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    "I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me."

    (Gal. 2:20 CEV)

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    • Print This Post Print This Post December 1, 2008

    Going Deep

    I’m getting messed up…in a good way; I think.

    soulrevolutioncoverSo, I got this book a week or so ago for a review project. The book, Soul Revolution, by John Burke is about becoming fully awake to the practice and presence of God. Burke facilitates this journey of discovery through an experiment called the 60-60 challenge (more about the challenge here). In a nutshell, it involves/entails becoming intentional in our (your/my) focus and awareness of God’s presence in every aspect of daily life. I intend to provide a full review of the book at a later date; however, my purpose in posting today is to share what the book has prompted in me thus far.

    I’ve been a strong proponent of the spiritual disciplines for a while now. Included in those disciplines is having my faith challenged by classic Christian writings. A particular, and popular, work that has challenged me in my walk has been Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Another piece that has been instrumental in shaping me…challenging me is Devotional Classics, a compilation by Richard Foster. While studying through the devotional classics book, I was introduced to Frank Laubach and was really stirred in my soul to push through to a new depth in my relationship with Jesus Christ. Sadly, I did not follow through with this challenge…at least not in an earnest way.

    Fast forward…

    I do not think it coincidence that Soul Revolution has landed in my lap. My heart was being stirred from the opening pages, but when John Burke began talking about Practicing the Presence of God and Frank Laubach’s journal entries, my heart’s attention was gripped in such a way that I have not been able to shake it. I went back to my personal journal notes and found my thoughts from the Devotional Classics reading about Frank Laubach’s Letters by a Modern Mystic (here is a copy of my notes along with the original devotional reading) and was challenged (as well as convicted) by what I had written.

    I think I am going to begin immediately with the 60-60 challenge, at least a varient of it with plans to implement it in the full beginning Jan. 1, 2009. I want to enlist a few accountability partners to engage in the experiment with me. I look forward to what God has in store for me during this challenge and what He has planned for us when we arrive on the other side.

    I promise to write more about the book (a full review) and more about my own experience with the “experiement” later…I promise.

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: A Deeper Walk, Books, Shaping Me, iCrucified | 2 Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 30, 2008

    How We Met

    Last weekend Laurie and I hosted and led a marriage enrichment weekend retreat. We shared portions of our testimony with video curriculum to supplement the teaching. One of the testimonials was me sharing some of the “standing stones” aka “God-encounter-markers” of my life. I have uploaded a .pdf copy here for reading.

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: A Deeper Walk, Past Writings, Shaping Me, iCrucified | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 27, 2008

    Book Review: The Greatest Words Ever Spoken

    I have to admit that I was skeptical when I was told about this book by a friend; three days later I received an email from the book’s publisher with an invitation to review the book. I was still dubious about its format, but was rather intrigued over the fact that I heard the title The Greatest Words Ever Spoken mentioned to me twice in just under 72 hours. Sharing a little about the book might help to explain my doubt and my curiosity. A portion of the book description directly from the editor follows:greatestwordscover

    “For the first time ever, all of the statements Jesus made in the New Testament have been brought together and organized under more than 200 topics. When you want to know his will in a specific area of life, or you’re seeking the answer to a perplexing question, or you are desperate for his encouragement, comfort, or wisdom-you can easily find the help you need.”

    Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but that type of description gets my “spidy-senses” tingling. Maybe I’m just a bit cynical from the saturation of “New and IMPROVED” advertisements that flood our senses from every direction or perhaps I was just a little put off by the sense that the teaching and Spirit of Jesus could be distilled down and marketed as a potion for the answers to life’s questions. Nonetheless, my interest had been captured and I agreed to review the book.

    I am now into my second month with The Greatest Words Ever Spoken and my feelings about the book have changed dramatically. I am no longer dubious about the content or the method that it has been compiled. In fact, I am very impressed with the accuracy and assignment of the topics (this sharing my opinion) and words spoken by Jesus. While there is some natural overlapping for topics and discourses by Jesus, I did not perceive any agenda or glaring contextual errors on the part of the author. To be sure, I think the author, Steven K. Scott, is to be commended for the effort and detail that he has put into this work. As mentioned, the book is organized by topic; not unlike some of the helps included in the appendices of study Bibles and very similar to the Nave’s Topical Bible; it is a meticulously detailed (and time-consuming I’m sure) effort. Read the rest of this entry »

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Becoming the Word, Bible Speak, Books, Media | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 26, 2008

    Book Review: A Faith and Culture Devotional

    I received this book about a week ago after I managed to make the cutoff for a group that had been asked to FCD_coverreview it. I am so glad that I responded to the invitation! A Faith and Culture Devotional isn’t just another devotional style reading; I found this out within the first few minutes of scanning through and browsing the book. I’ve read (and continue to read) devotional compilations as a regular part of my spiritual disciplines; these compilations, in my experience, have taken many different forms and styles. The work that has been completed by Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Lael Arrington with the Faith and Culture Devotional follows a very unique approach as they endeavor to help the reader “find God” in the everyday existence that is our spiritual journey through life.

