LEADERS WANTED...

It's January 18th, 11:30am. I just started my do to list for the day or week. I am overwhelmed with excitement, joy, fear, love, passion, etc... I have so much to be thankful for. I am incredibly pumped about what is going to happen in 2010 at aplacetotalk.

Yesterday we agreed to do so much. I know the 18 items we had on our business meeting agenda had to be overwhelming to everyone who meet together yesterday.

Some of those 18 items are allowing another church to use our building, purchasing preschool toys, having a youth ski trip, advertising our grand opening by direct mail, and billboards, buying 10,000 eggs for an Easter Egg Hunt, hosting a mini basketball season and preparing for awards for the winning team, putting up signs to tell the world that we exists, converting our website to a word press site, purchasing new trash cans, awaiting the delivery of our big theatrical curtain, building a set for our "FAMILY TALKS", planning dates to hand out re-usable canvass bags at the local grocery stores, going door to door to ask the Brookford area about their needs on February the 7th, having a Super Bowl party on that same night... I can't explain how much we are undertaking and I sure hope we are all getting ready.

I am incredibly excited... and I am confident that God will lead us through this, but at the same time I am very thankful that I have a grasp on the magnitude and difficulty of the task ahead. I can't possibly be overconfident... because I am scared to death and desperate for God's direction and help.

As I think about all that is coming up. I am very thankful for the leaders that God has given us already... our band is growing and has some wonderful faithful members, there are guys building the set, there are guys building a drum base and shield, there are guys planning a youth ski trip, women planning the Family Talk service, men teaching the youth, other men leading Bible Studies, ladies cooking breakfast, and more, and more, and more. I am thankful for all these and I think now about people who assembled the basketball goals for the season, and a friend that has printed posters, and others who have organized and led in other areas. I have so much to be thankful for. Thank you all. I may fail to thank you enough... but I am so thankful.

Anyway... the point of today's blog entry: We need more leaders! We need more band members... we need more singers from time to time. We need more guys who wanta' play in the band. We could always use more actors and actresses for the Family Talk services. We need a few men who feel called to the ministry to join me as I study to lead our Sunday Morning Talks. I am also keeping an eye open for a great youth leader. Someone who has a desire to be in the ministry someday but is willing to step up and serve as a great volunteer while we try and get started.

Those of you who read these posts... pray with me that God sends more leaders our way.

ONE YEAR BIBLE READING

I am trying to read through the One Year Bible in 2010 and take notes for my children - I hope these notes help my children each hear and know my heart.

Genesis 1:1 – 2:25 (One Year Bible) January 1

To my children (Noah, Adam, Elijah, and Faith):

I am reading through the One Year Bible and writing a short blog post everyday to share with you guys. I have noticed lately that I am not doing a good job of teaching you guys about the Bible, and I am failing to teach you to pray. We don’t even pray at meals like as regularly as we should. I am not apologizing because I want our relationship with one another to be real, and I want certainly want to teach you to have an authentic relationship with God. I could care less if you bow your heads before each meal and have a ceremonial meaningless time of quoting some habitual (sorry Adam, Elijah, and Faith that may be a Noah word) prayer, but I do hope you realize that God provides everything for you and that you are thankful to Him.

Anyway I just read through Genesis 1 and 2 and there are a few things that I see that I think are very important. I noticed that time was God’s idea, that God saw that His creation was good, that we (human kind) were created to reign or rule over the earth, and that at the end of a week of work God rested from His creative work.

Kids I hope that you will remember God created everything, including time and the work week. Growing up in the richness of America I am so afraid that you kids could miss understanding the importance of WORK. God created us to work, to create, and to reign or govern the earth. He also taught us by His action and behavior the necessity of rest.

Kids as you grow up, and especially as you get older – I pray to God that you never underestimate the value of a hard day’s work! Working is so important, and I pray that you will work hard all your life.

Faith, you don’t have to ever settle for a man that isn’t willing to work as hard as he has to so that you can stay at home and be a mother while your children are being raised.

Noah, Adam, and Elijah you shouldn’t have to settle for a woman when you grow up who doesn’t realize that being a great mother is just as important as any other job on earth!

Matthew 1:-2:12 January 1 NT

Kids, there is something that I want to share with you from the New Testament today as well. Well actually there are two things today.

Two things I want to share with you here: (1) Jesus was born of a virgin. (2) Jesus is God!

(1) Jesus was born of a virgin, which means that Joseph was not Jesus’ real father. Jesus’ Father was God. Joseph did later marry Mary, but the real Father of Jesus was God.

(2) Jesus is God! The book of Matthew uses the word Immanuel, and Immanuel means “God with us.” So Jesus is literally God, but specifically God come to earth.

January 1 P&P Psalms 1:1-6, Proverbs 1:1-6

Hey Noah, Adam, Elijah, and Faith it’s me, dad again. This time I am want to tell you a little something I read from Psalms and Proverbs today.

In Psalms I read today that you can grow more joyful if you will delight and think about the law of the Lord a lot. I know it sounds strange to say that you should think about law, especially if you think laws are rules. The truth is the law isn’t really just rules; it is more like directions for how to do life the best, in a way that will help you really enjoy your life.

