So when I heard about Sweet’s entry into the fiction realm and discovered I could receive a complimentary copy to review from Book Sneeze, I decided to dive in.  And I am glad I did, although I was challenged a bit…which is not a bad thing!

Without disclosing much of the content, the book is dealing with an apocalypse.  I was reading the book more as fiction (which I believe it was intended to be) versus a book describing the end of times according to the book of Revelation.  I found myself connecting with some of the characters and thinking deeply about all they were experiencing as the conflict builds in that ultimate battle between ‘good and evil’.

If you loved Left Behind and are looking for more of the same, I don’t think The Seraph Seal will be foryou.  But if you love a good read with some intrique and suspense along the apocalyptic theme, grab The Serpah Seal.  You will be glad you did!

Those are words that the Church needs to take to heart! That is why I believe those ‘within’ and ‘without’ the Church needs to read The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons. He takes a real look at why so many will not have anything to do with the Church today. And in the process, some have turned away from the faith all together.

I received the book from Waterbrook Press to review and have now been giving copies to others to read…it has impacted me that much and pray it will impact others.

As the pastor of a church that is receiving many who have been “unchurched” or “dechurched” over the years, I have found The Next Christians helps me to relate and understand at a deeper level their hurts, wounds, and struggles with the Church today. I have also appreciated the emphasis placed on the idea of ‘restoration’! As part II of the book looks at The Restorers, I have especially appreciated the challenges given in the chapters ‘Grounded, Not Distracted’, ‘In Community, Not Alone’ and ‘Countercultural, Not Relevant’.

Sometimes I am afraid the church tries so hard to be relevant, that we lose out again on what we are to be all about. The idea of being ‘countercultural’ is said best by Lyons when he writes “The next Christians refreshing personal ‘brand’ doesn’t merely fill a void of Christian inactivity, it replaces a negative brand that was somehow reflecting the opposite image of true Christianity.”

And as our church has been dealing with the sense of community, I love how Chris challenges a faith community by saying “We desperately need to be part of communities where fences are being torn down, where we’re drawn together with people who aren’t like us, where we are willing to learn from one another, where beautiful things begin to happen.”

May we all have a faith that restores us to such places.

It had to do with Carl.  I talked about Carl in a sermon a couple of weeks ago.  Carl is homeless and came by the church late one night a couple of weeks ago.  It was late and I was tired and God knew I needed Carl at that moment more than Carl needed me.

This morning after Men’s Crew, I was in my office when Carl stuck his head around the corner.  He said he was working a little more than he was a few weeks ago and there was a possibility that his job could move towards full-time.   The problem was that he needed to clean up a bit and get a haircut and a shave.  He asked me if he could have some money to go and get that done.  As I gave him some cash, I thought about the bags we have in the hallway to take and give to homeless people like Carl.

I went and got one of the bags, told him there were a bunch of different items in the bag he might be able to use and gave him one.  I wish I could describe the excitement in his eyes and his voice as he couldn’t believe it included a wash cloth and a tooth-brush.  A wash cloth and a tooth-brush! 

He was still riding the bike that one of our church members gave to him that evening.  I told him someone else had offered to bring him a bike lock if he came back around.  So he said he would come back next week and pick it up.  And I told him if he needed another bag at that time, I would give him another.

That is when I knew I didn’t need to hear anything else for the rest of the day!  Carl had spoken words of wisdom to me as he thanked me so much for the wash cloth and tooth-brush.  And what do we have to complain about today?  According to Carl…absolutely nothing!

Thanks Carl for your unexpected random act of kindness you brought to me today!  I’ll never forget what you passed on to me today…more wisdom than I could possibly ask for!

So now we come to Easter.  And the Easter Bunny has never gotten me upset enough that I have preached an “anti-Bunny sermon” during Lent.  We hide eggs at our house.  We send Easter cards and buy Easter gifts for the kids.  But something has happened that is leading me to make sure we “Keep Easter in Easter”.  And the amazing thing about it all is that it’s not what our culture or society or retailers are doing to Easter…it’s what we in the Church are doing to Easter.

