Posts (page 2)
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More thoughts on Freedom tomorrow.
. . . is when everybody looks right and you go left.
This Monday morning I left Columbia in the wee hours of the morning. I have to admit that one of my greatest thrills in all of life is driving one way on an almost deserted highway while all the traffic in the world is stuck trying to go the other way. You know - driving out of the city during the morning rush hour or into the city at night.
I've often thought it would be genius to have a business office out in the suburbs and make all my employees live downtown so that everyday on their way to work they would have the overwhelming joy of watching everyone else stuck in traffic while they get to move freely. Upon arriving at the office their emotionally giddy thought is, "I'm free from the normal and dumb systems of the world." When they go home at night they think the same thing and they are downtown ready to enjoy entertainment and good living.
Of course I'd need a business. . . and some employees. . . never mind the ability to blog consistently.
These are all thoughts from a break out session with Darrin Patrick the pastor of The Journey Church in St. Louis Missouri.
Challenge: Your daily job is to develop a very deeply gospel centered identity that you are both jacked up beyond belief and that you are able to bask in the glow of Christ's redeeming love.
Question: Are you becoming aware of some of the motivations under your most Christ-dishonoring behavior?
Problem: Most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the competent, the confident and the successful but what you need in leaders is someone who has been broken by his own sin and his understanding of Jesus’ love. . . The best leaders are those who repent the most fully without excuses because they don’t need excuses because to approach Jesus. He loves them right now just the way they are.”
Interesting Quote: A church plant is a different preferred future for a local expression of the church.
March wasn't really a good month for blogging huh? April doesn't really look like it's going to be a good month either as these are the days I'll be travelling:
April 5th-April 15th: Poland, Germany, Austria.
I'll be speaking with my ole friend Nathan Smith to American students on military bases in Poland, checking out Auschwitz and hanging out for a few days in the German and Austrian alps. It's going to be amazing opportunities, amazingly fun, and amazingly tiring as I'm still shaking off this flu. If I have regular internet connection, I'll try to put updates on here while I'm there. Please be praying for the ministry that will be taking place while I'm there.
April 19th: Elaine's Wedding near Atlanta, GA
Spending the night at Trey Boden's house whom I love and then watching my little sister (by love, not by blood) Elaine MacCorkle get married makes for what should be an amazingly good weekend. On their RSVP they allowed us to request songs for the reception. That's genius. They're genius. I love them.
April 20th-25th: Orlando, FL.
Probably my favorite thing our leadership team here at Midtown does is attend the National New Church Conference in Orlando, FL. It's sure to be a week full of learning, conviction, and team growth. Whether we agree or disagree with the speakers or each other, this week is one of the best weeks of open dialog and constructive conversation that our leadership team has every year.
In the mean time, I have been and will be working more consistently on this than posting here. It's a new teaching idea we've had to offer more in depth study that complements what we're teaching on Sunday nights. Feel free to follow along with us at Midtown as we study through Philippians and go deep in personal study and reflection. The Surplus will include, daily personal study, creative LifeGroup ideas and extra resources (books, audio and video sermons, etc.)
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
One of the reasons I haven't posted as much in March has been that working double duty at Midtown and Cafe Strudel has a way of absorbing a good amount of my time. Working at the Strudel has also changed the way I think about lots of things which I hope to comment on soon but today was a funny example:
I stopped by my neighborhood bank to make a large cash and check deposit (of my tips from the last month) and ask some questions about finances while I'm in Poland. I know the cash deposit has to be a little annoying for them so I go ahead and count everything out and organize all the bills to face the same direction to just make my banker's lives as easy as possible.
When I walked in the only available teller is having a conversation and kind of looks at me with a "What the crap do you want?" expression on her face. I smile and offer my ziploc bag of well organized bills and say "Can I deposit this?" She said yes with her mouth but no with every other part of her face. The entire time she worked on my deposit she acted annoyed and bothered that I had interrupted her much more enjoyable conversation with her co-worker.
The funny thing is her JOB is customer service. She gets paid specifically to make sure that I as a customer am SERVED and HAPPY. I know what she feels like cause there are times at the Strudel that we get slow and start to think that we're there to enjoy and entertain ourselves, when that just isn't the truth. We're there to serve other people.
As if you didn't see it coming: WAKE UP CHRISTIANS. We aren't here on earth for our enjoyment and to mindlessly entertain ourselves. We're here to serve others. We look like obnoxious fools when we moan and complain anytime we are inconvenienced by others instead of pursuing and relishing opportunities to become more like our Savior Jesus by humbling ourselves and selflessly putting others' interests ahead of our own (phil 2).
