Exiled Community

I’ve been thinking about this today, while I don’t know his faith, I think Peyton Manning would make a great youth pastor. There are several reasons.

1. He’s an innovative communicator: Have you ever seen Peyton communicate at the line of scrimmage. He barks out commands at the line and uses a lot of body language to communicate to his team so they are all on the same page. Can you imaging Peyton on a Sunday evening Youth meeting…his plan is to preach from the Gospel of Matthew, but then audibling to the Gospel of Luke so the projection team and other support can follow.

2. He’s a Great Mentor to Kids: Check out the clip from Saturday Night Live of Peyton Mentoring kids through the United Way. I can see him TPing a house now!

3. Peyton Knows the Strength of Three: I think Peyton would start some accountability in groups of three to correspond with Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark. This model would encourage students to be involved in accountability groups.

4. He wears a suit: Peyton would win over the more seasoned members of the church because he shows up to work in a suit. Wallets would open and money would flow into the ministry because of the suit’s effect on the seasoned members of the church who believe that Jesus wore a suit.

It’s December 1st. According to me, it is the official start of the Christmas Season. (Yes Wal-Mart and others of their ilk begin shortly after Labor Day) Andrea and I have some traditions that we keep around Christmas.

1. Christmas Music after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas music, but it has to be in the right context. We don’t start Christmas Music until Thanksgiving day.

2. Christmas Movies. There are certain holiday movies that you must watch. Ours include; National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, and I believe Elf might make it on our must watch list.

Speaking of Christmas Movies, we began to watch Home Alone last night after Abbie went to bed. It’s a cute movie that I’ve probably seen 100 times. But, did you know, that the movie is 16 years old? I was 13 when it came out! When Home Alone became available on video, the movie was in the Top 3 Grossing Movies of All-Time. That stunned me to read that. Everytime I put aftershave on my face, I want to scream like Macully Caulkin!

3. Christmas Decorating- Andrea got many of the decorations out this year and has begun to decorate the inside of the house. It was too cold today to put up lights, but they are coming!

All this said, I’m looking forward to a great holiday season. My seminary work is done, and I can relax at home with the family!

I’m working on next Sunday’s sermon. It’s not quite advent and technically (in our church, at least) past thanksgiving. So I think it will be a ThanksAdvent Sermon. I doubt it is the first of its kind!

The text I am working from is Matthew 25:31-46, which is Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats. It’s a parable about judgement (doesn’t that warm the heart as we head towards Christmas?) In short, what seperates the sheep from the goats is the sheeps lifestyle of service and care for ‘the least of these brothers of mine.”

Who are these ‘least of these?” There are many people it could refer to. The quick answer is that the least of these are the needy people stuck in poverty in our world. But often when Jesus says “Brother” he is refering back to his disciples. So ‘the least of these brothers of mine” could be refering to Christian disciples or Christian missionaries who are in need. This passage is encouraging hearers to care for those who are in need, especially those doing the work of God in this world.

This is especially important this time of year. “Black Friday” looms around the corner when hoards of people will storm the stores looking for the best bargain. The average family in America spends close to $900-$1000 at Christmas…many putting that on a credit card and paying into the new year. (I should probably put a reference here, but it’s at work!!) As Americans we want to get the best deals on the best gadgets and get as much as we can at Christmas time. Talk about the Christmas Spirit.

This Christmas, there are missionaries all over the globe who are struggling to make ends meet as their share the gospel of Christ. In our own country, there are those committed to serving the poorest of the poor to offer them the hope of God’s love. I am challenged this Christmas season to take care of those in need, especially those doing God’s work in our world.

I will be listing some links to sites where you can get invovled and help our brothers and sisters who are on the front lines and in need. They are working to help the world experience the transformational love of Jesus. This is our invitation to join with them.

Last month, I attended the Seminars4Worship event in Lancaster, Pa. It was a pretty good event, especially since I have only attended youth ministry conferences before. There was some good worship and speakers. I was blessed to have about twenty minutes to speak with Brian Doerkson one-on-one. While we spoke, he recommended Mark Labberton’s book Dangerous Worship. Never one to turn down a good book, I snatched it up and have been working through it.

There are many parts that resonate with me in this book and I want to highlight one. In chapter one Labberton writes:

This is nothing more than me saying that I am reviving the blog. I’ve been writing on myspace for awhile, but I wanted to come back to this. I’ll probably continue to blog some on myspace, but it will be lighter stuff. I want to blog here on things regarding faith, life, worship, and being a dad. I will probably put my first real post back here on Friday regarding next Sunday (Nov. 25th) sermon. Peace.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Andrea and I had a great time with her family. While we were there, we made a trip to NYC. It was my first time there. We just went sight-seeing. Went to the top of the Empire State Building. Pretty cool stuff.

I have been out of sync lately. Kinda down, out of sorts. Today, I feel like I could quite my job in a heart beat. Nothing bad has happened. I just wonder if it is where I am suppose to be. I enjoy ministry; the challenges, the growth, etc., but there are so many things I lack as a pastor. I sometimes wonder if I should be a construction worker and be involved in the church. Am I really where God wants me?It’s beeen one of those days.

I am reading Don Miller’s book, Searching for God Knows What. I really resonate with Don’s writing. The book, so far, has been about his growth from treating God as head knowledge to being in an intimate relationship with God. If you haven’t read any of his books…do it now! Check him out here!

Not too much else going on. I need to turn in my passport application today…then we might go do some Christmas returns.

More to come.

I think writing a good catchy title is the hardest thing about regularly blogging for a non-writing type person like myself. It would be easier if I had a couple of days to think about it.

Just a couple days from Christmas. It is supposed to be close 50 degrees over the weekend…very non-Christmas weather. I am just about ready for the Christmas Eve service. I am pretty excited about it. Practice with the worship team went really well last night.

I think I am a more compulsive person than I realize. By compulsive, I mean lacking some self-control. When it comes to food…I can eat any time, anywhere, and sometimes feel I have little control to say no. Even on the internet, I am compulsive about just spending alot of time on it. I am sure there is a spiritual corealation here…maybe that is why Jesus encouraged His followers to fast…to build self-control.

Today should be a good day. Hair cut in 30 minutes-then to work. I will finish my sermon, look over the computer for all services, and then have a meeting with the other staff regarding the weekend full of services.

If I don’t get to post again, have a Merry Christmas!