Too Cool For School

One thing I’ve always wondered about some preachers,  and sermons,  and its always bothered me;  even before I knew exactly what it was that bothered me.

They will talk normal to you all day…like any average joe,  talking…..but when they get behind the pulpit they have the “sermon voice”.  They cant do the sermon like they are talking to you normally.  It’s hard to explain if you don’t get what I’m saying off the bat.

OK, Now that I’ve slammed pastors…sorry guys and er….uh……Dad (never noticed if he’s guilty of this, BTW)…..I will turn the table (as always)- back on myself.

But let’s be fair,  you see this a lot in speech classes when people are uncomfortable in getting in front of people.  You see it when people read the Bible outloud,  with unusual, abnormal pauses where, when you think about,  never sound quite right. (splitting that book up into verses messes with people heads when reading outloud),  bad actors (actresses), no names…lol.

IT’s “The PUBLIC Voice”  …you know the one…..the one you never get talking one on one.

So….moving on…..I was reading some of Piper’s Blog  (here’s the link).  And BTW,  he’s one of those that always gives me an “oh crap, he’s talking about me”, moment…..

He hits the nail on the head….several times… with these thoughts:

1.  People are memorized by the vocal,  speech skills of a pastor.  They can value him consiously or subconsiously,  because of his skills,  and never actually hear/ believe / agree with what he’s saying. He points out the dangerous ground here.  And yeah…thats gotta be scary.

It also makes me wonder… If we accuse churches of being asleep; and yes, I have thrown THAT thought around a few times, myself; Could this be one of the issues we face?  We sit there and listen but when it comes down to it….never apply whats being said?

I wonder:

• If people love the church so much,  why dont we apply what it teaches?
• If a pastor is so good,  why aren’t we applying what he’s teaching?
• If the Bible is your favorite book,  why arent we reading it?

This is not just a problem in big churches, so please dont go down THAT Road,  It’s the same percentages whether a church has 40 or has 5000.

Are we memerized with the ability(s) of the pastor, etc.  Or truely,  by the Truth?  It should make us reexamine what we really stand for,  well…you would hope…..

2. Piper doesn’t forget the new “casual”, “hip”, “down with today’s kids”, type of pastors,  churches (which truly, I lean more towards) and their so-called anti-norm persona,  they become the norm and mesmerize by their “unique” style as well.

The thought reminds me of a few things that I’ve found:

1.  My Mom always pointed out:  “Don’t take such notice as your spiritual growth that you become proud of it.  Don’t be so humble that you proud of it.” ——What a true oxymoron…brilliant!!!!  (I love accountability reminders…it takes me down a couple of notches…thanks Mom!! I thank the Lord for wise parents….it took me awhile,  but once I started listening to them,  the Lord has blessed me.)

2.  It also reminds me of being a kid…(high school,  college, etc) and being so different, and then seeing all the non-conformists conform to being non-conformists,  lol…hillarious.  People are so alike,  even when they strive to be different we show how alike we really are.  Most of us are sheep with few leaders, no matter what Group or Click we are in.

Love your pastor,  by following HIS Shepard and not him….he too is a sheep,  He too, can be led astray just like us.  Apply what your pastor says,  what the Bible teaches,  and be led by the HS .

John Piper’s article is a great self- analyzing brain stretcher,  pray about it,  how does this issue affect your walk,  your way,  what you will do tomorrow?  Just when you shake where you were,  God wants to take you further.  I am a sheep,  without my Shepard,  I will always be stuck in the DUMB things that I can’t seem to get rid of by myself.

Busy is as Busy Does

Ok….when I say I’m busy…

I feel really busy….

We have a show coming up (The Boy Friend) and we have been going non-stop 7 days a week when you throw in getting sets ready and who knows all what else…and then getting schools ready….so I’m slammed at work and all of this has done some real crazy things with my mental games….so

I have been putting the writing aside for a bit and it will be sporadic until I can find some time to think.  But I do want to say something thats been on my mind for a while:

We have been putting a lot of time into the theater and there is a method to this madness.  We have reasons for it and have put some thought into what we are doing.  It struck me as odd that people question whether the theater is “Christian” or not.

