by Tim | Mar 17, 2011 | God, Hell, Our Culture, The Church World, The Gospel |
…as pastors quell Bell who they claim fell and yell that they smell very well what he sells. What the shell? (that’s the only other word I could think of that rhymes) For me, the question is: Where the hell does Rob Bell stand? Hahahaha. A lot of controversy surrounds Rob Bell’s new book, and thanks to friends who have kept me in the loop (I have to rely on them, since I never got into Nooma, his books, or Bell himself), I’ve done my share of thinking about it. Without reading his book, and just judging by the interviews I’ve heard from him since he wrote his latest book, here’s what I conclude Rob Bell believes: If you’re an all-around nice person (i.e. obeying the golden rule, etc.), it doesn’t matter so much whether you believe that Jesus is the “Savior of the world” or not. After all, if you’re being kind to people like Jesus taught, you are actually bringing heaven to earth like Jesus wants you to. In the end, that’s really what matters to Jesus, not your religious affiliation. So don’t worry about all the nice people out there who have never heard of Jesus or all those nice people out there who refuse to believe He’s the savior of the world. They’re nice people–they will have made the world a little more like heaven, showing that they belong to heaven, regardless of their religious affiliation. Those who are not nice to people on earth are trying to make earth more like hell. They won’t succeed, because the power of love is stronger than their...
by Tim | Mar 7, 2011 | God, My World |
Our six-month old baby, Sarah, gets super excited every time she sees me. One of those times when her eyes seemed totally locked onto me, I wondered, “Why is it that my presence gets her so excited?” I had many explanations. And I was also reminded that babies don’t have a concept of object permanence. When something they see disappears, they don’t understand that it continues to exist. I realized that Sarah must think this way of me too. Every time I returned, she became excited. Then I wondered, “How much of a spiritual baby am I?” I seem to lack object permanence when it comes to God. When I “see” Him, I get so excited. But when I don’t see Him, it’s like He doesn’t even exist anymore. I just go on with my life with no thought of Him whatsoever. How can I develop object permanence with God? How can I be reminded that God continues to exist, even when I don’t see...
by Tim | Mar 1, 2011 | God, My World |
“He was 100% God and 100% human.” How many times have you heard that statement about Jesus? Have you ever noticed that anytime anyone says that, they say it in the past tense. He was 100% God and 100% human. The implication is that He became so for a brief period in time, but He has returned to being just God once again. But is it possible that the present tense is true as well: Jesus is 100% God and 100% human? A few years back, I came across a video where the guy speaking (can’t remember his name) claimed that Jesus was still 100% human. I had never considered that idea before, but it seems to make sense biblically to me, although it is crazy to consider. After all, the Bible says that Jesus is the first of humanity to receive a glorified body, and that the rest of us who follow Him will follow suit–we’ll also have glorified bodies like Jesus does. But even though our sinful nature will be changed and we will receive new bodies, I’m assuming that we’ll still be humans in our soul (at the core of what it means to be human)–just perfected/glorified humans. If this is true, doesn’t it make sense that Jesus too remains human? If so, I think the implications are pretty wild. After all, when we consider that Jesus was willing to become human and die on the cross for us, there is a nagging thought: “Yeah, but He didn’t stay dead, and He knew that He wouldn’t stay dead, and His Father knew it too. They knew...
by Tim | Feb 23, 2011 | God, Miscellaneous, My World, Our Culture, The Church World |
Do any of the following apply to you? Your last name rhymes with Swaggart/Haggard Your first name has a great ring to it if you add a “y” to it, such as Ben, Ted, Jim, etc. Even when you’re on a security camera in the mall, you feel the need to weep. You cry anytime you’ve done something wrong. You have fun at the expense of pushovers—literally. You seem to have an unusual amount of handkerchiefs and olive oil lying around. You suddenly come up with an ingenious way of turning those items into loads of cash. God’s call on you to reach the world for Christ is so strong, you have felt compelled at various times in your life to purchase a personal jet. You’ve been working on a new book entitled, How To Love God And Mammon: What Jesus Only Wishes He Could Have Known You have always believed that in order to find your virginity, you must first lose it. God has given you at least two of the following prophetic words for your ministry: Robin Hood had it all backwards. Your ministry should be modeled after the philosophy of the Chicago Cubs: People will continue to give you money if you promise them that things will be better next year Standalone verses in the Bible can mean so much more if you’re willing to let them stand alone. The real definition for Trinity: “God”–one word, three syllables. God is calling you to reach everyone in the world for Christ (except your children). Your wife enjoys dying her hair blue, and you think it looks...