Before you get all defensive and start thinking to yourself, "Well Luda, you kinda suck at this too. . . " let me just go ahead and agree with you. But let's not get bogged down in comparing ourselves to each other and using that as an excuse to not run after Jesus. This is me repenting and apologizing for the countless ways I put me first in my life and forget that my life has been bought with a price.
Much love,
Luda
p.s. If you read this thing I'll try to be more consistent and not take any more month and a half breaks.
As I’m writing this, my roommate, Chris Kakaras, just brought me my computer because my leg is propped up with an ice pack. First off, Chris is an amazing friend. Secondly, Chris has his own blog at www.chriskakaras.com with tons of personal financial wisdom. You should read and listen to his advice.
Thirdly, Chris is the Business Administration Director at Midtown Fellowship. Essentially, he runs all of the finances at Midtown and yells at me for how bad I am at following his policies. I could write this and just brag about his dedication to excellence, his ability to build a smooth-flowing financial system from scratch or his mind-blowing discipline.
But that’s not what I want to write about. I want to write about Chris’ heart.
Since I’ve been waiting tables at Café Strudel, I have heard multiple negative comments about how churches handle their finances. Today’s comment was from a woman who stopped going to church because in her mind, “It was just a business. All it cared about was getting more members to get more money to build bigger, flashier buildings.” That sucks. And it’s true for entirely too many churches.
So without further adieu: Here’s what you should look for in a Business Administration Director for your church.
1.) Chris’ heart beats harder for God’s mission than for bottom lines. He cares more that people in Columbia are coming to know Jesus than anything else. Chris never wants to limit ministry out of fear that God might not provide what we need. Instead, he maximizes our financial effectiveness by helping us not waste money.
2.) Chris’ heart is passionate for people to understand God’s principles for their personal finances. His blog, personal finance classes he teaches and time he spends counseling people help people learn how to obey God with their income and cash flow. God has used him in my life to take me from being a financial idiot to actually being somewhat in control of my finances.
3.) Chris’ heart is for integrity. For years, Chris has spent time in prayer everyday that money will never corrupt his heart. He understands the incredible temptation involved with being in control of large amounts of money. He is passionately dedicated to protecting our church family from any financial sin or mistake that could cripple the mission God has called us to.
So, here’s to you Chris.
This is a short list of questions the movie Jumper forgot to answer:
1.) What causes a jumper to be a jumper?
2.) What religious basis causes paladins to have their panties all up in a wad?
3.) Are jumpers good or bad?
4.) Are paladins good or bad?
5.) Can a paladin stop being a paladin?
6.) Shouldn't movies have plotlines?
7.) How can a movie where you can jump to any location as fast as you want actually get slow in the middle?
8.) Why did we choose to go see Jumper?
9.) Why did the main character (whose name I've forgotten) forget that he jumped for the first time when he was 5?
10.) How did old-school paladins fight jumpers without all the modern technology?
In conclusion, don't go see Jumper.
. . . is a lot like money.
The love of it will consume you.
It's better if you give away what you have realizing that it's really owned by Somebody else.
If you want it, you'll find it to be an insatiable desire.
. . . is a good thing if you have problems controlling your bladder.
Idols are rarely little wooden or golden carved imaged that we bow down to in modern American post-everything society. Instead, they are desires (often times extremely good desires) that we allow to become non-negotiables in our lives. They ruin our intimacy with God because of what He says in Ezekiel 14:3-5;
"Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry. I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.'"
Here's what God's saying: When you approach me and you're holding idols in your heart, I will refuse to talk to you about ANYTHING other than the idols in your heart until you deal with them. I will talk to you about your idols and nothing other than your idols for however long it takes to RECAPTURE your idiot-traitor-deserter heart.
Here's my response: Ok God, there is this thing in my life that is a good desire that You created and put in me. I think it's becoming a non-negotiable in my life, and that means it's probably an idol that You hate because it distracts me from You. So . . . I'll make you a deal: I'll let go of the idol as long as by doing so, You agree to actually give it to me in the long run. No seriously God, I'll stop idolizing it as long as You'll let me have it.
My pathetic attempts to deal with my own idols only reveal how deep my idolatry is.
I'm an idiot.
I don't know what you think about the prosperity gospel, but I agree with this guy.