That reminds me, do ya’ll remember that time we were in Florida and we borrowed the game “Life” from the resort office. Noah and Adam went down there to borrow “Candy Land” to play with Faith, but they didn’t have it. So you guys brought back “Chinese Checkers” instead, but then when we opened “Chinese Checkers” the pieces weren’t there, so you went back and got “Life.” We all sat down to play the game but no one could remember how to play and there weren’t any directions.

Anyway meditating on the law of the Lord isn’t really about just thinking about the rules – it is more about thinking about the directions for life, not a game but real life!

What I read in Proverbs today is really about the same thing…. It basically says that if you will read the wise sayings of Proverbs you will become wiser!

Can man purify himself...?

With the Christmas season just behind us, I thought I would take a minute and share an interesting verse of scripture I came across in my preparation for Christmas Sunday morning conversations at aplacetotalk.

I was thinking about Christmas and why Jesus came when I came across 1 John 3:5 "You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin." We always think about Jesus' birth and we teach that Jesus came to forgive our sins. But is it possible that Jesus didn't need to come to forgive our sins? I am just thinking out loud right now - so don't label me a heretic. This isn't meant to be a theological dissertation but just a normal guy (just josh) thinking out loud and if you want to think along with me you are welcome to do so... otherwise, read someone else's blog they may write more confidently.

Anyway is it possible that God / Jesus could have offered forgiveness without coming to earth? But He came to earth in order to destroy the works and power of sin?

The other thought is this.... "Can man purify himself?"

The instant response and obvious response is no, but as I studied this passage 1 John 3 - I noticed verse 3 "Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

Anyway... those are just some thoughts as we finish up the Christmas season and prepare for the New Year.

For me - I am going to make a conscious effort to fix my hope on the idea that Jesus came to destroy sin and take it away! Maybe by doing so my life will grow in purity.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Church - to go or not to go...

Well of course I go to an institutional church (http://www.aplacetotalk.net) but I don't think of going to "church" or a typical Sunday morning club the way most "ministerial types" think of going to church.

This past week I was listening to "Let's talk it's Relationship" and I believe it was the podcast from 10.21.09 (http://familyroommedia.com/podcast.html). Anyway the thing that got me to thinking more than anything was this.... does institutional "church attendance" cause us to fall into a trap of selling or marketing our "club / church" to people instead of sharing the love of Jesus Christ with others more naturally?

Instead of teaching believers to invite people to a "church or institutional Sunday morning club" shouldn't we teach believers to simply befriend people? Then after befriending someone we walk in friendship with that person and allow the love of Christ to live in and through us. We can't befriend someone with the goal of getting that person into your "church" because most people can see right through that and truth is... who pulls a bait and switch with a real friend?

I guess I say that to say... maybe I should be less concerned with planting a new church and more concerned with helping people grow to be great friends and follow Christ passionately. Then they'll be a great church - whether they gather on Sunday's or not.

With that in mind I pray that aplacetotalk.net will become exactly what God wants it to become.

I decided to blog today as a safety valve for me... I have to be very careful not to get trapped back in the same trap that many people who desire to follow Christ get caught in. It seems that one plan of the enemy is to find people who desire to share Christ and His message and convert them to sharing religion, a church, or morality. When the enemy successfully gets those who know Christ to give their energy to religion, and institution, or the following of rules that person is neutralized and not an effective tool in the hand of Christ.

Father, I used to live for myself and I realized how meaningless that was when I met Your Son Jesus. Then for some reason or another I began to live for whatever church, pastor, or institution I served. Then I re-discovered You and the freedom that comes from living for and in You alone. Over the past six months or so, I may be slipping back into living more for an institution than for You. Today I am reminded how easily I could fall into the trap of living for aplacetotalk and while that looks honorable to religious individuals I have experienced the freedom that comes from living for You and You alone. I wouldn't trade that freedom and peace for anything. God please help me to put You first daily and allow aplacetotalk to simply be a gathering of Your friends with Your agenda. Amen

What is Baptism?

This Sunday's conversation at aplacetotalk (aplacetotalk.net) will be all about Baptism. I would love to hear your thoughts.... what is the purpose and meaning behind baptism. Thanks, Josh

Blog editor test - ?

I am trying this blog editor for Flock.... a new web broswer

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Jacked up Religion...

Well I am taking the context of this on the word of a friend, but I actually asked him to send me a photograph of the page when he read it to me. He did, so I know that the statement is in the book. I sure hope the reader misunderstood it.

The friend was reading for a class at a very popular Christian Institution of Higher Education. He was reading from a text book when he came across this statement - "We must admit that cults represent "the unpaid bills of the church."

He called me to share with me his shock at that statement.... and I was truly blown away. It is surprising that I am still (because they unfortunately are normal for many in religion) shocked by comments like those, but I am.

How far off purpose, and off direction do we have to get to be thinking about the "unpaid bills of the church" when we are thinking about people in cults? Truth is... I am not so bothered by the thought, but I am blown away by the decision to put that very thought into writing. I too have terrible thoughts from time to time... but I don't say or write everything I think. And yes I do write some dumb things... sorry for that.