by Tim | Feb 18, 2011 | God, My World, The Church World |
What are we striving for? What is our end-goal? When can we say alongside Jesus, “It is finished”? It’s no less than the evangelization of the entire world. What a daunting task! I look at my church–we’ve probably got 25-30 people in each location. Should this lofty concept be the goal of such a small, rural church? Seems like an unattainable goal to achieve. And yet, we aren’t supposed to look at how big or small we are, or how many resources we have (remember the parable of the man with one talent?). We are supposed to trust in the Gospel, that it is indeed the power of God. Our power doesn’t come from how intelligent we are, how wealthy we are, how large in size we are, or how talented we are. Our power comes from the truth coming alive by the power of the Holy Spirit. The evangelization of the world. That is what we work toward. For some, this sounds like some imperial concept–some selfish endeavor by Christians to convert everyone to their religion. On the contrary, Christians are called to utter selflessness. This isn’t about some jewel in our crown for sharing the Gospel. The motive is purely this: Jesus Christ is worthy of the praise of every single creature He has created. He deserves no less. He died so that all of God’s creation can be restored to Him. God rightly deserves everything and everyone to glorify Him and Him alone. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, that is now possible, and we continue working toward that end. The Son of God’s reward must equal the...
by Tim | Feb 8, 2011 | God, My World |
Tomorrow is the last of 40 days of fasting! I don’t feel like I sacrificed nearly “enough” during these days, but I’m still super eager to be able to go on a normal eating routine once again. Going into the fast, I knew that after the first few days of fasting, hunger pains went away. I assumed that because of that, a 21-day fast or a 40-day fast wouldn’t be much harder than a 7-day fast. I assumed that once you get past the initial hurdle of hunger pains, you could go on indefinitely without eating (until true hunger returns) with little difficulty. I snickered at the advice that if you’ve only done a 3-day fast before, you should work up to a longer fast by going 7-days the next time. And then 2 weeks the next time after that, etc. I now realize I was wrong. Even after the initial hunger pains subside, there is the emotional/mental aspect of not eating. It is tiring and wearying. Even though I’ve only been fasting breakfast and lunch for the remaining 35 days or so, this feels like the longest 40 days of my life! In many ways, I feel like I’ve failed at this endeavor. I just got plain tired of it, and was ready to end it halfway through. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that I have a long way to go in my walk with God. I’m so self-consumed and am very resistant to obeying whatever God wants me to do. I long to be comfortable and live comfortably. I want to live a satisfying life. What...
by Tim | Jan 31, 2011 | God, Our Culture, The Church World, The Gospel |
As many of you know, I was a member of the North Alabama Conference (United Methodists) for 8 years by being a member of two of their churches during that time. During that time, I heard many sentiments expressed about the current struggles for Methodists. Methodists moaned that they were a minority in the land of Southern Baptists. They didn’t moan just because they were a minority, but because they continue to be a shrinking minority. This means less congregants, which means less churches and less money to do everything they want to do. That is definitely a frustrating thing to go through. The current bishop, Will Willimon, believes that a large part of the problem is poor leadership. While I can agree that there is a problem w/poor leadership (and I think this can be said for all denominations to a smaller or larger degree), the agreement stops there. Because how he measures leadership is different from me. For him, the best way to tell if a church has spiritual vitality is by looking at church attendance numbers. Click here to read his words on that matter. This idea is also mentioned in this other article. Here’s another. To those who would say it’s not about the numbers, he would disagree in yet another article. My response? While I disagree with the bishop, that doesn’t make him a bad person–it just makes him pretty much like so many other modern church leaders out there. I think we would all do ourselves a favor if we remembered that the same Jesus that said, “You will know them by their...
