Correction

Yesterday I wrote that to date Rob Bell's latest book has not made a best seller list. Well - I stand corrected. It actually debuted on the NY Times Bestseller list at #2.

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=6155

My thoughts on Love Wins

The time has finally come - Rob Bell's newest book, "Love Wins," has hit the shelves and is being sold and read. To date, it has not graced the rankings of the New York Times bestseller list, but one can't help believe that with all the pre-release conversation surrounding the book that it is being read by many.

I have finally finished my reading and now it is time to join the masses in cyber world and write my opinion. Who knows if anyone other then my mother and maybe my wife will read my opinion - actually my wife will probably not since she has had to endure countless hours of my ongoing ramblings in the midst of reading!

So here goes.

My opinions on the theology that is represented in this book will be kept to myself only to see the light of day in private conversations with trusted individuals. Unfortunately, opinions on theology and politics have ascended the ranks of the list of topics that divide. Needless to say, here are a few thoughts.

1) Rob Bell and the people of Harbor One or excellent marketers. Everything from the pre-release video to the book cover were very well done. I wanted to read the book before seeing the video, but only wanted to read it more after seeing the video.

2) Rob Bell is a very gifted communicator. I have read most of his books and had the privilege of seeing him 'in person' twice. There is much to learn from his very creative, genuine, and engaging form of communication; both in print and in person.

3) There is a vital place in the Body of Christ for people like Rob Bell. People who will 'stir up the waters of conversation' and 'poke us in the ribs.' My entire life has been spent in Christendom. The pitfalls of becoming lazy and comfortable are very real and need to be faced 'head-on.'

4) The conversation needs to continue. Conversations between fellow followers of Christ that wrestle with the truths of Scripture are vitally important. Conversations that unite, not divide. Conversations that draw us closer to Christ. Conversations that require us to embrace the beauty of our differences. Conversations between followers of Christ and those who do not know Him are of equal if not greater importance. Conversations that will introduce people to this wonderful Savior that we know named Jesus. Conversations that will let us into the pain of people's lives. Conversations that will give us permission to tell the story of Jesus.

5) Finally, regardless of where Rob falls on the theological scale of heaven and hell, 2 things were abundantly clear in this book: 1) we have A choice in life - choose a relationship with Jesus or don't, 2) Jesus is the best and only choice that will lead us to life, both in this life and the next.

So get the book and read it. My book budget is very limited so thank you to the Akron Summit County Library for letting me borrow yours. Wrestle with the conversation that Mr. Bell starts. Don't base your understanding of Christ on this book or any other book - only let these books point you to the Greater Book (God's Word), where you can 'work out your salvation with fear and trembling.'

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years

Check out the following video of one of my favorite author's, Don Miller.

What story are you telling? from Rhetorik Creative on Vimeo.

wow

Wow - it has been some time now since I have posted something - this is getting terrible. Anyway, I'm working on another book review that I should post in the next day or so.

I am at a place in life right now where the realization that dependence on God is an everyday thing has once again struck. It is amazing what car troubles, sickness, not having enough of, etc. can remind you of your need for Christ's power everyday!

Reflections from Panera

Of late, I have been setting up my office in Panera on Monday mornings. I have 'unofficially' claimed a table for my desk. This particular table and I have become rather good friends. The view is actually rather nice. I have a wall to my left, the newspaper basket immediately behind me, and a nice warm fireplace just over my right shoulder. Needless to say, you did not sign up to read about a description of my Panera office.

Here is the point!!!!

I am discovering that deep down inside of all of us, there is a strong pull for us to be connected to one another. Each week, as I have set up my mobile office, I am treated to a variety of views. There are people just like me sipping on a cup of coffee, returning emails. There are girlfriends who find a cozy spot in a booth and catch up over a cup of coffee. There are business people that gather around the large table immediately in front of me and to my right (I couldn't resist the description). They all open their laptops, spread out papers all around the table, put on their serious face, and conduct business.

This morning I was treated to a mother having breakfast with her daughter (no description of their location forth coming).

