You Can Know God

Ranking the Candy

My neighborhood is a circus on halloween - there are people with haunted houses, hay rides, decorated golf carts, and an insane amount of kids. I started with about $40 worth of candy in a giant bowl. When it was said and done...all gone. My kids ended up with the same quantity, but the quality suffered. Here's what I am talking about...

10. I don't think this candy has a name. But this crap in the orange and black wrappers has to be the worst candy ever. I cannot believe people still give it out.

9. This would be the worst, were it not for #10. If you gave out any of these, you should really be embarrassed.

8. Dum Dums are okay, providing that you give out a handful and not just one.

7. Hershey Minatures are good. I usually steal a few of these from my kids.

6. Tootsie Rolls seems to be Halloween staples. They shall always remain a mid-level favorite.

5. This little orange glow bracelet doesn't really qualify as candy, but gets a higher ranking for originality. My little kids liked them.

4. Snickers. I actually took most of the Snickers and hid them in our pantry.

3. Reese's cups (who is Reese and why are we giving out his cups?) are what we gave out, along with...

2. Sour Skittles. I'm not a fan of the sour candies, but kids love them. I let kids pick from my giant basket, and these were frequently chosen.

1. My kids got several of these kind of bags. Sevearl good candies wrapped up in one. While there is an unwrapping step in the middle, getting a Reese's and M&M's at the same house gives this the top ranking.

Italy, Oak Leaf, McDonalds and Heroes

After several days in Rome, and a bunch of thinking, I thought I would just download a few of my many thoughts to the blog, in bullet format.

• I like how things in Europe don't cost 9.99 Euros. They mostly round things off. That's nice of them.


• We have a huge opportunity at Oak Leaf in these coming months. It seems like God has been preparing us for something big. We've been going through some trying times and it seems like there's a lot of spiritual stuff going on. That leads me to believe that God is up to something big.


• McDonald's chicken nuggets are worse for you than hamburgers. I learned that from reading Fast Food Nation on the plane. McDonalds also makes most of their money from collecting rent, and is the second largest purchaser of chicken in this country.


• Speaking of rounding things off, how did gas ever get to the point where it costs something plus 9/10 of one cent.


• I'm excited about the series we're doing in November - "Confessions of a Pastor." The topics are: I don't like most Christians; I'm not always a good parent; I hate prayer meetings; and It's hard for me to trust God. I think it will be the best series we've done.


• I think we're going to do a community Christmas Eve Eve concert (Sunday night, December 23). ChristmasInCartersville.com will debut soon.


• In March, we're going to drop 10,000 eggs out of a helicopter on a football field. I bet the kids will be able to find them. More details on that are forthcoming, but it will be huge.


• I told my five year old that she was probably the smartest person in her class. She said she wasn't. I said she was. She then said she wasn't as smart as Mrs. Cosby. Nice.


• We've got a baptism, a membership class, a baby dedication and a communion service coming up at Oak Leaf. All these things make me feel like we're a real church. :)


• Heroes is starting to pick up. I watched season one on DVD so having to wait a week between episodes is killing me. It's really the only show I'm watching now.


• I won my fantasy football game even though I forgot to set my lineup. I had four players on byes and I won anyway. These other pastors are losers.


• On October 31, I'm getting ready for all my neighbors to come knock on my door. In addition to giving out good candy, I'll be giving out invite cards for the confessions of a pastor series. I'm encouraging all Oak Leafers to do the same. What an incredible opportunity we have to invite people to church!


• Last year, we built a replica of the movie theater as a float for the Christmas parade. Anybody got any genius ideas for this year?


• I'm going to a movie with Jennie tonight. She already saw the movie I want to see, so I'm letting her pick. Luckily there are no movies with Sandra Bullock, Mandy Moore or Drew Barrymore playing right now.

In Their Shoes

I think one of the smartest thing we can do as people, as churches, as parents, etc. is to try and put ourselves in their shoes. When we do that, we end up with a little perspective. It may not change our foundational principles, but it may help us process differently or communicate better.

Parents naturally forget what it was like to be a teenager.
Christians forget what it was like to not go to church.
Those not in debt don't know what it's like to have a car reposessed.

