, "Does Hillary really support Obama?" You have to admit it would be hard to be a full throated supporter of someone who just trounced your decades old dream. Nevertheless, she seems to be willing to support him in the cause of supporting the DNC platform and ideals.

The lesson:

In the life of the church we cannot always support Bro______ or Sister________. But, like Hillary with her beloved Democrats, we Christians can in the name of unity and for the love of the church that Jesus purchased with His blood, minimize conflicts. We do this by keeping our eye on the greater prize. That prize is being a faithful servant who loves the church and serves Jesus through the church.

If Hillary refused to support Obama that would probably be a large enough fracture to doom the Democrats hope of regaining the White House. If Christians in the local church refuse to support one another, that will be a large enough fracture to doom the hope of our influencing our communities for Christ.

A Bible lesson from Hillary, who would have thought?

Church Planting - redeemer.com

Church Planting - redeemer.com

For anyone fascinated by church planting as I am, click on the link from Tim Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian.

Chuck Norris is the man

A few C.N. facts...

1. If Chuck has $5 and you have $5 Chuck has more money than you.

2.Chuck has counted to infinity...twice.

3.The last digits of pi is chuck norris.

4.If you can see Chuck he can see you. If you can't see Chuck you may only be seconds away from death.

5.Chuck Norris likes to knit sweaters in his spare time. By 'knit' he means kick. By 'sweaters' he means babies.

Too good

These are a bunch or rednecks from Louisville KY. They can get after it.

The lead singer reminds me of Meat Loaf.

Partying like it was 1989

This weekend was a Youth Group reunion for we who were part of the Landmark Baptist Youth circa late 80s.

As you can imagine there were some shiny heads, paunchy bellies and generous amounts of gray represented among those of us formerly known as 'youth'.

Gone are the rockin' mullets, the fly parachute pants and bangs that stood up so high FAA required beacons mounted atop them so planes would not accidentally fly into their path.

What was the takeaway for me on the other side of the Reunion? While running the risk of sounding politcally incorrect, what people were as a youth seemed to be what they are now as they enter the land of the middle-aged. The wild ones generally looked like they lived the wild life. The spiritual ones appear to have stayed in church and now are raising their children in the
'discipline and nurture of the Lord.'

Without doubt there is the exception on both sides of that equation. But it encourages me that raising my children to value the Scriptures and the God of the Bible appears to pay life long dividends. Also, as more than one of the 'wild ones' testified, after a long hard journey God also welcomes the prodigal to return.

Long live spandex and mesh tank tops!!

10 Year Anniversary as Pastor

Tomorrow (August 3rd) I'll celebrate 10 years as pastor at Alexandria's First Baptist Church.

Reflections on a decade...

1. Fun. We have had times to where church was fun. We need to re-capture that.

2. God is faithful. I feel like many times he has held the sun still for us so that we can fight our
way through the adversity.

3. Stress has revealed my own sin, which leads to the opportunity for sanctification.

4. It seems odd that anyone age from teens down only remember me as their pastor (if they have been raised in this church).

5. The great challenge is to keep the energy and optimism level high enough to keep pushing.

6. I love what I do and I love AFBC.

7. It really is amazing at the amount of things God has enabled AFBC to do and accomplish.

Mind Dump

A couple of times a week I run up to Mt Adams. My route is either across the People Bridge and up to Mt. Adams. Sometimes I feel energetic and go from Newport to Covington back into Cincy and up to Mt. Adams and back to Newport.


I have found the esv.org website invaluable as I plod my way from cover to cover in 2008. One helpful hint is if I am not in a reading mood I can listen to Max McClean read to me.

I have been enjoying our Gravity AM sermon series. It has been an overview of the Doctrines of Grace. The D.O.G. generally breaks down to Radical Rebellion, God's Free Choice, Success upon the Cross, Guaranteed Success of Grace, Following Jesus as a Result of Grace.
These doctrines are often considered 'Calvinism'. The thing about that view is Calvin did not originate 'Calvinism'. It was Waldensian doctrine 400 years before his birth. It was Augustinianism 800 years before the Waldensians. It was NT doctrine 400 years before Augustine.

Calvin did not give birth to the doctrines of grace. He systematized them. He was an organizer of the doctrine as set forth in the Bible.