And then there are the guys behind me. One of them is in his 40's, the other, his 60's. They chat up every girl that walks by. The conversation quickly descends to their inquisitions on whether she is married or not and how the man she is with is too poor or not good enough for her.

Regardless of the scenario and the conversation, I have discovered on a deeper level that we all want to connect to others. We all want someone else to listen to the story of us, and we want to hear the story of them. When we sit alone in the restaurant, our focus is not always on what we are doing - because we want to connect. So we eaves drop on the stories being told, and try to find our place in those stories. Or we secretly wish that we could tell our story so we find a place to interject in someone else's conversation.

How do I know this?

I watch the person that sits alone who's eyes are perpetually looking around the room.

Oh - and it is what I do when I'm not answering emails or balancing church budgets!

So find that someone this week and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea at Panera. Who knows, we may see each other there, and I will probably listen to your conversation if you are sitting close to my office!

Intentionality

What are you doing today that is intentional? One thing that I have discovered of late is this: if you don't intentionally pursue your destination, the odds of chaos increase exponentially.

Think about it.

*If you are driving your car somewhere, and you don't drive towards your destination on purpose, you are more than likely going to get lost.

*If you don't tackle the house project that is before you with intention, than you are more than likely going to end up with multi colored walls, crooked lines, mismatched furniture, and a headache from arguing with your spouse.

*If you don't raise your children on purpose, then they are more than likely going to take their own path, which is not always the best path.

*If you don't live your marriage with intention, then you take the chance that you will drift in your love.

The examples could continue, but let's look at the driving example for a minute. If you are lucky enough to own a GPS then you will understand this analogy very well.

To go somewhere that you have never been you first have to enter the address into the GPS, give it a couple of moments to compute the best possible route, and then you must follow the directions turn by turn so that you will safely reach your destination. If for some reason your GPS has directed you on a route that has a road block, then with the simple click of a button, you can find the best detour so that you remain on track to reach your desired location.

Life must be lived this way. If you and I pursue our destination on accident we will either never reach that destination or we will make it, but we will make it later than we should.

All of us have dreams and hopes that we would like to reach in our life. We have stories to write, conversations to have, lives to impact, children to raise, love stories to engage in, and differences to make.

If we leave that to chance, we may or may not get there, and we will probably spend the majority of our time fighting fires on rabbit trails.

Whatever area of life you are needing to focus on with more intentionality take into consideration the following thoughts:

*Identify where you would like to go

*Program life's GPS

*Pray for God's direction

*Ask other people who have been down the same road to help give you directions

*Read a book about the lives of other people and how they reached their destinations

*If life throws you a roadblock, hit the detour button

*Pray (Where does God want you to detour)

*Ask others who have hit the same roadblocks to give you directions

Don't live life accidentally.

Live life intentionally!

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years

I have recently finished reading Donald Miller's newest book; "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years." Let me just get it out of the way and state - this is a must read. This is the third writing of Miller's that I have read, and I have yet to be disappointed. Donald Miller writes with a level a candidness that few others do. The main take away for me from this book is; we are all living a story, which is a part of a grander story, let's make the stories of our lives worth reading. Don weaves the stories of his own life and the life of others through the truths of this book. In the end, I realized that I had laughed out loud, cried, and finished the book wanting to take a hike, feed a starving child, climb a mountain, or mentor a boy without a father. Today, I am committed more than ever before to writing the story of my life so that others will want to read it!

The wonder of it all . . .

I am currently on vacation in Eureka, KS. Usually I am up for trying something new, especially on vacation. So last night, I loaded up the sail boat with my cousin Bryce and headed out across the lake. Let me reassure you from the start that we managed to stay upright and not capsize the boat. In the midst of 'tacking,' 'steering the rudder,' 'adding tension to the sail,' and 'making turnabouts,' the realization hit me once again, everyone of us needs that quiet space that we can spend time in to pray, meditate, reflect, and in general to relax and be still. Maybe for you it's the sail boat. For someone else it may be the mountains or a hiking trail. Wherever and whenever is not important. The important thing is that you go there. Turn off the sounds of this world and tune into the voice of Jesus and the wonder of His creation.

yup . . .