Case Number One has to do with a church in our area that sent out a video to it’s church members to send out to their friends to invite them to church on Easter.  Many of you know I am usually a little edgy at times myself but this was way over the top!  It was about an Easter bunny doing a rap song that it’s not about the Easter Bunny while he smashed a kid’s candy and jumped up and down on a woman’s Easter Bonnet.  And then, at the very end, was the caption inviting them to this church on Easter.  Sorry…it just didn’t do it for me.

Case Number Two is what really got me going.  A church in Corpus Christi is giving away door prizes on Easter since Easter is all about the Ultimate Giveaway.  Since that is their theme for Easter Sunday, they are promoting their giveaways to get people into church, which include a flat screen television, skateboards, furniture and 15 cars!! 

So my question is…when is enough enough?  I have always handled churches bring in famous musicians and groups (like Rick Warren is bringing in the Jonas Brothers to perform on Easter Sunday for the Saddleback services) or churches doing egg hunts with eggs being dropped from helicopters or promoting a jillion Easter Egg Hunts over the weekend. 

I guess my biggest issue is that it is the Church that is leading us down this road rather than the world that Jesus warned us about being “in” but not “of”.  But then again, maybe the problem is…WE are THAT world that Jesus warned us about.

I know I am probably being a little judgemental.  But come Sunday morning, I will look at the lilies, celebrate the people, sing the songs, speak the words and remember that Easter is not about the numbers or masses of people that could fill churches.  It is about ONE…the ONE who died and rose and has given us what we today call “Easter”.  May that be the Easter that we keep in Easter!

It is hard sometimes to write about my faults and failures but if were not for those, I really wouldn’t have much to write about!  So let me share you with you problems with balance. 

I wish I could say that I just realized it when we got Wii Fit Plus several weeks ago and I attempted one of the balancing exercises.  I did attempt and failed miserably.  But my failure at balance happened before that. 

Things at church have gotten to be rather busy.  OK…crazy!  And even though it is the best kind of  crazy in the world, the bottom line is crazy is crazy!   And to be the most effective pastor and leader, I must have balance and not only be the most effective pastor and leader…I must also be the most effective husband and father at the same time.  Thankfully I have a wonderful and loving spouse who can point out my ‘imbalance’ in the best of ways.

When that happened, I picked up an old issue of Life@Work (I say old since it no longer exists at all).  This particular issue’s theme was on ‘Balance’.  There was an article in the issue written by the editors of Life@Work, Thomas Addington and Stephen Graves, on Juggling Life.  They gave this definition of Balance: “Balance is the ability to continually recognize and juggle the multidimensional assignments and opportunities of life.”  In fact, the definition is repeated 5 times with a different words emphasized each time: Continually – Recognize – Juggle – Multidimensional – Assignments and Opportunities. 

So…how balanced is your life?  How are you able to “continually recognize and juggle the multidimensional assignments and opportunities of life”?  I have had to once again go back to the instructions that God has given me for balance in my life.  I found those words in Colossians 3:23: “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than people.” 

That is something I not only need to remember in the church/Church, but something all of us probably need to remember.  Join me, or better yet, pray for me and I will pray for you as we seek to bring balance into our lives.  God knows…we need it!!

Yesterday I got to attend a seminar Tony was teaching on the topic of Killing Cockroaches.  I have to say it was one of the best leadership seminars I have attended!  It was extremely practical and applicable to where we are today @ Faith UMC.  But I also thought about how those principles are so applicable to all of us in whatever it is that we do everyday.

