Vision Quest!

Volunteers for Christ annual spring break trip is right around the corner. We started registration this past week with over 80 people signing up. If you haven't gone before, it is the worlds best week. I mean that.

We showed a video last week that we have posted to our website. You can check it out here.

The question is: what are some of your favorite VQ memories? I've been 10 years, and here's my TOP TEN.

10. The Famous Faceplant in the Sand. (we were jumping in the ocean the first night about midnight, and one dude jumped a little early. Full belly flop into wet, hard sand. Unforgettable.)

9. Matt Carr, aka Fattie McGhee doing his famous one man production "Barabbas". Powerful. Moving. I laughed and I cried.

8. Jeremy and Michelle Sanders getting engaged on the beach. Craig tried to announce it that night as a surprise. Nice try Craig, but everyone already knew.

7. My wife remembers that VQ was the location of our first hug. I don't recall. But just her talking about it makes it in my top ten.

6. A three hour tour. Yes, we were making a simple run to Wal-mart, and yes we got lost. We left after lunch and made it home right before dinner

5. The gong show. The precursor to the now infamous talent show. I was a judge. So was Dave Stanley. Everyone got gonged. One girl cried. Classic.

4. Calypso Cafe. (Hey, I didn't say they were all good memories).

3. Our bus getting hit by the drunk driver. She took off in her truck, Matt Carr chased after her (only to return with her bumper?), we got her license plate number, the cops came, they went and got her, we identified her, she went to jail. Sad, but memorable.

2. Seeing Elizabeth Moore (currently under the name Elizabeth Plewniak) for the first time. She was playing volleyball in overalls. It was incredible. She waved at me. I laughed and I cried.

1. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit my first year. Acts 1:8 all all the way!

I could probably do a hundred more memories. Vision Quest is one unforgettable week! GO.

Tips for reading...

Al Mohler recently posted on the Together for the Gospel blog. He talks about how he organizes his reading and gives some practical tips on how to read more. Check it out here.

Here is a quote from his post:

"In the course of any given week, I will read several books. I know how much I thrive on this learning and the intellectual stimulation I get from reading. As my wife and family would be first to tell you, I can read almost anytime, anywhere, under almost any kind of conditions. I have a book with me virtually all the time, and have been known to snatch a few moments for reading at stop lights. No, I do not read while driving (though I must admit that it has been a temptation at times). C.J., I took books to high school athletic events when I played in the band. [Heap coals of scorn and nerdliness here.] I remember the books -- do you remember the games? "

Anybody out there read several books a week?

New Attitude...

registration has already begun. have you registered? If not, what in the world are you waiting for.

Here is a link to the conference website. You can find out more here.

The list of speakers is long, including CJ Mahaney, Joshua Harris, Mark Dever, Erik Simmons, and Mike Bullmore. Plus, plenty of breakout sessions.

You can register here.

Superbowl...

Anybody want to throw some predictions out there. I'll come up with a prize or something to whoever gets it closest.

Here's a good one, you get to take two lovely, adorable, quiet, and fun children to your house for a night. Actually, if you get REALLY close, you can have them for a weekend, and if you get it EXACTLY right, the kids are yours. Their names are Zeke and Lily....so go ahead, guess away.

If you don't know, it's the Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers.

My guess is Pitt -- 23 Seattle -- 17.

Students beware....

your college classes may not teach you the most important things in life...duhhh (used in the classic 80's style). So many of the classes we take lack the basic knowledge of who God is and where we came from. Richard Baxter, a 17th century puritan, warned about this hundreds of years before our time. Here is his advice to students:

"This is the sanctification of your studies, when they are devoted to God, and when is the end, the object, and the life of them all. And, therefore, I shall presume to tell you, by the way, that it is a grand error, and of dangerous consequence in Christian academies, that they study the creature before the Redeemer, and set themselves to physics, and metaphysics, and mathematics, before they set themselves to theology; whereas, no man that hath not the vitals of theology, is capable of going beyond a fool in philosophy. Theology must lay the foundation, and lead the way of all our studies." The Reformed Pastor, p. 58.

Theology is the study of God. This study is our foundation. Everything else in the universe must relate to the great truth of who God is, His character, how He relates to man, and how we can please Him. Let theology be the overarching truth (the vitals of theology) by which we interpret all of our studies. And let's study hard for God's glory!

p.s. Puritans write really long sentences. I don't.

Music city...

This week, I'm on a retreat in wonderful Nashville, Tennessee. I know a lot of VFCers are from Nashville, but the question is "did you know?"