This is odd... there has been no music, books or movies that have really grasped me lately.

Coming up on 10 years...

Alright, this may be a little early but lately I've been thinking of the changes pastoring for
10 years have made. For clarity's sake the anniversary date won't be until August 2nd. But, I became interim pastor on Feb 2nd 1998 and rolled into the pastorate uninterrupted in August 1998. For all practical purposes 10 years is about right.

So what tell all dirty secrets can now be revealed?
*I am glad I didn't know in the beginning how hard it could be. It can be brutal.
*I couldn't have imagined some of the things I have seen God do.
*All the pastor can do is lead people to the opportunity to grow. He can't be responsible for
how they respond to that opportunity.
*God has placed some incredibly gifted and faithful people in our church.
*In the words of John MacArthur there has been a time when, "I would have moved on if God
had provided some place to go."
*I spent about 6 mos being very angry. I'm glad that passed.
*With 10 years of hindsight I am glad God made me tough out the hard times. They have been
great lessons of friendship, leadership and commitment.
*Church and by extension church leadership is like baseball...a lot of waiting for something to
happen and then something exciting happens.
*I'm glad I have my zeal tattoo that reminds me of my family Zak, Eli, Alyson and Lisa. Too many pastors place their family low on the priority list. They are always on my left arm. In Isa God talks about having His people tattooed on His hands. In Rev. Jesus has a tattoo on His leg. Also it represents Isa 42:13.
*I am glad my children have been raised in this church among our people and not somewhere else.

Any other great confession you will have to wait for the movie.

18 Years of Marriage and Counting

This Monday, April 14th (Pete Rose's birthday) was Lisa and my 18th anniversary.

I am right on the edge of being married half my life (I'm 39). I have been with Lisa over half my life (since I was 19).

The funny thing is it's been a fast 18 years but I can't hardly remember a time we weren't together. So for the 3 people who occasionally read this blog out of boredom here is my anniversary thoughts...

1. I don't get people who choose divorce. I'm talking about the 'out of love' or 'irreconcilable' stuff.
I cannot imagine wanting to date!

2. We've been through a lot together. There have been times we were so poor we didn't have
'a pit to hiss in' (as one old guy used to put it). We've had health worries with our kids at one point or another. We've had a lot of hurt and worry that comes from being in the ministry.
Yet in all of it being married was a constant strength.

3. She could have done much better than me.

4. In most ways I hope our children have her approach to life.

5. I think she is so used to me that she'll keep me!

Spring So Far

Spring has freshly arrived and things are feeling good.

Some positives that God has allowed me to be a part of lately...
*With the warm weather this week, I went to hang out @ the Cov Library again. I would love for God to show me how to connect w/ the library guys. All in time I guess.

*We have one of our men stepping up to commit himself to deeper discipleship. I really need God to teach me how to encourage and guide our men who want more than avg Christianity.

*Very excited about our people who are taking part in the Daniel Fast. It is fantastic to see people who want God to move in a very real way.

*Excited and nervous about the upcoming Man Hour on April 26th.

Under the heading of difficult...

The passing of Amy Huff's mother the day after Easter. I'm sure Amy is aware her church is here to pray and support her through this time.

The Crash of the laptop. If you have noticed the website is slightly outdated, now you know why. I have a tech call in hoping to get the website back on line.

Let it snow...Let it snow...Let it snow...

One of the biggest snows in a few seasons had officially hit the metropolis of Alexandria KY.

How bad was it? I had to walk the 3/4 mile round trip to the Shell station to get my Diet Mt. Dew fix! I felt like it was Little House on the Prairie.

The great blizzard of '08 has caused our first church closing in the last year or so. Admittedly, the idea of kicking back on a Sunday sounds relaxing, in the end tomorrow will feel weird. Having lost time of corporate worship will be different.

In my ongoing streak of narcissism I will give you some more lists...

5 places I would like to visit...

1. Iceland...It looks adventurey.
2. North Korea...Curiosity.
3. Denmark...At one time we had plans of being missionaries there.
4. Alaska...The outdoors.
5. A jungle...When we were in Peru we missed our chance. The cocaine farmers had went on strike and the road to the jungle shut down.

5 great movies...

