Are You Ready to Sing, Church?

My absolute favorite song is Third Day's, My Hope is in You. It is almost straight from Psalm 25. Like pitchers who enter the game to a certain song, I play this each Sunday morning to "get ready." As you can tell, my pregame routine consists primarily of placing my hope in God. Sure I shower, suit up, study, and speak to God about the people. But when it comes to speaking to the people about God, my hope is entirely in God.

In fact, when it comes to life period, my hope is in God.

Download it, play it, pray it, live it.

I love it!

To you, O Lord,
I lift my soul
In you, O God,
I place my trust
Do not let me
be put to shame
Nor let my enemies
triumph over me

My hope is you

Show me your ways
Guide me in Truth
In all my days

My hope is you

I am, O Lord,
filled with your love
You are, O God,
my salvation
Guard my life
and rescue me
My broken spirit shouts
My mended heart cries out...

Third Day

Bring It!

Every once and a while someone will stop me in the foyer before I preach and exhort me to "bring it!" and what they are referring to of course, is the Word of God. The problem with that is two fold:

1. I must "have" it in order to "bring" it. Some Sundays I honestly don't own the text and the text doesn't own me and I'm just trying to point people to it the best I can. Other times, I've been so convicted by Holy Spirit and so filled with a God message that "bringing it" is my only option. It is, as Jeremiah so eloquently put it, "like a fire within my bones."

2. The listeners of the message must "want it" to a degree. I believe that the Holy Spirit can (and does) change a heart mid message however, usually the ones who come expecting a word from the Lord and the ones who get it. If someone is looking for a pick me up and God is bringing a knock me down, then what we often get is a classic "failure to communicate"

Mike Cope shared a great thought about preaching this morning and his first comment came from a guy named Lawrence Underwood, who shared this great quote from Alistair Begg: "Think yourself dry, read yourself full, write yourself clear, and pray yourself hot."

I was Mike's second comment (early bird gets the worm - Second rat gets the cheese!) and shared a quote about preaching that has been heavy on my heart and comes from St. Francis de Sales, a seventeenth century saint and the patron saint of authors: "The test of a preacher is that his congregation goes away saying not, "What a lovely sermon," but, "I will do something!"

I hope we all do something with the Word we receive this morning. It is time for both the speaker and the listener to "bring it" to a world that is in desperate need for "it"

Getting Your Grub On, Throwing Bones, and Catching Some Z's

Today was a good day! It began shortly after 7:00am with a trip out to Christ Haven for a 4 church workday. This wonderful event was spearheaded by my good buddy Kyle Conway and included men from Southlake Boulevard Church, Southlake 11/7 Church, Cross Timbers Community Church and our church. Probably the coolest thing about this event was just the fact that God used Kyle to make it happen. God is transforming Kyle and I'm so excited.

Churches come together all the time to join forces for such worthy causes. To understand what made this workday so special, you would have to know that Cross Timbers, Lake Cities, and 11/7 all were "splanted" from Southlake. I use that term "splant" very kindly. To put it another way, these churches historically haven't shared a ton of fellowship. In fact, Kyle joked that he was going to print t-shirts for the workday that read, "Splitfest '06" with the tagline saying, "My church split and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" Funny guy that Conway!

So we get out there to Christ Haven and do the whole "Hi & Howdy" thing which with guys is always a tough process. Then this cowboy fella tells us that we are going to be "grubbing" Mesquite. Grubbing Mesquite? What? Turns out that grubbing means chopping down/digging out and clearing the ground of those pesky Mesquite trees. So that was fun. And tough.

We finished "getting our grub on" before noon and then we got to "get our grub on" and do some damage to a few tons of brisket. Alan Bastyr was with me and I had to take him to Lewisville to catch a bus so I had to leave a few minutes early. All in all, it was a great day of fellowship. I believe God will use it as a beginning of a greater and needed healing between these four faith families.