Read the WHOLE of the rest of this post or you will get the wrong idea:

How will you ever influence the world if you don’t reach out to it?  How will you ever reach if you don’t get involved and treat ALL people with respect? Words DO influence but the way you carry yourself and act is the real measure of who you are. If you have said you will do something,  not only do it but give more than you thought you could,  push yourself, listen and submit to your leaders, directors, parents, bosses (when they are not directly in opposition to God (read Daniel and think about WHO he was and how he got there))  THATS INFLUENCING….THATS SAYS A LOT about your source of being

There are a ton of Christians down at the theatre both volunteering and leading and we are discovering each other.  We are discussing things.  We are bonding.  Hopefully with the RIGHT help,  we are influencing.  We don’t feel like we need to be exclusive of anyone.  If a christian want to exclude someone,  or exclude YOU from something or somewhere else,  there is a real problem, in my opinion.  Be in the world…….reach the world around you…..

BUT………..

Don’t compromise who you are, stay aware.  Stay grounded,  you better be faithful in your life to whats important,  you need to worship,  you need to pray.  You need to read, and you need to stay accountable, But PLEASE don’t be inclusive in a Christian Clan. Break out of your box,  …..when you are prepared and called.

Pray for me, pray for us, please….pray.  I pray to see real HOPE and PEACE into places and people that have little to none.

Get involved in your community.  But be and stay ready to do it.  Its real easy to be a Christian to other Christians….(well …….sometimes).  But its time to apply.  Are you ready?

Am I idealling?

Probably,  I have to remind myself that I am not strong by myself,  I have to stay tuned to my SOURCE,  but I want to dream big,  I want to dedicate myself to reaching.  Thats my real calling;  I will try to give 100% of myself to do it.

My prayer is that Jesus will reach the unreachable.  But, a lot of times, for him to reach the unreachable;  SOMEONE has to reach.

Talkin’ bout my body, body…

With apologies to the Village People,  I continue…

So,  without really without discussing this issue with people who may really care or be in charge,

(because truthfully,

I DON’T AND WON’T (it doesn’t concern me either/any way) ),

I thinking about what I want people to do for a funeral for me after I die.    (nice – uplifting topic….right?)

This came up because I sat through another funeral and burial this week and couldn’t help thinking;  there’s really only one winner here…..the expensive price tag of a “traditional”  “Christian”  burial is crazy…..craaaZY…..CRAZY!!!

Obviously cremation is cheaper than burial and I always kinda wanted that more anyway….its greener…lol….so to speak.  Green is trendy and I’m a trendy kind of guy.  I really don’t want to put anybody through the expensive trends of a tradition that really is meaningless…so I’m not a big “burial” guy.  It’s also way to melodramatic for me and doesn’t represent who I am….its kinda morose and depressing and …you get the picture,  its not ME!  Miss me?  Ok…watch me just before I drop in the ground?  Weird, and you know what?  Kinda Morbid!!!!

But then someone said to me this week:  What about donating your body to science?  Hey!  Thats free (I think…haven’t done much research)  But I think I can manage to not be the source of any “burden”,  and plus young students and their teachers can say and do irreverent things about me or around me and I can be used for a good cause.  (well, In theory.)

You don’t need my body to remember me….If you wanna have a service,  memorial,  cook out,  concert, whatever to help you with that,  do it,  have a good time,  cry if you feel like it, but have a good time,  I will be,  We say we are going to a better place….then remember me with that attitude.  I wont be having any worries,  I promise.  I have bigger plans at that point.

On the way to this post, I ran across the discussion of Christians not approving of cremation because,  (and I think this is the point)  that when Jesus comes to raise “our bodies” from the grave,  their “bodies” wont be there because they are burned up.

I love my brothers and sisters.

ARRRRRRGGG!!!!

Found a interesting website today which seems to be basically a discussion about piracy,  and its moral and ethical qualities.   It also talks about its place in our history.

Very interesting stuff.  So what I’m asking is to you…..is there more to this issue than meets the immediate eye?  What are your thoughts on this issue?

Nice video!

How do you know Me?

I was talking with a friend the other day about self-awareness….

I’m a HUGE self analyzer but I think I get it wrong a lot!

A lot.

I’m thinking back to High School now.  (Seems like thats easy right now with my entire high school catching up to Facebook).  My junior year I was about 5′4 (maybe) and weighed in the 130’s (i was a wrestler).  I also lifted in the 250 – 275 range -  bench press.  In other words….I was freaking strong!!!!