by Tim | Jan 20, 2011 | God, My World |
Halfway there. After breaking my water fast and giving myself a few days to return to normal eating, I decided finish the 40 days by fasting breakfast and lunch, and eating dinner each day. Before fasting, I never really ate breakfast, but now I think when the fast is over, I’ll be adding that into my diet. 🙂 Some people recommend me if I’m looking to lose weight after giving birth, a great option is the alpine ice hack Diet Supplement,this supplement also contains green tea, to give me lasting energy throughout the day. With regular use, I can expect to see positive results within several weeks. Remember that if someone recommend you to use a testosterone booster, the best testosterone booster to lose weight is exercise. Regular aerobic exercise such as running, jogging, cycling and swimming can help increase testosterone l evels, resulting in increased calorie burn and weight loss. Resistance training, such as lifting weights, can also help boost testosterone levels, while also helping to build muscle, which can cause further calorie burn and weight loss. There are a few exceptions to this fast: I do eat breakfast on Monday mornings for our guys Bible study, and I also ate lunch at our church meeting last Sunday. Basically, I just don’t want to draw too much attention to myself in those situations. This is a much more sustainable fast. Although it frustrates me that as each day goes by, the fast doesn’t get any easier. 2 pm is when I am the most hungry every day. The hunger kicks in around 10:30 am. While the hunger doesn’t...
by Tim | Jan 13, 2011 | God |
I am such a fool God in His great mercy loved me so dearly He sacrificed His only Son so unfairly But I don’t want to even sacrifice myself barely . I am such a fool Jesus promises to take such good care of me He has an incredible place prepared for me And I still want to keep this old life dear to me . I am such a fool So many people around me have yet to hear The saving Gospel message plain and clear But I’m more concerned about my comforts here . I am such a fool No one loves me as much as God does But I’d rather live for myself because I doubt He’d make me as happy as I think I once was . I am such a fool So many before me have lived with tremendous faith Yet I’m too scared of the risk it would take I think I’d rather just stay put and play it safe . Is God also a fool? Can it be that He still loves me? Even when I act and think so foolishly? Why do I continue to find His great mercy? When I’m such a fool? Why do I feel like a fool when I know my dog got sick and it wasn’t my fault? Why would I feel bad if my dog took the Best cbd oil for dogs on the market? Why would I feel bad if my dog recovered? why would I feel bad if God gave me that gift?...
by Tim | Jan 12, 2011 | God, The Church World, Youth Ministry |
I remember several years ago having a conversation with a youth pastor when I was helping out in his youth ministry. The church was in a very rural setting and had a van that would go out each week to pick kids up for youth group. Most of the kids who came to youth group came from very broken homes and were the victims of poverty. These kids were not stable, and trying to keep control during youth group was often a struggle. During this conversation, we talked about how we wished we could have a youth group like other churches in the city, where the majority of kids who showed up came from strong, Christian homes. Those youth groups had kids heavily involved in Bible Quiz, mission trips, small groups, etc. Things were happening in those other youth ministries! Those kids had it together, and as a result a more vibrant youth ministry was possible in their settings. In our setting, just getting kids to show up w/out body odor and to keep quiet for five minutes would literally have been a divine miracle. We had a feeling that this was going nowhere, because we didn’t have those solid, Christian youth in the group. I remember thinking during that conversation that perhaps we are doing more “real” ministry than the other churches. I may have even vocalized this–I can’t remember. The reason I’m not sure is because at that time part of me questioned the validity of that statement. If you were to compare our youth ministry with a more “normal” youth ministry, it would be hard to...
