What Facebook & Twitter Have Taught Me

One year ago today I joined Facebook (Thank you Stephen Zehnder). And about six months later, I started on Twitter. I’ve learned so far:

1. The World is Small. I’ve connected with some great people who I never would have met before. I’ve caught up with old friends that I haven’t seen in years. The kids have connected with friends in China and amazingly I’ve grown closer with people who live next store.

2. Concise Writing. As someone who’s a creative thinker and spiritual writer, it’s forced me to organize my thoughts into smaller soundbites. 140 characters is tough, but it a great discipline in choosing your words carefully.

3. Personal Growth. TweetDeck moved Christian leaders and thinkers from podcast and conferences, to right in front of me. Their new insights and new learnings have become my new learnings, and it’s forced me to be more authentic with my life and faith journey.

4. To Break Down Walls. In America, we tend to stay in our little cliques of people who believe the same thing we believe and think the same way we think. I’m more interested in meeting people who are different from me. The diversity of ideas and thinking is amazing and forces me to rethink old positions and discover new directions.

5. Community. In ministry, my goal is to inspire others where ever they at in their spiritual journey, from not even interested in anything spiritual to connected in a church. The conversations are awesome. With my community at Epic, it’s helped build deeper relationships, keep everyone informed about events and spur one another on.

6. Laughter. People are funny and say some hilarious stuff. SERIOUSLY. You make me laugh!

Soundtrack for CONFLICT Series

Some songs I’m listening to and inspired by as I write for the upcoming series on relational conflict.

BETA Version: I’ve been playing around with this tonight. It’s cool. I always wanted to put music on the blog, but I need to figure out how to upload this so it doesn’t shut off when I switch screens. I’ll keep working.

30/30: Kathy and I. Conflict. Arby’s.

Kathy and I have had some major conflicts in our 18 years of marriage. One of the best was a few years ago on vacation at Hocking Hills in SE Ohio. The kids in the backseat witnessed an epic event that is often recalled and revisited today when we go out to dinner.

We were driving to dinner and an Outdoor Theater Production in a city about 45 minutes away from our campground. On the way we drove through a quaint small town which just so happened to be celebrating their Summer Fair. You know the kind where the downtown is closed and it’s transformed with rides, BBQs, elephant ears and whole lot of small town charm. “This is cool! Let’s stop here for dinner. The kids will have fun!.” We’ve got a few hours before the play, so I pull in to enjoy a little unexpected fun on our journey.

As I get out of the car, Kathy speaks up, “I was REALLY looking forward to having dinner at the drama.” (There was a special dinner before the performance with the actors in the production. Did I forget to mention we had planned on going there for dinner?).“Yeah, THAT was a good idea, but this is SO much better,” I chime back.

Better to me, not better to her. You can see where this is going.

The argument ensues which is followed with a huff from me, “Alright, let’s go. Mom wants to eat at the theater.” Three miles down the road the argument escalates to the point where we pull over to the side of road. A lot of sarcastic “I dont’ freakn care. I’ll do what YOU freakn want!” comments ensue and in huff Kathy gets out of the car and starts walking back to town. I turn the car around and drive along yelling from the window, “Get back in the car!”

After about a 100 yards, a whole lot of screaming from me and crying from the kids, Kathy gets back in the car. The conflict continues, but this time we yell at each other with the loudest form of anger…SILENCE. After 30 minutes of tension you could cut with a knife, we get to our destination. Kathy has now lost her appetite for dinner at the theater, but with three hungry kids in the car I pull into Arby’s. The family piles out of the car, but not me. I’m still stewing. While they enjoyed a thinly sliced roast beef, I sat in the car sulking in thinly sliced anger and resentment.

The story is funny now and we all laugh about that infamous day. At times now when we are going out to eat, the kids will say “Hey dad! Want to go to Arby’s for dinner? You can sit in the car.”

“Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that war within you.” James 4:1

CONFLICT Series begins @ Epic November 15

CONFLICT Goals

I sat down this morning to do some broad brush strokes on the next series CONFLICT. I set three goals:

1. To write all three messages this week (never done that before)
2. To face the truth about myself and my conflicts
3. To make the primary goal to be better at resolving conflict in my marriage

Take the QUIZ: Boring Life Indicator

Take the Boring Life Indicator QUIZ: (check all that apply)

___If your plans for this weekend, look like your plans for last weekend.

___If you talk about characters on TV like they are a friend of yours.

___If most of your conversations are about work or the kids.

___If the best stories from your life where when you were drunk.

___If your conversations are often about something on a screen (ballgame, TV show, News, Facebook, etc).

___If your best stories as a Christian, were from more than a year ago.

___If your Monday looks like your Tuesday, which looks like your Wednesday…

___If you schedule your life around something on TV.

___If joining a small group is the most daring thing you’ve done as a Christian.

Christ said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). Often times we settle for a bunch of stuff that is not necessarily bad, but is far short of the adventurous life that Jesus is calling us to live. Christ invites us to follow him and life an original life that only we can life. He has uniquely gifted you, given you a unique personality and is personally calling you to impact this world. Could it be your life your life could be more than your living now? Could it be that God is a unique role that only you can play in this world?

Don’t Miss Living the Adventure!
This Sunday, Nov. 8 @ Epic … On Your Mark

New Series @ Epic: CONFLICT

PEOPLE FIGHT, SO GET IT RIGHT

Conflict is inevitable in relationships. Its how you handle it that makes all the difference in the world. God has given practical insight on how to be honest about our feelings, resolve differences constructively and experience real forgiveness.

Join us at Epic Church in November for Conflict, a series that can radically improve your current relationships and help restore broken ones.

Nov. 15 Fighting Fair
Nov. 22 Speaking the Truth in Love
Nov. 29 Forgive and Live

Did You Know? 4.0

Things are changing at a rapid rate. The last statement was amazing. What stat surprised you? How do you think we will do life different in 5 years? What changes do you think this means for businesses and churches?

30/30: Anything. Everything. Malachi.

God doesn’t want anything from you. He wants everything. And anything short of everything is too short. We Will Never Give God Everything, Until We Discover…

1. Who He Is

A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. Malachi 1:4-6

He is…
1. Our Father
2. Our Master (Lord Almighty)

2. What He Expects

“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ You place defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the LORD’s table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty. Malachi 1:6-8

I honor God by giving him my First and my Best
“Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will He accept you?” says the LORD Almighty. “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. Malachi 1:9-10

My Next Step…

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:8-10

90% with God’s blessing is far more than 100% without it.

New Series@Epic: Live the Adventure

Ever feel like you were created for something bigger? Ever wonder how to know what God is asking you to do? In this four-week series, you will discover how God has uniquely gifted you and how you can specifically impact this world. Climb in…your life will never be the same.

Live An Original Life – Oct 18
ID Your Spiritual Gifts – Oct 25
Only You Can Be You – Nov 1
On Your Mark – Nov 8

Live the Adventure @ Epic Church

Moving from Worry to Hope

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. …No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:19-24

1. Realize the WASTE of Worry
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:25-27

2. BUDGET with What Christ Has Given you
We want God to intervene and help us financially, but maybe the bigger thing is that He wants to do teach us is wisdom in how to budget and plan with what He has already given us.
- Save: Build the “Oh No” Fund
- Give: Build the Discipline of Giving

3. PRAY Before Your Pay
“The spiritual root of America’s economic recession is our inability to delay gratification. We want it ALL & all of it NOW.” Rick Warren

The plans of the diligent lead to proft as surely as haste leads to poverty Proverbs 21:5

4. Put Your TRUST in Your Heavenly Father
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:25-34