You know what….I thought I was fat!

Seriously…I probably had close to zero body fat… but you couldn’t tell me that.  I think I had crossed over to a bad place of self-awareness.  The place where the bulemics are and the anorexics rest. I understand how that happens because I think I was addicted to losing weight.

(The people around me would have never guessed I thought that about myself – at least I think not…..I’ll come back to that).

Not long ago…(Not at all) I was hovering in the 230lb area.  Im now about 5′9 -’10 for those who don’t know me.

Funny…..I didn’t see myself as fat..Just the opposite affect.  I look at pictures and see it but I look in the mirror and yeah,  I had a little gut…but not that bad over all.  I mean,  I was still athletic when I needed to be.

I suck when it comes to being aware of how I really am; or how others perceive me.  Don’t get me wrong.  I can judge YOU in a heartbeat.  I can improve the world, just give me five minutes and then a few hours to think about it. (Ha!)

Maybe, I’m too self-critical  then other times, not self-critical enough.  Anyways…..beside the point.

I’ve been reading one  blog for a couple of years now……. he’s growing in popularity and I won’t mention his name because …..well,  just because, really, its not about him.

For two years my opinion of him was:  He’s somewhat wise, learning, on the ball, etc.  But there was a brashness,  anger, resentment that came through his writing,  he tended to whine a lot (In my opinion)  and to be honest, his words said more than he would ever say directly to me

This is also beside the point…..but interesting  about 6 months to a year ago he slowly started to realize this himself but it took him a long time,  he is seriously growing up on my computer screen and dealing with his weakness, his anger,  he is truly an inspiration to me now, He continues to grow and grow.  wow.

-  I’ll bet there were times he was writing and never realized his “true” feelings were being presented even though he was trying to hold them back.  Interesting.  How often does that happen to me…I wonder?

The point is however is that we may never fully understand the perception that we give off about ourselves.  Others may have thought I was thin….not me. Others may have thought I was fat….not me.  We may think we are giving out a certain perception about us, but we may be WAY off base.  Don’t make quick judgments about yourself.  Think! Think! Think! Pray! Pray! Pray -  about who you are and how you are being perceived. Sometimes we need to self-improve….sometimes we need to give OURSELVES a break….

That hard for me to do, so it seems.

You know what?  It DOES matter what people think about you.  In fact,  I’m figuring out that it matters a lot when it comes to “Greater matters”.  It can make the difference of who is shining thru you – You or something else (somebody else even).  I hope it not my humanness coming through.  I hope I can lose that part.

Would someone have the guts to tell me how I truly am?  Hmmm….we will see…

Measure Me

Question of the week:  What is Success?

I watched Alverson Center Theatre’s own Bailey Hanks have another great round last night.  She is kicking tail simply by being herself (well – even though she’s acting – ah..nevermind…..) and using every talent and teaching she’s been gifted with.  My prediction: You looking at the winner of Legally Blonde – the search for Elle Woods, in Bailey – oh course I’m biased (lol).  I’m very happy for her and her family,  I think I can learn something there when it comes to possibly raising my daughter / sons in the “biz”.  So Brad,  watch out,  I’ll be looking for you.  For any Andersonians out there:  We are getting families / friends together to watch the show every Monday night at 9:30 at ACT (as long as she survives)…..come on out and support Anderson’s own,  Bailey Hanks.

But since success is the topic of the week.  What is it?  I think I have (after group / individual discussions and seriously thinking about it) come up with something.  What is going to define me and truly satisfy whats important to me.

Success,  it seems to me,  is how you affect others (or lack there of).  For me, success is how well I serve, is some cases, obedience;  or in some cases  how I do my job, or serve those I care about, or the things I care about.  Inspiring others, to me is success.  Hopefully by my service and dediction to people and , in my case, Christ; I will inspire others to give of themselves and put “ME” last.  If others think well of you,  money or no money, power or no power, Chicks or no Chicks (or guys….whatever) – you will be satisfied;  you will be successful.  Simply because you are well thought of, and can be satisfied that inner peace is attainable. (it is attainable – I promise)

So far, I see that inspiration in Bailey,  keep it up girl!!!