    Allow me to share a few specifics; the devotional is bundled in a collection of readings spanning fifteen weeks. The subject and context of the readings are gathered from art, science, life, history, and theology to name just a few, as the subtitle implies. As diverse as the topics and subject matter are, the contributing authors are equally so. The readings are short, probably taking no longer than 5 minutes for even the most deliberate of readers. At the end of each reading follow a few reflective discussion points that serve equally well for the individual or a group. Read the rest of this entry »

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: A Deeper Walk, Books, Media, Shaping Me | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 24, 2008

    Returning to the blog

    The 63 day New Testament Challenge our church family was taking together has ended (yesterday). I’m sure that some lives have been changed and I’m expectant over the fruit we will see born from the challenge in the coming months and year. It was a great exercise in community!

    The ending of the NTC means that I will return to my own blog fulltime. My attentions have been divided as I maintained and adminstrated the Valley Chapel blog during our challenge series. It’s good to be back; look forward to more consistant posting beginning today.

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Dailyness..., Scoop | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 17, 2008

    The Wild Goose Chase [Another Review]

    WGC cover

    A couple months (or more) ago I posted my review on Mark Batterson’s The Wild Goose Chase. Since that time I have passed copies on to my church leadership team, youth leaders, and most recently my youngest son, Joshua. Upon completion of the book, Josh talked to me at length about some of the things he really connected with. I asked him to write a review from his perspective and what follows is his report. Guest blogging for a second appearance on the icrucified blog, I welcome…my son, Joshua.

     

    Let me just start off by saying that I think that The Wild Goose Chase was a great book and really connected with me. I really liked how Mark Batterson brought up the 6 cages that keep us from going and pursuing the Holy Ghost, and in essence Christ himself. These really made sense with me and I could apply most of them to my life, even though I haven’t experienced things like the cage of responsibility or failure in all its fullness.

    The Wild Goose Chase has definitely been one of the better Christian books I’ve read.  It is easily applied in my life, for the most part, and was very readable for me.  I believe any one who reads this book will learn something from it and I think that it might further their search for, or relationship with, God.  I have found that in my own short 13 years that I’ve experienced or seen these things happen to me or to people around me and that what Mark wrote has been true in my life and  helped me to understand and further my thinking of that subject.joshua

    I liked how he found scripture to support his teachings and clarify it for those who wouldn’t readily believe or want to believe what he wrote down.  Even though some of the things he wrote down might be difficult for some people to come to terms with, I believe what he wrote down is true. I’ve heard and seen some of the teachings in this book from my own life as a pastor’s son.

    One of my favorite parts of the book was probably from the very end about the Madonna of the future.  I know that I, for example, love to procrastinate and put many things off.  This speaks to how we might not always have the time to put things off and to live as if today was the first and last day of your life.  I believe this, even if I do struggle with it, and think that things like coming to the faith or taking that one step of faith should never be put off until the last moment, because you might not have that last moment to do it.

    I suppose, if I were to spell out my three major takeaways from the Wild Goose Chase, they would be as follows:

    1. Procrastination-Don’t do it. Try to tackle things right away, so you have the time to do your best with the opportunities you’ve been given. My dad tells me all the time “Colossians 3:17, 23″ and this kinda sums it up for me.
    2. Failure-To take things in stride and to look for the silver lining in “shipwrecks.” God might have a opportunity in store for you that might further his kingdom, as it did for Paul when he got shipwrecked on Malta. God will always have a learning or teaching experience in store for you in whatever happens, whether good or bad…
    3. Routine-Even though we need spiritual disciplines in our life, don’t get stuck going through the motions. It’s not about just going through the motions to ease your conscience, it’s about learning and having a relationship with the One who created you. Doing this should be a want and need in your life, not a chore.

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Books, Family Stuff, Media | 1 Comment »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 14, 2008

    Gospel Conversation

    I found this conversation between J Piper, T Keller, and D Carson that was shared by DJ Chuang on his site. I wanted to come back to it to watch it in its entirety so am putting it on my blog for easy reference. Feel free to check out the discussion…It has been embedded in playlist form.