I followed up a morning of hard work with an afternoon of hard work in the garage and yard. John and I were able to get a few minutes of father/son time in and we went to the club and putted for a while on the practice green. Kim's famous Nachos followed and then it was off to the church for forty two night. For those of you who are like I was a few months ago and have no clue what forty-two means, I'll bring you up to speed. Forty two is a game played with game played with dominos and is really fun. The crowd is a bit older but the atmosphere is so fun.
We "threw some bones" for a couple of hours and then it was back home for my typical early Saturday night bedtime.

So that brings us to now. 9:38pm.

Goodnight.

You are loved.

Planting and Watering

Just got in from Mission Resource Network's Benefit Dinner tonight and about to go on a walk with Kim, Emily and special guest/good friend, Alan Bastyr. But before I do I must share a few words about the recipients of the Crystal Globe award, Wendell and Betty Broom.

Wendell was a missions teacher back in the late 80's when I was young and green (as opposed to now - old and green) and his life was a class in missions of itself. The guy lived and breathed missions. In fact, if you go to the Halbert Institute for Missions part of the ACU site, you will find some incredible accolades about brother Broom. But neither Wendell or Betty believe their press and tonight was another testimony to their humble spirit and God focus.

When sharing a few thoughts about his winning of this wonderful award, Wendell had this to say:

(paraphrased) Betty and I live by two principles:

- Seek first the Kingdom of God and all the other things will be added to you.

- Never forget that Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth!

And then he thanked God for allowing him and Betty the blessing of watching Him grow the church!

Amazing!

Congratulations Wendell and Betty! You deserve the front row seats to the "God Growth Show" that your lives have witnessed!

Utterly Amazed

Last night my friend, Brian Miller, quickly referenced a verse in Habakkuk in his class and this morning I felt led to read the entire book. Actually, I felt led to read the verse that Brian shared with us again and then got sucked in by the beauty of it all and read the entire book.

Here is what the New American Commentary has to say about Habakkuk:

Habakkuk stands unique among the prophetic books of the Old Testament in form and content. Formally, HabakkukÂ’s book records a dialog with God and a concluding hymn. Instead of speaking to the people for God, Habakkuk spoke to God for the people. In content, Habakkuk focused on the problem of injustice in GodÂ’s world. He saw that evil never seemed to be punished and asked what GodÂ’s response to such evil and suffering was going to be.
In his dialog with God, Habakkuk asked God directly how the wicked could go unpunished. God answered: You must wait to see the work I am about to do on the stage of world history. Next the prophet asked, How could God use an evil instrument like Babylon to punish his own poor people, who were surely more righteous than Babylon? HabakkukÂ’s message is set within a backdrop of real people facing real questions about real human suffering. The prophetÂ’s questions prompted GodÂ’s revelation. The revelation centered in words that have repeatedly transformed the world: the righteous shall live by their faithfulness to God.
Barker, K. L. (2001, c1999). Vol. 20: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Page 245). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

After reading the brief book I found myself reflecting on the injustices of my own life:

I want God to amaze me but the problem is that I'm always trying to amaze God.

I want God to stop tolerating the treacherous but then I continue in my own sin un-fazed most of the time.

I want God to give me figs, grapes, olives, food, sheep, and cattle so that I might have joy. God wants me to be joyful in Him alone.

I rely on my own strength and live in the lowlands of life. God wants me to make Him my strength so that I might live in the heights.

I know God is continually transforming me. I suppose if He told me what He was up to - I wouldn't believe it.

Gone, But Never Forgotten

Kim and I leave tomorrow to go walk in the valley of the shadow of death with Silvia, Anthony and the rest of their family. I'm ready. I'm hurting, but ready.

I have since found out that David's sudden and tragic death was not due to a massive stroke as earlier reported. Dave's death was caused by a ruptured pancreas which resulted in internal bleeding. Here is a picture of Dave and his wife and son. I can't believe he is gone. His passing has impacted me deeply and I've spent the better part of the past 48 hours with tears loitering near or leaping from my eyes.