At our church, we don't allow children under 6th grade in our adult worship service. We have a great environment for children where they will learn about Jesus in a way that makes sense to them. We don't get a lot of complaints about this, but when we do, people accuse us of trying to make parental decisions for them. I try to put myself in their shoes and explain things that will help. But sometimes, parents that get mad and leave our church. Their crying kid doesn't bother them, but it does distract everyone else in their vicinity. If they were in those shoes, they wouldn't be thinking, "What a cute kid."  Put yourself in their shoes, and maybe you will lay down your preferences.

As church-goers, we forget what it's like to walk into a place for the first time. For many in our community, stepping back into church for the first time in ten years, would be like you being in high school after 15 years. Or what it would be like you attending a Budhist temple. You don't know when to sit and when to stand. You don't know where the bathrooms are. You feel like everyone is looking at you. Put yourself in the shoes of a guest, and maybe you'll set things up a little differently.

As a teenager, put yourself in your parents shoes for a moment. You've got hassles (and your parents do  minimize those too often), but they have bosses and jobs and bills and cars and college funds. They have different experiences that shape their decisions.  They have reasons that you may not understand. They have a big weight on their shoulder. And you're the biggest.  Put yourself in their shoes, and maybe you will respect them on a different level.

Friday Five

Five things for you today.

1. There were an unusual amount of people in suits last Sunday. That's usually a sign that someone is a first time guest. Not always, but usually. I think some of these people were spies from other churches to hear what I had to say about drinking.

2. We've gotten lots of good feedback about these Issues messages. I worked really hard on them, but we also had some focused meetings as a staff where we looked at content. That was huge. We've got 2 more Sunday's at the movie theater, and when we move to Woodland High School on Ocotber 7, we do so by kicking off a new series called "The Games of Life." After that, we're doing a series called "Stupid Christians." That one is going to be awesome.

3. Newspring Church = Vision + Leadership + Lots of Jesus. We had the chance to go hang out with those guys for a day or so. Anthony wrote some thoughts on his blog. If you are a church leader, you would be wise to attend their one day Unleash conference with every volunteer you can convince to take off work for a day. We're taking about 30 people or so from our church.

4. I did something yesterday that I've only done once in about the last five years. I played tennis. I know it's a country club kind of sport, but it was fun. And though I'm not very good, it turns out that I am not as bad as Will.

5. This Sunday, we're joining a couple hundred churches across the US for Porn Sunday. You do not want to miss this week @ Oak Leaf Church. This is something the church needs to talk about.

Friday Five

Five things coming to you this Friday.

1. Does anybody else think that it's crazy that the department of transportation spends millions of dollars advertising against drunk driving? I think if we made the penalties stiff, and throw these people in jail and fine them big bucks, that would do a better job than a billboard.

2. Jennie is going on a cruise this weekend with her mom and sister-in-law. I'm watching our two girls the whole weekend.  I've already stocked up on some junk food.  I think we're going to take a brave trip to Chucke-E-Cheese on Saturday. And we are going to watch college football.

3. You may have already seen this, but just in case, you have to watch Miss Teen South Carolina answer a question on national TV.  Absolutely hilarious.  And be sure to check out Jimmy Kimmel's reponse down at the bottom.

4. This Sunday we kick off a series called "Issues." This is the most controversial series we've ever done, and we're going to talk about the things many churches are afraid to talk about. And there's a big Oak Leaf announcement coming soon.

5. Apparently, global warming is causing an increase in Cougar attacks. I wonder what Ricky Bobby and Al Gore would say.

Thoughts on a Saturday

Some random thoughts this morning...

1. It is hot.  If you go outside today, it's possible that your shoes will catch on fire.


2. My friend John is in town.  He is teaching at Limelight tomorrow morning and hanging out with some students this weekend.  Between John teaching and Matt Moody leading woship, I think it's possible that the student service will be better than the adult service.


3. I just finished Making Vision Stick by Andy Stanley.  Short little book you can read in 30 minutes.  I'll post some thoughts next week, but I highly recommend it.


4. Perry Noble linked to me and sent a whole bunch of traffic this way.  Thanks Perry.  For the link, but also for being a great example for up and coming churches like Oak Leaf.  (For those of you who volunteer at Oak Leaf, we're taking a whole crew to the one day Unleash Conference in March...you should come with us)


5. I haven't been to a conference in a while.  Is anyone I know going to Innovate or C3?


6. It's hard to believe that we're celebrating our one year birthday as a church next week.  I have some great posts in the hopper about what God is doing.  I think the best is yet to come.