1. Braveheart.
2. Henry V.
3. Batman Begins.
4. The Illusionist.
5. The Prestige.

Mindless Drivel

In an effort to keep this small corner of a small mind from being completely inactive here are some things occupying my time and thinking.

Books

Music

Blogs...
Ted Conference
The T.E.D. presenters are scary smart.

Reformissionary
Pastor from Ill. Steve has a lot of good thoughts and links.

Fox
This is where I get my House MD fix.

What is about about the particular books and music I listed that makes them outstanding to me?

Books
*The ESV Reformation Bible... I like the translation. I like the Reformed (aka Calvinistic) notes.

*Men's Health. I need to get more active. It inspires and interests.

*The Feasts of the Lord... This is a subject I don't know well. It is new and therefore interesting.

*10 Distinctions Millionaire/Middle Class... It addressed my thinking. I didn't get much financial info out of it but mindset info.

*Why Men Hate Going to Church... Great resource to start thinking church from a pro-guy angle.

Music
Casting Crowns...One of the few Christian bands that I think are deep and talented.

Blackstone Cherry...Old School Southern Rock out of KY.

5 things I would like to be if I were not a Pastor (they assume I would have the skills to do the job) ...
*Theoretical physicist.
*Astronaut.
*Some sort of extreme athlete.
*Explorer/Adventurer
*Navy Seal.

5 People I would like to have met/meet...
*Jesus... I know this is cliche. I know I will meet Him. But for now I would like to know His sense of humor, listen to Him about walking on water or the Resurrection.

*Ernest Shackleton...Polar explorer/leader extraordinaire. Read the story of the Endurance and you'll understand.

*Teddy Roosevelt...Maybe my favorite President.

*Jonathan Edwards...Brilliant theologian/pastor from the early 1700s.

*Hudson Taylor...Cutting edge Missionary to China in the 19th century.

I imagine that is more than enough for now.

Connecting w/ the Guys

On April 26th we are going to experience a whole new approach for guys. We'll have a guy environment, hang out with buddies and be challenged with the things we need to man up and deal with.

In the pre-lim we have it looking something like this;
*Hold it @ the gym. All guys feel @ home in a gym.
*Have a playlist going over the sound system of what guys actually listen to.
*Have the gym set up w/ a guy vibe.
*Throw out some humor.
*18 min challenge from a guy's guy about men issues. Our first speaker is a 13 year ex-State Trooper, construction worker and elk/mountain lion hunter.
*Have a live band.
*Demonstration of something that interests men. One of the things we are working on is a
mixed martial arts demo.
*Free food.
*A just for fun get together within a 2 weeks of the guy gathering. Paintball is a serious consideration. Follow up paintball w/ buffalo wings or something.

This is just the rough outline. Totally pumped. Motto: Obey the King. Love Your Family. Do Right.

Right now we are just calling it the 'Guys Gathering'. We'll do it once a month.

I'm sure I went to school w/ these guys...

Redneck is so funny.

A Dad Moment...

This song by Sugarland is a very moving song (see for all you who think I'm a wanna be mullet wearing, head banging throw back to the 80s, I have a sensitive side).

The moral to this post: If my daughter EVER lives out the words in this song she is going to be the first Baptist nun locked away in a convent. If any boy treats her like the guy in this song treats the woman I have two thoughts: camo paint and a homemade silencer.

Just to keep my rep for being the 80s throwback: Stand in awe...



Long live parachute pants!!

Awesome...

I pity the fool who wasn't raised in the 80s!

The Presidential Run

One thing I tell myself about the forthcoming election, "As a pastor I am not going to promote a candidate." The reasons are varied...

1. The I.R.S. won't allow it.
2. People do think for themselves.
3. The issues and morals ought to inform voting, not the pastor having a bully pulpit.
4. I'm not that high on anyone. Ron Paul looks interesting, but he isn't going to get anywhere. Huckabee seems alright. Fred Thompson is worse off than Paul. Guliani? No thanks. I am not as hawkish as McCain.
5. I am not 100% sure I want a Republican right now. There I said it.

So, in 2008 I am going to avoid accidentally stumping for anyone. I'll learn both sides of the issues. I'll vote my conscience. Only me and my conscience will ever know.