Kim and I are praying that God will use us to bring comfort to the family. We beseech your prayers.

Heaven's Huge Heart

Heaven just got a little, no make that a lot, more love. My dear friend Dave Milani finished the race last night. I received a call from a former student and forever brother, Seth Friebertshauser at 2:32am (CST) that Dave had suffered a massive stroke earlier in the evening and within hours. I have no words to describe the void this man will leave.

At over 6'8" tall, Dave towered most everyone and was one of the few guys whom I looked up to physically. If I had been taller than him, I still would have looked up to him spiritually. Dave and his sweet wife, Silvia were perhaps our best volunteers and closest friends during our time in California. While you could say that I discipled Dave in youth ministry, the real truth of the matter is that Dave taught me more about life than I taught him. This guy loved people. He was the definition of the word servant. And his devotion to his family was stronger than his grip (which was vice-like).

Kim had just written the Milanis a letter a week or so ago and Silvia had quickly responded with a card that we received this Thursday. Kim and told her how much we valued their friendship and how proud we were of their leadership of Uturn (the youth ministry at Redwood Church). Within minutes of hearing the shocking news, Kim called Silvia and expected to leave word on her voicemail that we were so sad and were praying without ceasing for her and Anthony. Silvia answered and Kim was able to cry with her for a while. Listening to them cry and contemplating the terrible reality that I won't get to see Dave this side of heaven was like a nightmare. I just kept hoping I would wake up and it would all be a bad dream. It wasn't. Dave's gone.

While I don't have time to share all that my heart is feeling about my good friend crossing into eternity, I do want to beg your prayers for Dave's family. Besides his wife, Dave's sole son, Anthony, witnessed his collapse and subsequent death and this will be nothing short of hell on earth for this junior high boy to deal with through out his life. Dave had watched his dad die of a heart attack when he was a teen and now history has cruelly dealt Anthony that hand.

I don't know why bad things happen to amazingly good people like the Milanis.

I do know that Dave and his huge heart are in home in heaven.

He is with his dad and with his Father.

And I can't wait to see him again.

Please pray for Silvia and Anthony.

Habit or Hunger?

Yesterday, Stephen and I had the pleasure of getting to sit in on a meeting of executive ministers at a local church. (I've chosen not to mention the name of the church to keep the parties involved anonymous) It was an incredibly productive meeting (both for them and for us as "flies on the wall") and Stephen and I learned a ton about leadership and communication from our friends down the road (albeit, a fairly long road - it is the Metroplex) but the most important lesson came from one comment that one of the minsters made. I have not been able to get it out of my mind and felt compelled to share it.

"God revealed to me that he is my habit and not my hunger. I want him to be my hunger!"

A chill went up my spine when he spoke it and I felt Holy Spirit rustle the dry leaves of conviction in my soul.

I don't know if it is because I'm currently preaching through Amos or because I'm about to begin a 40 day fast tomorrow (prayers are coveted!) or because I'm asking God to work on my heart to keep it soft and dependent or some other reason, but I cannot stop thinking about that confession.

The sheer honesty of the revelation and true contrite spirit of the man that spoke it was equally as impacting. I've known this Christ follower for almost 20 years and he has always had such a hunger for God. It was so encouraging to see that he is still chasing after Him with a holy hunger.

I want that hunger.

I want that hunger.

Mr. Miss

I miss it. Blogging. I don't do it nearly as often as I once did. Perhaps the new role is to blame. Maybe I'm too busy. It could be that I'm out of stuff to say...I doubt it. It might be that when I changed my format I lost some stuff like links, hit counter, etc... Maybe it is that blogging is a discipline or a habit and I'm just out of blogging shape. I don't know what it is...but I sure do miss it.

It isn't the posts that I miss either. Solomon says there is nothing new under the sun. There are plenty of great posts out there too. I miss the little community that forms as a result of a post. The posts were just vehicles to take us to conversation. And in some weird, world wide web way, the conversations, albeit with people I've never even seen in person, were a vehicle to take us to relationship.