7. My 5 year old started Kindergarten this past week.  On Friday, I dropped her off a few minutes early and she went to the cafeteria and ate breakfast (again).  I guess we'll be getting a bill for $1.50 because she didn't have any money.


8. Saw Borne Ultimatum the other night.  Good movie but I'm not a fan of the 8th grade style shaky Blair Witch type camera work.  I'm sure it's artsy and expensive and cool, but it gives me a headache.  The car crash was the best car crash I've ever seen in a movie though.  So, three stars.


9. I'm glad we decided to switch the service back to Theater #8 so it won't be hot in church.  Maybe I can wear the same shirt for all three services this week.


10. Anthony, our executive pastor, has started blogging.  Amid the fishing pictures and Florida Gator propaganda, there are some good nuggets.

Friday Mind Dump

• I hate this time of year for sports. There's nothing going on except for baseball, which is the most boring sport ever. I'd seriously rather watch soccer. At least they run around in that sport. Can't wait for football season to start.


• Speaking of football, if you are interested in being in an Oak Leaf fantasy football league, let me know.


• Before I start celebrating the popularity of my blog, I see this blog post has received more than 7,000 comments. Now that's a popular blog.


• Speaking of Harry Potter, the seventh book was the best in the series. No wonder it sold 8 million copies in one day. I've sold about 500 copies of Everyday Jesus. But I'm not bitter or anything.


• There's nothing good on TV right now. I'm watching Law and Order reruns.


• This video and this video are pretty cool.


• I really like my iPhone, but I'm not too keen on AT&T so far. And I'm not sure that checking my e-mail while driving is too safe though.


• I've really enjoyed reading the book of Acts. We meet on Wednesday mornings early to read God's Word. I love hearing about these guys who gave their all and changed the world. Thirty30 is open to anyone, by the way.


• I've been emailing back and forth with a great lady who runs the Bartow Education Foundation. We're going to partner with them to raise some money for teacher grants, which will be used right here in Bartow County to meet the needs of children. I'm looking forward to working with Dot.


• 
  

  We're going to the Aquarium in Chattanooga today.  And I'm sure Jennie will want to stop by the Nestle Tolhouse Store.

  
  

Confused by the School

So Tim calls one of our local schools to offer breakfast to all the teachers during the first week of pre-planning. Not sure why, but the principal said "no thanks." I can't imagine saying no to free food, delivered with no strings attached. Are people really that skeptical of the church? We are really trying to do all we can to serve schools and teachers. We're going to be nice to you, even if you won't let us. :)

If I Were…

If I were Gary Lamb, I would start this next weeks service at Ridgestone with Bon Jovi’s “We Got it Goin’ On.”

If I were the Milwaukee Bucks, I would forget the Yi guy from China that they drafted and ask the NBA to not allow him to play in the NBA for five years.  They did it to Billy Donovan.  And if I were the Chinese Basketball people, I would shut the heck up.

If I were Tony Morgan and on a quest to be hip, then I would definitely implement the suggestions from this post, in addition to the Facebook thing.

If I were the manager of my local Wal Mart, I would get all the rogue shopping carts out of the parking lot and open a stinkin’ register every now and then.

If I were the manager of Starbucks, I would strike a deal with Oak Leaf Church for coffee.  You’ll need all the help you can get in convincing people in Cartersville that a Cinnamon Dolce Latté is worth $4.

If I were the operators of a blog totally committed to pointing out the errors in every other church, I would get a life.

If I were a church planter, I would definitely attend this conference.  It’s one of the best conferences for the money.

If I were running for office, I would have a platform of solving traffic problems and getting rid of litter.  Seriously, I think that would be enough to get me elected.

If I ran the Georgia DOT, I would have half as many projects going on but have twice as many people working on them (and only during nighttime hours), meaning they would get done twice as fast.  And I would save the taxpayers millions of dollars on orange barrels in the process.

If I ran the education system, I’d get rid of about 50% of the teachers, but pay the rest of them twice as much.

If I were Apple, I would have never signed a deal with AT&T.  I would have let my phone work on Verizon, Sprint and Cingular.  And if I were AT&T, I would have kept the name Cingular.  I think of fax machines when I think of AT&T.

Weather and Church Announcements

Okay, if this guy can make the weather report interesting, surely we could find some way to spice up the announcement time at church.