- Did you know...Nashville's Athena Parthenos is the tallest indoor sculpture in the Western world. She stands an impressive 42 feet high in the temple of the Parthenon

- Did you know...In 1941, Nashville was granted the first FM license in the United States . Music City then became the first to enjoy static-free radio

- Did you know...Elvis recorded more than 200 of his songs at RCA's Historic Studio B on Music Row. The red, blue and green lights found in the studio are a remnant from one of Elvis's Christmas albums. Unable to get in the holiday spirit while recording in July, he was having trouble finishing the album. The crew solved the problem by installing holiday-colored lights, putting up an artificial Christmas tree in the corner and cranking the air conditioner up as high as it would go to create the festive atmosphere

- Did you know...Standard Candy Company, founded in 1901, created the GooGoo, a true Nashville delight marrying peanuts, caramel, marshmallow and milk chocolate together for a tasty cluster of candy. Today Standard Candy Company uses more than 3 million pounds of chocolate a year. Legend has it that GOO stands for Grand Ole Opry.

Did you know?

Starting with the gospel...

Mark Lauterbach did a recent post that I think you should read (whoever you are). Here is a link to it.

It's about how real change begins with the gospel and works outward, not external changes that work inward.

Here's a quote to wet your appetite: "The problems are always the same: hypocrisy, institutionalism, rebellious teenagers, broken marriages, lack of passion in worship, division and destroyed unity, etc, etc, etc.

We diagnose the problem as lack of pre-marriage counseling or wrong church government or the evils of the world, or the need to disciple our own children and get them out of the public schools, or the need to restore biblical law to the government, or lack of prayer in the schools, or the lack of church discipline, or the rigid ways of tradition."

Later in the post he writes: "The solution is the Gospel - the glorious person and work of Jesus the Messiah. It takes the power of the Spirit applying the blood of Christ to our hearts to change us. And when there is real progress in sanctification, many things change."

Mike Bullmore calls this the "functional centrality of the gospel." It's a good reminder to those of us, like me, who try to change circumstances and "externals" instead of getting to the root of the problem, my sin and then pleading and believing in the blood of my savior, Jesus Christ.

I love the VFC interns!

Do you? Why not tell them why you are thankful for them.

And please...no comments on Jonathan's weight or how Walt runs like a girl.

End of the Spear.

A new movie coming out January 20th about the 5 missionaries who were speared to death in the Amazon jungle trying to share the gospel with a tribe there. It's being released in 1200 theatres, but I'm not sure how to find out if it is being shown in Knoxville, but I would love to go see it. Let me know if you find out info on it's showing times locally.

Also, if you haven't read the book "Shadow of the Almighty" by Elizabeth Elliot, I would try to read it before (or after) you see the movie. She is the wife of one of the men, Jim Elliot.

My favorite Jim Elliot quote (next to the classic "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose") is:

"Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me." That's my prayer today.

Here is a myspace sight for the movie if you want to find out more.

Fire starter

One New Mexico mouse went out in a blaze of glory. After a Fort Sumner homeowner pitched the pesky rodent into a pile of burning leaves to try to get rid of it, the creature made a break for the safety of the house, even as its fur burned. Once inside, the mouse got the ultimate revenge: It caught the house on fire. Unfortunately for 81-year-old Luciano Mares, flames consumed the home and everything in it. It's unclear whether the mouse survived.

Here are some links to the story:

BBC News
CNN

Originally posted on: World Mag Blog.

worship and theology.

Reformation Theology recently did their blog post on Bob Kauflin (Worship Matters blog). They recommended his blog as well as posted an article of his on theology and worship leaders. I think this would benefit all, including worship leaders or the musically challenged. Here is a link to the post.

He says, "Theology is simply the study of God. That’s why every Christian, musician or otherwise, is a theologian. The question is whether we’re a good theologian or a bad one. We’re a good theologian if what we say and think about God lines up with the whole of Scripture. We’re a bad theologian if our view of God is vague, unbiblical, distorted, or simply reflects our own opinions."

Like I said, good stuff. Check out the rest of it.

i have the attention span of a kindiegardenner....

yes. this is true. sometimes.

the other day, someone asked me "what u been reading?" I didn't get past the first book before our conversation was diverted by a random thought I had and then we eventually returned to the original question 30 minutes later. so, i decided to do a post on what I'm currently reading. I'd love any and all thoughts on good books that you've read lately, or if you've read some of these let me know what you thought about them.

- "Humility" by CJ Mahaney. I just finished this one and will soon start over again. This is a must purchase for both men and women and should be read every year for the rest of your life (enough said).

- "God's Big Picture" by Vaughn Roberts. An overview of the bible. Great read. Highly recommended...especially for college students.