Lately, I have had the desire to write more. I have an idea for a small book that has been churning for some time now. It goes to reason though that before I dive into some form of a book project that there should be a fair amount of practice, right? With this new desire though, I am coming to some realizations. The realization that writers have blocks when they don't know what to say (write) is becoming very apparent! Frankly, I struggle too on what to write. Let's you and I be honest, you don't want to read all of the thoughts and feelings that I have. Honestly, I don't want to read about all the thoughts and feelings that I have - and I live those thoughts and feelings every moment of every day! So here is my thought, feeling or question for today -

"When is it apparent that someone is spending too much money?"

Feel like a random question?

It is not - it is a thought that I have had today as I have looked at the news!

The Power of a Whisper

"Had saul not obeyed His whisper from God, Ananias could not have obeyed the one he himself received."

For me, this is one of the lessons that I am taking from Bill Hybels new book, "The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God. Having the Guts to Respond."

I live about 2 miles from the home of the Goodyear blimp. Rarely does a day go by when I do not have the privilege to see this rather gracious vehicle glide through the stunning blue skies of Northeast Ohio. Frequently, the pilots are projecting some sort of message on the massive display screen that is located on the sides of the blimp. Usually, there is some form of an advertisment or congratulatory message. When we have the rare honor of seeing the blimp at night, the messages that are displayed are particularly bright and easy to read. I'm not sure about you, but this is often how I want God to speak to me about the matters of life - send the blimp over my backyard in the middle of the day with a bright message that gives me specific instructions. So often though this is not how God speaks to us. Rather, God chooses to speak to us in the slightest of whispers.

Pastor Hybels spells out the importance of listening to God's voice for us in his newest book. One of the reasons that it is important for us to keep our ears in tune to that 'still small voice?' Our obedience to the whisper creates opportunities for others to obey the whisper that they hear.

Thank you Pastor Hybels for sharing with us the lessons that you have learned from your many years of listening to the whisper.

Blink

I have recently finished reading another fascinating book by Malcolm Gladwell entitled, "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking." Once again, in true Gladwell form, I was taken on a fascinating journey into realms that I have never visited. This time it was the realm of thinking.

Everyday, multiple times a day, in all aspects of life, we all make snap decisions or judgments. Whether we realize it or not, we make a fair amount of those snap decisions based on our prejudices. We make those quick judgments based on things that lie behind a 'locked door' in our mind. The truths that I took away from this book were many, but one bears sharing here.

It is imperative that each one of us intentionally work to train our minds to slow down, if ever so slightly, when it comes to making important decisions. It is important that we work intentionally to slow our thought processes down when we are talking with people so that we can better read the non-verbal cues that they are giving us.

To paraphrase Gladwell at the end of the book; "when we are able to take charge of the first two minutes of a conversation, a decision, an audition, an interview, etc.; we will be able to see people and circumstances for what they truely are."

Thank you Mr. Gladwell for writing another thought provoking book!

Exponential: How you and your friends can start a missional church movement

As part of Zondervan's blog tours, I have had the privilege to review books that are new. This has been a wonderful opportunity that I hope will continue.

The lastest tour has taken reviewers to the book, "Exponential: How you and your friends can start a missional church movement," written by brothers Dave and Jon Ferguson. This book was my first exposure to the Ferguson brothers, and I am sad that it has taken me this long to become acquainted with them.

My heart is that God's Kingdom will be advanced in this world through the ongoing salvation of people who are not currently connected to a life giving relationship in Christ. I believe that I have found kindred hearts in the Ferguson brothers. Through this book, they are challenging the rest of us to think about ways to build God's Kingdom on this earth. They are challenging us to think about ways that may be foreign to us, but ways that are essential for us to consider if we are going to be serious about reaching those who are outside of a relationship with Christ.

The entirety of the book was summed up in the early pages with this quote; "reproducing isn't about our kingdom; it's about God's Kingdom."

This is a must read for any church leader. As a matter of fact, go here; "Exponential: How you and your friends can start a missional church movment," and buy a copy now!