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: A Deeper Walk, Becoming the Word, Media, Shaping Me | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 13, 2008

    Sticks Conference [Day 2] continued…

    As promised in my last post, here is the continuation of my summary from the second day of talks. In this SticksStagepost I include Shannon O’Dell from Brand New Church in Arkansas and Dwight Mason of New Pointe Community Church in Ohio. Here we go…

    Shannon O’Dell (Brand New Church) Day 2|Session 2

    “Rural America is a HUGE MISSION FIELD!!!”

    Galatians 2

    1 Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing. 3 And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile.  4 Even that question came up only because of some so-called Christians there-false ones, really-who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.  6 And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.)

    “Rural America Needs a Vision!!!”ShannonO

    Shannon was just full of “quotables;” here are just a few that really grabbed my attention:

    “Do not be crippled by those who ‘seem to be leaders…’”

    “We believe the incarnation and virgin birth of our God; we believe the Bible is the inspired, God-breathed, written Word of God…” “We have the God of the universe living within us and we don’t believe it…”

    “Leading with my life is what makes a difference…not some 20-25 minute ‘relevant’ talk each week.”

    Shannon also shared (6) difficult decisions a leader will be faced with and must deal with in order to remain effective.

    Shannon was awesome as a speaker and incredibly affirming and encouraging to me. Several things that he emphatically expressed hit very close to home with me. He was also extremely engaging with humor and a very “down home” attitude. I really enjoyed hearing his testimony and heart.

    Dwight Mason (New Pointe Community Church) Day 2|Session 3

    DwightM“Nothing happens without leadership”

    Dwight reminded us that Jesus said; “Follow Me…” He then asked us, “Can you say that?” “Are you comfortable with people following you” He reminded us that the apostle Paul had repeatedly spoken to the churches he ministered to; “Follow me as I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) Throughout Dwight’s message, he continually brought us back to this point and self examination…that as leaders (God’s leaders) we must be following Christ ourselves and we must invite others to follow us as we follow HIM.

    Other points from Dwight’s talk follow:

    Four things a Leader needs…

    Dwight is from the Free Methodist tribe (my tribe) and it was a pleasure to hear him speak. This too was another challenging, affirming, reminder of the great call and commission that God has put upon the lives of His leaders. In summary, I think the three sessions from Day 2 of the Sticks complimented one another very well. I don’t know if it was planned or not…at least from human planning anyway (wink). Tim Stevens’ blog shares some other highlights from the inspire speakers at the Sticks; here’s his summary from Dwight’s talk.

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: A Deeper Walk, Becoming the Word, Church Stuff, Dailyness..., Shaping Me | 1 Comment »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 13, 2008

    Sticks Conference [Day 2]

    sticksignMan it’s getting late and I am whipped…just getting home from the “Sticks” out in Loudonville, Ohio. I’m really tired, but wanted to at least get a little of my notes posted from today’s sessions. We started out with Tim Stevens (leadingsmart.com) from Granger Community Church and author of Pop Goes the Church sharing some of his experience and thoughts on leadership and growth.

    I’m going to share my notes from Tim’s session and I’ll post the remainder of my thoughts and notes tomorrow. Here’s Tim:

    Tim Stevens (Granger Community Church) Day 2|Session 1

    Shared ministry highs and lows with the point being larger churches share the same challenges, struggles, TimSand successes as smaller churches. Also shared (5) Contributions to growth (made the assumption that everything is “bathed” in prayer, inclusive of  guidance by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is included…etc)

    (My takeaway) all around us society is in a constant change flux-regardless of the difficulty of change itself…it is an expected and anticipated part of our culture (people are always looking for the “next thing”)

    (My takeaway) Tim was speaking directly to personnel issues and having the tough conversations at the first sign of mis-alignment…rather than procrastinating and having that inevitable conversation later after more damage to the team and mission may occur.

    (My takeaway) Help people engage in life transformation; assist them into relational community. Relationships change lives; this is a given, they will change lives in healthy ways or unhealthy ways. We have the ability to assist with “healthy” life transformation. Connect people into good relationships.

    Tim Questions: “Can someone who is not a Christian serve at your church?” “Is there anything at your church for ‘non-Christians’?” “What is the draw for non-Christians?”

    (My takeaway) People will leave-people will say mean things-people will slander and malign you-Don’t Give Up!