I guess I miss the relationship.

Ill. Legal. He. Blond.

Ill:
Kim and I had free evaluations done yesterday at a club we just joined. I'm sick. Not literally (well, according to the results - yes, I actually am!) but figuratively for sure. Kim, ran farther than me, was more flexible than me and did more push ups than me! Okay, Kim runs 2-4 miles three days a week so I get the running deal. Flexibility, no shock there either - I have the range of motion of a statue (and my golf game can prove it). But push ups? Isn't that just sickening? I'm serious. When she passed me up (I will never tell how many/few I did...and she better not rat me out either!) my stomach just got sour. I was ashamed and felt like I had let the entire male race down. For what it is worth, I creamed her in the bench press test.

I don't know why we even had a fitness evaluation. You could have done one from a quarter of a mile away. "Hey that petite girl looks like she is in shape..." "Hey that guy looks like a stand up freezer...that excess tonnage must be murder on his heart...is that spare tire he is carrying...did he have a flat or something?"

Legal:
Scott Ballard used to be a friend of mine. True, I never call him and it is a shame that we haven't hung out since he moved to the Metroplex...but I still counted him as a friend. That was until he pulled this little Photoshop miracle out of his hat: click here to see his response to my recent post about being a crossing guard. I know that I'll later regret this when I see this picture make it's way around the net, but I've been blessed with the ministry saving gift of being able to laugh at myself, so no big deal. The good news is that Scott didn't obtain my permission so I plan on suing him for millions and millions and that will be cool because I'll have all that money and I'll find happiness and life's true meaning...

You punk Scott!

He:
My (well not mine exclusively...I haven't sued Scott yet) dry cleaner's name is He. He is a she. A woman. And her name is He. It is confusing and awkward for me because I'm often flashing back to 4th grade and giggling about that kind of stuff. It is not for Kim because she is busy trying to tell the world about Jesus and His unconditional love and grace. So she (Kim) tells He (her, my dry cleaner) about Jesus and they talk and now Kim and her (He) are friends. He (she) just got a new house so Kim is doing something cool for them. I'm praying for her (He) and for Kim to be able to reach out to her.

Speaking of praying...the lady who did our fitness evaluation (remember: "Kim in shape" and "Joel is stand up freezer"...) anyway, her name is Jennifer. She graduated from Lubbock Christian University and lives in Trophy Club. Well her mom was just diagnosed with breast cancer and I want everyone to please pray for her. Kim and I prayed with her yesterday and she was very appreciative. I'll give more details later.

Blond:
I just ran across the best blond joke I have ever seen. It is hilarious! Check it out here:

Have a great weekend and you stay classy world.

Crossing Guard

In a few minutes I will have to get up from "my" chair at Starbucks and make the 2 minute trek to Beck Elementary to serve as the Crossing Guard. Every Thursday morning I have the blessing to interact with those young students who brave the "mean streets" of Trophy Club, and walk to school. It is one of the highlights of my week.

I haven't made any significant relationships in my weekly 30 second interactions with the students or their parents, despite my obvious sacrifice of throwing myself in harms way of soccer moms and their menacing minivans. I don't believe anyone has come to Jesus, let alone our church, as a byproduct of my bravery. Truth be told, there hasn't been one time I've been called upon to dive in front of a Hummer or Lexus to save a life.

No, I just show up and grab my stop sign and help kids make it to their destination.

When I'm done I go to work at church.

And I try and help God's kids make it to their destination.

'Whatever the hell did God do for us?"

I went to bed last night with the news of the miners being found alive. I woke up to the news of all of them but one were dead. I cannot imagine the horrible emotional rollercoaster those families went through last night.

I read this quote this morning and must admit I was neither shocked nor offended.

"Whatever the hell did God do for us?"

This was spoken by one of the family members after the church pastor told him to calm down. You can read the entire story here.

