Averageyouthpastor

Music Monday

After watching the Video Music Awards on MTV last night, I thought I would pick a song today that is actually WORTH being nominated for an award.  

Am I the only person that watched last night and thought, "How did some of these songs get picked for being the best of anything?".  There are so many incredible artists today making great, unique music.  

Womanizer by Britney Spears was up for Song of Year?  Seriously? 

Here is a great song from Matisyahu called "One Day".  Matisyahu is a Hasidic Jewish Reggae Rapper.  I love the message in this song and that he has a unique sound.  

Hopefully artists like this get recognized at the Music Awards next year. 

Perspective

Life can be overwhelming sometimes.  It's so easy to get caught up in what's being thrown at us everyday that we forget to take a step back and enjoy the moment.  Maybe today would be a good day for us to take a look at life from a child's perspective. 

Children can't help, but be loud, joyful and full of life.  I have yet to meet a two year old that is overwhelmed with all of the responsibilities that he/she has.  They love life and their face shows it.

I am not saying that we all should neglect all of our responsibilities and begin to live careless lives.  I just think that we can sometimes become a prisoner to the negatives and we lose focus of all of the great things that really make our lives special.  

Take a moment today to enjoy the good things in your life.
Take your spouse on a date.
Play with your children.
Call a close friend and let them know how much you appreciate them.
Invite Sam and Dana to dinner.
Laugh.

We only get one chance at this life. 

Why not make the most of it?

(Don't you just love that picture of my 2 year old, Sidney, above?)

Generation We: The Movement Begins...

Just saw this video on Lanny Donoho's blog and had to share it.  This is a powerful and exciting video.  Especially for those of us that feel called to be an influence and to empower the next generation of leaders. Take a minute to think about the message in this video.  How can we take their passion, their diversity, their strength and create opportunities for them to use it for God's Kingdom?  

To Love.

To Serve. 

To Be The Church. 

 

Disclaimer - I am moved by the passion and message of this video....however I am not saying that I support the movement or direction of the website gen-we.org.

Thanks Andrew for the thoughts...

Are You Ok With This?

A friend of mine, Andrew Statezny, recommended a blog post to me yesterday by, Mark Batterson titled, "Are You Ok With This?".  In the post he shared about attending the Civil Forum on Global Health in DC that was put together by Saddleback and Rick Warren.  I read it last night and the post is still shaking me up today.  Here is just a short excerpt from it. 

"I'm not sure I can do this justice, but Rick shared three slides that made a profound point. The slides showed the western province of Rwanda, population 700,000. The first slide showed the locations of allhospitals. There are only 3 of them. The second slide showed the location of all the health clinics. There are 22 of them. And the third slide showed the location of all the churches in Rwanda. There are 728 of them. Then Rick made a simple observation:The church is the largest organization on earth. What if we viewed churches, especially in less-developed countries, as distribution channels for things like education and health care? The church already has the infrastructure. The church already has the workforce. The church already has the motivation. We just need to strategically mobilize to make a difference." 

He goes on to share that more than 8000 people will die from AIDS today.  

That is staggering.  

Seems like the answer isn't to build more churches in Rwanda...it's to be the church and help people.  He ended the blog post that you can read by clicking here with this quote that I will end this post with too...

Are You Ok With This?

Great Holiday Video

Here is a video from Advent Conspiracy that I thought would be good to share today...in the spirit of Black Friday!

Advent Conspiracy 08 from Mike Stecker on Vimeo.

The Vatican Forgives

The Vatican just released a statement that they have officially forgiven John Lennon.  During an interview in 1966, John Lennon said that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus.  Here is a quote from the Vatican on why they decided to forgive.  

"The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a 'boast' by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll," Vatican daily Osservatore Romano said.

 It took 42 years for the Vatican to Let It Be and now John Lennon can rest in peace. 

America's 44th President

No matter how you voted this is a historic day in American history. I was proud to sit with my daughter, Abby, on my lap and watch the returns come in tonight.

It was a close election and maybe who you voted for didn't win, but we can all be proud of America. We don't need to be disgusted, scared, or talk about moving to a different country. Better yet, if you decided not to vote, you can just go ahead and wait until you make that a priority before you complain. The country is changing. God is still in control and maybe we could take more time thinking about what this election is saying to us than wondering why we think God has abandoned us.

I may not agree with some of Barack Obama's policies and solutions to some of the issues that America is facing, but I am still incredibly proud of this country.

Let's agree to do this...

Pray for our country and leadership.

Take the words of Saint Francis of Assisi to heart - "Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words."

Don't worry about what CHANGE the government is going to offer you....Be the CHANGE!

Keeping the Election in Perspective

While you wait to see who will be the next President of the United States remember that HE IS STILL THE CHAMPION!

My favorite part is the shout outs at the beginning of the video. Is it a good thing to have Carman dedicate "The Champion" to you?

Bursting the Bubble!

We are one day away from electing the next President of the United States. It's been a long and interesting journey to get to this point and I am looking forward to watching tomorrow play out. There are also a few propositions that have interest as well, like defining marriage as a man and a woman. What has really been unique to me this year is how many conversations I have had with friends in the church that have differing opinions on how they are going to vote. It's been refreshing that there is so much diversity right now on some of these important issues. Maybe for some of us that is incredibly concerning. For me...it's incredibly encouraging. When Christians get too comfortable sharing their opinions on a wide range of topics without fear of speaking with someone that just might disagree it creates the infamous "Christian Bubble".

I have lived inside of that bubble before without realizing it.

At times, I have forgotten how to communicate with someone who wasn't "washed in the blood".

The book UnChristian showed us that 78% of those outside the faith think Christians are in their own little bubble - sheltered, isolated from the real world, out of touch, out of tune and irrelevant.

Living in the bubble doesn't keep Christians protected...it keeps people out.

If you are an overachiever, read Acts 10 where Peter has a vision that changes his perspective nd he truly understands that if the world can't touch you - you can't touch the world.

I guess what I am trying to say is a "safe" church usually becomes a dangerous church to be a part of.
But a diverse church becomes contagious and welcoming to those that the church is called to reach.

This election is a very important one. No matter who is elected tomorrow they will have to lead a country that is facing a lot of challenges.

My prayer would be that this is the year the church takes a leadership role in being a part of the solution to those challenges!

Go Vote!

Opie is for Obama!

I just saw a NEWS HEADLINE saying that "Ron Howard makes video to endorse Obama for President."

And?

Ummm......

Are there people out there that were waiting to find out who the guy from Happy Days and The Andy Griffith Show were going to endorse? Obviously he thought so. He even decided to do something that he has "never done before" and play the parts that made him famous again, Richie Cummingham and Opie. I think it's great that hollywood gets involved in encouraging people to go out and vote. I think it is humorous sometimes the lengths some actors are willing to go to get you to vote for their candidate. I don't mind them having an opinion. I just worry that there really are people out there that see their favorite actor on television tell them who they need to vote for and that is what sways them.

Enjoy the clip and vote for Steve Jobs!