    Galatians Six; the apostle Paul speaking, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up”

    …other highlights I’ll share tomorrow: Shannon O’Dell shared a passionate talk about ministry and calling; really great stuff! Dwight Mason from New Pointe Community Church (from my tribe of Free Methodists) was “throwin’ down” the gauntlet in a big way. I’ll share more about these talks as well as share some other high points for me. I enjoyed getting to meet and talk briefly with Tim Stevens and Todd Rhoades while at the conference. I always appreciate getting shake hands and connect with these folks who I have been encouraged by and learn from. The internet and social networking is an incredible tool, but meeting face-to-face just can’t be beat. Anyway…more tomorrow!

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Becoming the Word, Church Stuff, Dailyness..., Shaping Me | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 11, 2008

    Sticks Conference [Day 1]

    Whew! I’m back at the Holiday Inn Express in Ashland, Ohio…the end of the first day of the Sticks Conference. HIexpAll in all it was a great day. I think the folks at New Hope Community Church have done a fine job and are proving to be incredibly gracious hosts. Kudos out to the volunteers and staff! I’ve taken a few minutes and transcribed my notes to something legible (although they may not make a lot of sense to anyone else) and have included them below. FWIW, Tim Stevens (who I’m looking forward to hearing tomorrow) blogged a great summary of the talks today on his blog LeadingSmart.com

    The first session was inspirational words of encouragement from Mark Batterson, who I had the privilege to finally meet in person. He is genuinely a warm and approachable guy. I enjoyed just sharing with him what a blessing it has been to track the progress of NCC and his growth as an author over the last few years. Following Mark, was another inspiring talk from Barry Worcester who hails from Ada, Oklahoma. Wrapping up our inspire session in the morning was our conference host Charles Hill. Here are my takeaways:

    Mark Batterson (NCC Church Washington D.C.): Sticks Conference  - Inspire Session 1 Read the rest of this entry »

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: A Deeper Walk, Dailyness..., Shaping Me | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 10, 2008

    The Sticks

    Heading off to the “Sticks Conference” later this afternoon. Rather than go into detail telling you what it is about, I’ve included a link to the site (just click the graphic below).

    Got an update from the sticks blog that there would be WiFi at the conference, so I’ll do my best to blog along with what’s happening. I’m looking forward to hearing from some of the speakers and meeting some of them personally.

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Dailyness..., Shaping Me | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 9, 2008

    Obey What???

    Had the privilege of sharing from God’s word today in our service. We continue teaching from the New Testament scriptures as our church family enters into the eighth week of reading through the entire New Testament. Our “challenge” this week is “obedience” and was the topic of my message. I have included both services (8:30 and 11:00) in the audio recordings below as well as my outline notes. Laurie told me that while both of the services shared similar thoughts, the direction that I took in each service was of a different tone. I have not listened to them myself, but share both versions based on her observations. I was also given “obedience” as the topic in a teaching series last January. For the sake of being thorough, I am including that audio message and notes too.

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Becoming the Word, Bible Speak, Media, Preaching | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 8, 2008

    Ultimate Prosperity

    When I look at “my world” and try to answer questions that come from my reading of God’s Word I am forced to view the answers (physically evidenced) through my own culture. What do I see; collapse of the financial markets, people living beyond their means…big houses, expensive clothes, large automobiles that use resources inefficiently. I see people more concerned about their personal security and retirement programs than their hurting, starving, homeless neighbors…

    Jesus talked about prosperity…

    Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”   (Luke 12:15-21)

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Becoming the Word, Media | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 3, 2008

    Name above all names…

    I’m no Chris Tomlin…don’t pretend to be, but I love to sing praises and worship my God. I love to sing His name and get lost in adoring Him. I have been taken with the song from Chris’ latest CD “Jesus Messiah” and had the opportunity to sing it in one of our Sunday worship services recently. It is my cover version and features only my guitar as accompaniment. It is live and no post production effects added on…Raw.

    Yaweh

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Media, Shaping Me | No Comments »

    Print This Post Print This Post November 3, 2008

    Book Review: For Young Men Only (pt.2)

    JoshThis is a follow-up review for the book For Young Men Only; you can read the original review here. I had mentioned at the time of that initial review that I planned to have my son, Joshua, review the book in order to get a perspective from the mind of the target audience. Josh is fourteen years old and is a prolific reader. I think that he is an accurate representation of the 14-16 yr. old crowd, so without further ado, I introduce my son and guest blogger Joshua B.

    To begin, this book would be a great help to the average teen who’s struggling to keep up with all the girls in his life.  This book offers concrete facts from over 1000 teenage girls to support their points.  These points range from things such as, girls are looking for inside Read the rest of this entry »

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    Peace, Grace, and Living His Kingdom...
    jeff

    Topics: Books, Media | No Comments »

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