- "Questionning Evangelism" by Randy Newman. Interesting book that talks about the power of asking good questions in evangelism. This is something I've been learning about since the summer, so I'm really enjoying this.

- "Simplify Your Spiritual Life" by Donald Whitney. I try to read a book about spiritual disciplines around the new year. This one caught my eye because the subtitle is "Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed." And anything by Whitney is usually solid gold.

One helpful tip someone gave me is "don't feel like you have to finish every book you pick-up". If a book isn't good, just put it down and get another one. So, there is no guarantee I'll finish the bottom two....but they seem really good.

Hey, I stuck to one topic for a whole entry! Hallelujah. To first grade I go.

Calling all men....

the girltalk blog recently did a post about waking up early. They have begun the "5:00 club". I think this is an excellent post for all women and men. My challenge is to the men....you have a reputation. A reputation for sleeping, eating, watching too much TV, being lazy, and getting fat. Granted, this is a reputation that many have earned, myself having earned this reputation for several years (of course, w/o the getting fat part, though that would have happened it if wasn't for my marathon sprinting roadrunner metabolism that has caused many to wonder if my thyroid would explode at any moment). Our culture highlights the dumb, indecisive, passive, incapable of doing anything right dad as the star of most sitcoms.

Let's change this reputation. Take a note from these great ideas and "resolve" to be disciplined, grace-motivated, early rising, Word loving, God-glorifying MEN!

Here are some helpful practices as noted by the girltalk blog entry:

- Set my alarm for the same time everyday.
- Get up. Turn off alarm, which is strategically placed on the other side of the room. (I’ve learned this is my most critical moment in getting up early. It is crucial that I never, never, never, hit the snooze button or lie back down to catch a few more winks.)
- Head straight to bathroom and then proceed directly to the coffee pot.
- Be prepared to feel absolutely miserable for about 10 to 15 minutes. (But the feeling of misery turns into pure gladness as I soon experience the delight of having that alone time and as I reap the benefits all day long. It is totally worth feeling miserable for about 15 minutes.)
- Your body responds to a regular wake up time. In other words, it gets easier.

Volunteers for ?.....

you decide. If this trend continues, it would be up to those who attend our campus group. This is a sad but interesting article about one Christian campus group in California that was stopped because it required members to be Christians (basically).

Here is a quote from the author: "Apparently California believes that it would be unfair for a student to be excluded from an ideological organization, even if that student does not agree with the teachings of the ideology."

My question is, who would want to join a club they disagree with? Would a homosexual want to join a group that believes homosexuality is wrong? Would a Muslim want to join a Christian group that says there is only way, Jesus Christ? Why make a group admit people that wouldn't want to join anyway?

Maybe I'm crazy, but it doesn't really make sense.

Blogging to Worship God

Bob Kauflin has done 2 blogs recently at Worship Matters about this subject. If you enjoy reading blogs, if you blog yourself, or if you stumbled upon this plewbloggin blog thing w/o knowing what it was, these articles will be helpful for you.

I got to learn from Mr. Kauflin while at the Pastor's College, and these entries reflect a humility that I think he exemplifies in all areas of life. I have a lot of respect for him.

Here are a few comments he made that I liked:

"With all the information available to us, our greatest need is wisdom to know what really matters. And THAT information is ultimately found in God’s revelation to us, the Bible. There we find that God is not only concerned with what we say, but how we say it. So today, I’d like to reference a few things God has to say about our attitudes when we blog."

"Humility means I avoid speaking condescendingly, arrogantly, or harshly because I think I know more than the person I’m talking to. Humility means I don’t think more highly of myself than I ought. If I haven’t spent hundreds of hours exhaustively studying a subject, I don’t speak as though I have. If I actually researched a topic, my speech is tempered by the fact that what I don’t know exceeds what I do know."

Check out the rest of what he has to say.

post-Christmas funny....

Top 10 signs Santa Doesn't Like Your Kid


10. Kid's letter to North Pole comes back stamped, "Dream on, Chester!"

9. Kid asks for new bike, gets pack of smokes

8. Along with presents, Santa leaves hefty bill for shipping and handling

7. By the time he gets to your house, all he has left are styrofoam peanuts

6. Christmas day, your kid wakes up with a reindeer head in his bed

5. Instead of "naughty" or "nice," Santa has him on the "dork" list

4. Sends him off on one of them Carnival cruises with Kathie Lee

3. First words when kid gets on his lap are, "Touch my beard and I'll put the hurt on you!"

2. Labels on all your kid's toys read "Straight from Craptown"

1. Four words: "Off my lap, Tubby!"