Movin’ on up…

This blog has moved to a new home at www.theworkisneverdone.com. All the posts have been moved as well. Check it out and join in the conversation.

Risk…

In Daniel 6 and Acts 4 three ordinary men risked everything for God. Daniel was caught praying to God after it had been outlawed and was thrown to the lions (literally). Peter and John healed a lame man and preached the truth of Jesus to the crowd that gathered. They were quickly thrown into jail by the religious people of the day. In Daniel’s case the whole nation ended up praising the God who held closed the lions’ mouths. In Peter and John’s case, 5000 people came to follow Jesus. In both cases, the men risked everything. Daniel was stripped of his position and sentenced to die. God intervened and he was saved. Peter and John were thrown into jail and released, but would eventually be martyred for the cause of Christ.
They risked everything…and changed the world. I wonder if when you risk everything for the cause of Christ you’re really risking anything at all. People certainly won’t understand you. But that’s ok, who would expect them to? I think God doesn’t call us to safety, living out our faith behind closed doors.

I think He calls us to risk.
Risky lives filled with adventure.
Filled with the adventure of serving Him.
Serving Him for HIS glory, not our own.

Maybe that’s the hard part. Giving up our own glory. Daniel was stripped of his position in government. Peter and John were mocked by the religious people of the day (they still exist today). We want the story to be about us.

That’s why we love stories. We love books, TV, movies, video games (we actually get to BE the hero)…it’s written on our hearts. We love to hear stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. God called our whole species to more…to stories that matter…

But we have to give it all up first.

“Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:20). Peter and Andrew just left everything to follow Jesus. Do you wonder if they worried about their financial security? Did Jesus offer dental?

Something in them drove them to follow Him.
Immediately.
Without question.
Without reservation.

They risked everything…and changed the world.

What are we risking for Him? What have you done this week that REQUIRES faith? It’s a humbling thought…

Prompted.

This morning (09/13) I felt prompted to kneel down and pray during the first service while the bands were finishing their sets. I’m not sure why but I just felt nervous about the tech for this service, specifically something during the start of the message. As I got on my face before God and prayed hard that He would spread His love during this service, I felt like I needed to go upstairs to the Crow’s Nest immediately. I went up just in time to help my director trigger the recording for Stage 123 and immediately noticed something was wrong. At some point this morning a simple BNC cable for camera 4 died, leaving the camera dull and lifeless on screen (like a weird black and white). Quick action and some spare cables (which I bought for next to nothing on a whim) helped us minimize the effect and fix the problem. How strange is it to feel prompted by God? Strange. How cool is it to see prayer answered right before your eyes? Very cool. I hope and pray that God will continue to prompt me and that I will be still long enough to hear Him. Also, never forget to turn off your screen saver before the service.

What is Refurbished One?

I’ve always said that the primary story of all mankind is redemption. Almost every story has, at its heart, redemption. Someone was bad and finally makes the right choice. The metanarrative of our collective history is that God reached down to our broken world and restored our potential for relationship with Him. He redeemed us through the sacrifice of His own Son. He continues that work daily for those who seek after Him.

I’ve got a bit of a bent towards technology. That’s where the term Refurbished One comes from. God took something broken and fixed it. He took something that no longer functioned as intended and breathed new life back into it. He (and He alone) continues to work on it. The work is never done.

A lesson learned from Cowboys Stadium…

A few days ago Tennessee Titans punter A.J. Trapasso kicked a football into the World’s Largest HD Screen in the brand new Cowboys Stadium. The problem? This happened during the game. Here’s the video. [EDIT: video has been removed]

While the tech guy in me thinks that the 180 foot screen is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen (other than my wife), part me wonders if this isn’t indicative of our culture. We’re willing to change the integrity of the event itself to have a better view or to have the most impressive technology. Stick with me here as I’m going to make a leap.

Do we do this in our churches as well? I’ll be the first to shout the praises of a new technology, but has all this equipment altered the experience for the better? Are there any places we’re using technology which actually gets in the way? We use IMAG, moving head lights, HD video, and a host of other technologies in our services, and often these can be leveraged for great impact. But let’s take a lesson from Cowboys Stadium. We should always ask if this equipment is going to distract from the truth (or worse yet, alter it.) If it doesn’t pass the test, don’t use it.

By the way, the screen in Cowboys Stadium is over 25,000 sq. ft. That’s just ridiculous.

My son, the praying duck.

He’s 22 months in this video. We didn’t really teach him to do it; he just kinda started doing it.

Rock Bridge Service Opener…