So think about it…how much time are you spending ‘killing cockroaches’?  Is that your main task?  If it is, then do as Tony Morgan says you should do…do it with all of the gusto you have in you!  Kill them…squish them…and do them in.  But if that is not your main task, then think about how you can get back to making sure than the “main thing’ is the ‘main thing’.  In fact, I think Paul wrote about all of that in 1 Corinthians.  We are all called to do different things according to our different gifts.  I guess he just never called mentioned in the terms of ‘killing cockroaches’.

I watch and listen to the stories that break my heart and then get excited about the miraculous recoveries that are taking place.  And then you have one that hits “close to home” and it really gets to you!

I have had a friend for years that I just ran into (in a bookstore of course) a couple of weeks ago.  Just heard yesterday about a good friend of his whose ex-husband and the father of their 2 children was in Haiti with some colleagues in ministry from San Antonio.  The hotel they were staying in (Hotel Montana) was destroyed in the earthquake and there were rescue teams searching for survivors.  Kent posted earlier this morning they had found a couple of survivors but not his friend.

Just a few moments ago, a post was sent out that he was found alive in the rubble of the hotel 55 hours after the earthquake!  Prayerfully more of the team will also be found alive there too!

Even though the “human spirit” is criticized much of the time and we tend to see way too many stories of the ‘evil side’ of that human spirit, times like this should remind us all of what  and who we are really made of!  More and more people are wanting to respond with more than words.  They are giving and wanting to give…whether it be financial or goods that can be collected and sent over to Haiti.  We will be doing some of both at Faith on Sunday.

Also this week, many of us have been watching a family receive a gift through the efforts of thousands of volunteers and Extreme Home Makeover down in Kemah.  That one even hit close to home for me as the family who received their new home yesterday has a son who is an intern at school with my daughter at Mary Hardin Baylor.  She even said a bus load of students went down to volunteer but were unable to due to the large number already helping.

Times like this remind me that our “human spirit” is alive and well as we are in sync with the Spirit that God has called us to reflect in the way that we live.  From the pictures of the tragedy on the front page of Section One to the new beginnings of a new home that was built to help a family overcome the devastation of another tragedy on the front page of Section Two.  May the miracles of God continue to touch people…from Haiti to Kemah and around our world. 

And may we continue to show who we are…and Whose we are!!

Now those “incentive packages” are being considered by churches.  In fact, the posts have already begun this morning on Facebook. 

All of this has to do with this frigid cold snap that has hung over our area.  Pastors and other Church leaders are wondering if people will get out in the morning to come to worship…or will find it better to just “hunker down” and stay warm.  So, already there are ideas being thrown out there about “experiencing the warmth of God’s love or fellowship” in the morning. 

The only “incentive” I came up with was to have Snuggies placed in each pew in the morning.  But then again, we don’t have pews!  But you get the idea…

I guess my thought process is that the incentives that are in place every Sunday morning will suffice even on the coldest of mornings:  an opportunity to worship an awesome and amazing God as the body of Christ; music of many genres that will lead us into that praise; messages that will inspire and challenge us to be all that God desires; great fellowship; and the love that God places in our hearts to share with one another.

Those are the “incentives” that should always be in place!

Maybe it has something to do with the images on television of the homeless turning to shelters that are filling up.  Or maybe it is the ‘chill’ I feel versus the bitter cold that others are feeling.  And I can do something about the ‘chill’…but what will some do about the bitter cold that they cannot find a way to escape?

All of this took me to the book of James (2:16).  See if this says something to you: Mere talk never gets you very far, and a commitment to Jesus only in words will not save you.  It would be like seeing a brother or sister is without any clothes out in the cold and begging for food, and saying, “Shalom, friend, you should get inside where it’s warm, and eat something,” but doing nothing about their needs – leaving them cold and alone on the street.  What good would your words alone do?” 

Great question…but a no-brainer!  What good are these words going to do to keep someone warm over the next few days?  Absolutely nothing!  So…check your closets, pull out some old jackets, coats and blankets that you no longer use and put them to good use for someone else.