It raised more than one question in my mind:

Why do we forget Calvary so quickly?

Would I react the same way if had been my loved one?

Is life about God doing for us or us doing for God? Or both?

How do you say "calm down" to a person who for 3 hours was celebrating a miracle and then found out that it was false?

Why do I believe the lie of my enemy and live life like this world is really my home?


We all want God to do something more us at different times in our lives. I long for the day when I can trust He loves me no matter what His answer is.

Getting Ready for the Party

It started a few weeks back. I got ready for the first Christmas Party of the season. I went through my usual pre-party warm up:
Leave the office at 5:10
Arrive home @ 5:15
Shave, shower, brush teeth by 5:25
Dress and book it out the door by 5:30

Not too much prep there. It wasn't a big deal.

But as the season has progressed, so have the scale of parties. Tonight Kim and I are attending one that requires considerably more preparation. It is a big party. Suffice it to say that I had to rent a tux and will engage in a tad more grooming prior to my departure. To be honest, I haven't always been overly excited about all the parties & functions I've attended this year. This one is different. I've been really looking forward to it.
But this won't be the biggest party of the season for me. Neither will the all church party this upcoming Wednesday and I'm really looking forward to that one! No, the party I'm most excited about is tomorrow night. Kim and I are having the staff and shepherds over and we can't wait! They don't know what is going to happen, but I do. And it will be a very special evening.

But this morning as I met with God, I was reminded that all these parties with the party prep and the anticipation that comes with them is really small beans.

Reading in 1 Corinthians, I unwrapped this gift:

"as it is written:

'No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for
those who love him'

but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit."

I've read it many times prior, but today the realization of that truth was stronger than ever. We can know, through the Spirit, what awaits us. We are privy to the plans of the Party Host.

I'm not waiting until 5:15 to get ready. In fact, I'm not waiting to go to it either.

Let the party begin today!

1400 Things That God Told Me

Trust me on this one.

Just click here.

Then click BOTH the phone call and the remix version on Dan's post.

Again, trust me. This is funny stuff!

Minister: the Verb.

One Word: Minister. Two primary functions:

Noun: (Main Entry: 1min·is·ter Pronunciation: 'mi-n&-st&rFunction: nounEtymology: Middle Englisministerre, from Old French, from Latin minister servant; akin to Latin minor smaller1 : AGENT2 a : one officiating or assisting the officiant in church worship b : a clergyman especially of a Protestant communion3 a : the superior of one of several religious orders -- called also minister-general b : the assistant to the rector or the bursar of a Jesuit house4 : a high officer of state entrusted with the management of a division of governmental activities5 a : a diplomatic representative (as an ambassador) accredited to the court or seat of government of a foreign state b : a diplomatic representative ranking below an ambassador)

or....

Verb: (Main Entry: 2ministerFunction: intransitive verbInflected Form(s): -tered; min·is·ter·ing /-st(&-)ri[ng]/1 : to function as a minister of religion2 : to give aid or service )

I like the verb better.

Don't get me wrong, I'm good with the noun function too, but being called a servant isn't as fulfilling as serving when called.

A constant blessing of sowing service is reaping the witness of other people who serve. In other words, my antenna are most up to the servant nature of others when I'm the least concerned with myself (i.e. serving). I have no shortage of wonderful examples in my life.

My wife Kim is, in my unbiased opinion, a master servant who has the "other chromosome" in her DNA. Some people remind me of Jesus. Kim is often Jesus to those to whom she ministers.

My kids, John, Laura, & Emily take after their mother. John is always ready to help someone with a computer problem. Laura serves her youth group by leading praise every Wednesday night. Emily is our gift maker who blesses others with handmade creations. Were I to list 10% of the times my family has modeled Christlike service, you'd be in for an hour-long-blog read.

When I leave home and arrive at the office I am surrounded by three more servant hearts: Stephen, Matt, & Karen. Working with them is my weekly sermon on service!