Quote of the Day

My Four-year-old, Michael, walks into this living room, having woken up from the nights sleep:

(Yawning and stretching)

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh……..  Now its June 6th”

Just struck me as funny…..

Two steps back …one step forward

Ever feel that way?

Seems like I do all the time….no matter if what part of life I’m referring to…sometimes we seemed trapped in our circumstances and having to fight to get out.

Right now I fighting against my hate for getting up early and exercising (just one example;  I could go MUCH deeper and serious than that!!),  but we all battle depression moments, or so my guess is, or just laziness and the desire to give up and just let life flow without self effort….why cant i just learn to love the stupid elliptical machine…it would make things so much easier.  Why cant I seem to break the 185 mark?

The first thing that came to my mind was Philippians.  An encouragement in times that all persecuted Christians parties had to be battling depression including the writer himself (no matter how minute).  Instead he encourages others instead of staying self-involved; he reaches out to to Phillippi and encourages steadfastness, unity, humility,  and compassion for God, his people, and his message.

I used to be a spiritual midget and all-in-all it wasn’t that long ago.  I recognize that I have come a long way but I also recognize that I am FAAAAAR from being what God’s vision for me is.  I always have to battle before I grow.  I always have to battle against myself and my pride before I grow.  And when I fight the battle I have to both encourage others and seek encouragement from others………..

I have to depend on Christ and others to battle myself…..(hmm…go fig…didn’t i know that already?  Seems so)

I’ve read several posts lately of Pastors battling themselves over how they handle criticism from others.  I understand the battle of wanting to react vs doing the right thing.  Doing the right thing isnt always easy despite what I tell my kids sometimes,  sometimes it may not be even rewarding in the short-term.   It can seem like two steps back…on step forward.

So WHEN you struggle against the blues and the desire NOT to do something you know you need to do; seek to battle yourself…seek to encourage others….seek to hold true to the right thing….(I often wonder if Paul was preaching to himself as much as his audience sometimes…I know I do that)

Some Favorites from Philippians:

Philippians 1: 9-11 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others

3:13-14 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

When you think about the circumstance and think about how you would be feeling if you had been in Paul’s shoes; Phlippians is an absolute powerful book to get you by when in battle.

Anticipation killed the ……..?

So,  I am anticipating a lot tonight….

Theres an important meeting that I want to be at to discuss future plans for North Anderson BC.

There my rehearsal for “The Boyfriend” which Im sure is going to be showing later this summer.  Last time we learned the “Charleston” plus a few other dance steps that I dont know the name of.

Testing for my District is halfway through….maybe everyones nerves will calm down at work. 

My car should be out of the shop by 5:00  (I hope so cause I’m not sure how everything else will happen.)

So much life ….so much Anticipation……

Question to answer:  If curiosity killed the Cat, what did Anticipation kill?  (Be creative).

There is probably a wise saying about not being anxious (oh yeah….THAT BOOK again!).  I guess anticipation might fall in that category.  Truthfully,  as things approach that I look forward to,  its hard to stay focused on the job at hand.

I have to remind myself that if I calm down and be patient (arrrrrhgh!)  I can get everything done and done well. Passion can be just as harmful as lack of passion, if we aren’t careful.  It can devour us and cause us to forget about other important things.  The true passions in our lives are jealous.

We need to make sure our TRUE passions are the things that will bring honor to our lives.  Wasted passions cemented in crap will only ultimately  give you a crappy, unsatisfied life.  Spend your time on not only things you love,  but the things you know are important, even if its hard and leads to self-sacrifice.  Self sacrifice is easy when there is passion behind it.

I don’t know….just a thought that I’m working on that may or may not not be coherent…..or maybe I just REALLY want that car back…!!!!

The Terrible Tues

So I was by myself in the Networking Dept when all you-name-it broke loose with about 5 testing issues in the space of 5 minutes….so Im scrambling……for about a couple of hours…get in a pickle with my wife cause I didn’t have time to separate work from wife stress…..(did that sound ok?)….and once again, no car this afternoon Im waiting for the wife ( I did apologize when I could get a minute )….

Just one of those days…..whatcha gonna do….?

Last night at the 1rst rehearsal for the Boy Friend and we read the script and it looks like I get to do my first stage work with a Brit accent…… kewl!!!!!!! I think Im playing the lead girls father (Percival – for those in the know).

CYA!