A couple of Sundays ago a team of 30+ helped our family move. I'm sure there were people with greater needs but we were sure grateful for their incredible service. Those of you who have experienced the "joy" of moving can agree! Matt brought a chunk of the youth group and they rocked! Mike & Tammy made a meal and Kevin and Lisa blessed us big time!

Last week I saw incredible acts of service done by Amy & Brian as they brought a blessing to Kevan and the kids. Stephen walked along that road of real relationship with us too. And praise God for Mike who is one of those strong soldiers who exemplify "extra mile" service. And Alex is a tremendous servant. Both of their help on Thursday night was awesome!

One of the powerful images of service burned into my mind is that of a talented team of ladies who lead our Children's Ministry: Melanie, Jenny, Rhonda, Leslie, Laura, Cindy & Jimma. They lead by serving and our children are blessed by their loving sacrifices.

I could go on and on with stories of people "pouring out" themselves for the sake of others. Our church is full of people who pick up crosses; a fact that does not surprise me. Our shepherds, Bob, Ron, David, Steve, & Rick are people who lay down their lives daily for their flock.

Like I said earlier... I like the verb better.

Hunting for a Star Buck!

I was reading recently that going on a morning hunt was the norm for most American families in the early 1900's. Well, at least for the men. The women, of course, were slaving away in the kitchen. Below is a picture of a "hunt" of a different kind. Our forefathers would hunt for a trophy buck. Here is what people are looking for early this Thanksgiving morning: Starbucks.















---------
We are in Houston (Crosby) for a quick Thanksgiving visit with family. We arrived after nine last night and will be on the road after lunch on Friday. It is always a good time to be with family. My only complaint with my in laws is their lack of broad band wireless internet. Hence, my morning trip to Starbucks to get my fix.

--------------
I have so much for which to be thankful. I could list the very obvious (family, friends, church, health, etc) but I want to share my greatest blessing I'll be counting today:

I am so thankful that I have someone to thank. God.

I was struck today in my quiet time with the horribly sad thought that so many people will say "thanks" today to no one in particular. Seriously, who does the atheist thank? I don't know about you, but I don't make it a habit to just say thanks to nobody. I praise God that He has shown himself to me as the giver of all good things.

I am a man, so richly blessed.
And I'm so thankful!

Redd with Generosity. Green with Envy.

What a great article! What a better story! In an era of selfishness and within a league of greed, Michael Redd stands out like a sore thumb. He is really a holy hand. The hand of God. Read this story of giving and you will receive a blessing.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2224230

Danger, Crack, Rock, and an Intercom. Amen!

Hello Friends,

Read a wonderfully dangerous post on my spiritual blood brother, Matt Ritchie's, blog a while back. This is awesome!

Mankind was born for worship, for communion with God. Our hearts where designed for wild worship, yet we're offered liturgy. Our minds designed to dream big the heart of God, we're offered building plans. Our bodies were designed for dangerous service; we're offered biblical commentaries from the safety of a pewÂ…or a comfortable theatre chair. There is nothing wrong with liturgy; the bible is filled with ceremony. There's nothing wrong with building plans, I like to be dry as much as the next guy. And we need the word, its absolutely essential. But at the end of the day, if we haven't touched the heart of God, if we haven't basked in His Glory, then the gathering is irrelevant. We don't need Sunday school; we need Jesus.

Matt's blog can be found here or more articles can be found on the website for the new e-zine called Precipice:

------------------

Just Let Me Finish My Crack.
A North Carolina man didn't speed up when police started chasing his car — he slowed down.
That's because he wanted to finish smoking his crack cocaine, Dunn (N.C.) police told the Dunn Daily Record. Read more.

-------------------

The following is a logo and an excerpt from a flier I sent out to our church announcing our new sermon series on the life of Peter. Much love to Mark Weather's for his mad word smith skills.

"Peter's hands bore the callouses of a fishermen's life. Pulling in bowline as the sun drifted below the rocky hills in the distance, stitching up the holes of his wind tattered sail before the next work day, scaling fish on the Sea of GalileeÂ’s shores, silently taking count of that days catch. But one day, pulling in nets beside his brother Andrew, a distant figure called out from shore, offering an invitation, and in accepting this call life for Peter, called Simon, would be radically altered.

Centuries later, we still tell the story of the fishermen who became the very foundation of the Christian Church. We remember the foolhardy promises he made to Christ, we reflect on the bitterness of his denial of the very one he had sworn allegiance to and we look with admiration at ‘The Rock’ who would stand before the world with a testimony that could not be quieted, not even unto death. But we do not retell his story because of our love for nautical characters, or simply because we are endeared to tales in which victory streams from the dark waters of failure. The story of Peter must be told because, we too have accepted an invitation from a mysterious figure who stands in the distance, and we have a lingering sense that maybe the triumph of his life might become our own.

This Sunday, October 2nd, Lake Cities Church of Christ will 'put out into the deep waters' of a four part study on the life of Peter, the one who didn't get away. I hope to catch you there.

Following with you.

Joel
----------------

I read a great piece on leadership the other day. You might enjoy it - you might not...
http://mba.mccombs.utexas.edu/mma/info/exchange/2004/ceo.asp
I loved the part about being an intercom! So true.

---------------

I was researching the word "Amen" the other day (because I have that kind of time...) and found out that it has roots in IsJudaismudism and Christianity. Want to know more? Click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amen
And finally, strange bit of trivia here - Amen is the last word of the Bible. Didn't know that.

Amen!

The Biggest Loser

At our staff retreat a few days ago, Stephen Bailey and I started singing an old school (make that - an old "private Christian" school) favorite, Amy Grant's, Fat Little Baby. The tune is catchy. The lyrics are convicting. The message is concerning.

Read for yourself:

I know a man, maybe you know him, too.
You never can tell; he might even be you.
He knelt at the altar, and that was the end.
He’s saved, and that’s all that matters to him.
His spiritual tummy, it can’t take too much.
One day a week, he gets a spiritual lunch.
On sunday, he puts on his spiritual best,
And gives his language a spiritual rest.

He’s just a faaa...
He’s just a fat little baby!
Wa, wa, waaaaa....
He wants his bottle, and he don’t mean maybe.
He sampled solid foods once or twice,
But he says doctrine leaves him cold as ice.

Ba, ba, ba, ba...ba, ba...ba, ba!
He’s been baptized, sanctified, redeemed by the blood,
But his daily devotions are stuck in the mud.
He knows the books of the Bible and john 3:16.
He’s got the biggest king james you’ve ever seen!
I’ve always wondered if he’ll grow up someday.
He’s momma’s boy, and he likes it that way.
If you happen to see him, tell him I said,
He’ll never grow, if he never gets fed.

He’s just a fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fa-at, fat...
Fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fa-at, fat...
Fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, fat, faaaaat......baby...
-----------

Here is the part that rings so true with me:
"But he says doctrine leaves him cold as ice."

It is true, isn't it? Doctrine doesn't cut it. The sad thing is that for so many, they judge their spiritual fitness by their doctrinal diet. Diet is only part of the equation of spiritual health. The other is exercise. In other words, "Doing"

Doctrine plus Doing is the key to sheding that baby fat.
May we all lose a few pounds this week!

Live.

My friend Bart Phillips has a great post about the tragic and triumphant passing of the young pastor in Waco who died last week.

Below are Kyle's final sermon notes exactly as he wrote them:

Live. And live well.

BREATHE. Breathe in and breathe deeply.

Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.

On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.

Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.

If you bike, pedal HARD and if you crash then crash well.

Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.

If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year olds nose, don't be disgusted if the Kleenex didn't catch it all because soon he'll be wiping his own.

If you've recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And grieve well.

At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you're eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke.

And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven.

And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life.

Because it is most definitely a Gift.

Appropriate words for one who would soon meet their Giver of Life.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

What an amazing message!