Outliers

I just finished reading a rather fascinating book - "Outliers." In it, Malcolm Gladwell takes an intriguing look at how people achieve success. In short, I would highly recommend it to anyone. If you would like to have your typical views of 'summer vacations,' birth date deadlines for sports leagues, and Bill Gates, then I would encourage you to pick it up at the local library and enjoy. He explores why Koren Airlines had such a deplorable safety record. He looks at how rice paddies in China are connected to exceptional math scores, and why feuds like the "Hatfields and McCoys" are very common in Appalachian America!

Thank you Mr. Gladwell for challenging our thinking!

Ukraine Day 6

Today was a bit of a slower day. The team went in different directions and made contact with people around the city. Pastor Tom and I met with an outreach team from a local church and fellowship with them and prayed for and blessed them. Then we had lunch with a local pastor. Dan, Gary, and Bob enjoyed some time with a man that runs an orphanage in the city.

When I sit back and try and picture what I think Jesus may look like today, I can't help but picture Ivan and Tanya Benedyk. These two people are incredible at working to build God's Kingdom. Pray for them as they are in a time of transition.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Ukraine and it will be very full. Please pray for us!

Ukraine Day 5

Today was a very full day. The team split up this morning and preached in different locations. Tonight we went to the gypsy church and held one last service with them. The room was absolutely packed with people. Pastor Tom spoke and we prayed and ministered to just about everyone in the church. We were able to do a wonderful Skype conversation with the church back home!

A quick story about this picture.

The church that I had the opportunity to preach in this morning is getting ready to plant another church in a nearby city. Earlier this week we were able to negotiate the use of this room with another room for children's ministry in an old bread factory. When it was all said and done, the first six months rent was paid at a total cost of $100 US dollars per month. God is so good and His gospel is going forth throughout the earth.

Get on the train or get out of the way!

Ukraine day 4

Wow - what a day today. We attended the ordination service of this pastor, Pastor Victor. He pastors a gypsy church in Uzghorod that one year ago was on life support. Today it is a thriving congregation approaching 100 people. Pastor Victor was the worship leader in the church before when the former pastor decided to walk away from the faith and his ministry. Victor has accepted the call of God upon his life to pastor this church. It was a powerful service as about 300 gyspies from various camps, villages, and churches came together for this celebration. God is using the gypsies in Ukraine to shake this nation. Once again I am reminded that He takes the 'least of these & makes the most of that!" Their faith is very simple - they love Jesus & they are very passionate about that relationship with Him! Oh, so much to learn!

Today was another phenomenal day of ministry and watching God move in dynamic ways. We prayer walked again in the morning. We visited the gypsy camp where Ivan Benedyk is the pastor. We saw the progress on the shower house project that was started last spring. We talked about the condition of the village and the church and such. We ministered once again at the gypsy church in Uzgherod. God is moving in that church in powerful ways. With the help of the people here and the mighty grace of God, we were able to secure a place for the new church plant. God is so good. We were able to secure it for half the asking price. Please pray for the woman in this picture. She is a mother of 6. Her husband is currently serving a 7 year prison sentence. She is raising the six children in a house that is about 12 ft. x 14 ft. The house is at the bottom of the hill so the dirt floor is beginning to wash out and erode away. It looks like we are going to be able to secure her and her children a new house in the village that is 2 to 3 times the size of her current house. It is at the top of the hill right next to the shower house and a water supply. She will also have a stove to heat the house in the winter. God is so good. He is teaching me to be His most grateful child.

Ukraine day 2

Today we prayer walked in a city that is being considered for a church plant. There is a small group of people that meet there right now. We also looked at a possible location that the gypsy church could move to since they are exploding at the seams. The spiritual atmosphere here is unreal. The church services are powerful times in God's presence. After the preaching when the altars are opened, everyone in the church comes forward to be prayed for. God is moving in powerful ways in people's lives in the services that we have been a part of. God is using everyone on our team in a deep prophetic ministry. God is confirming the words that are going forth! God is so good.

It is so refreshing to see people that have nothing have such a deep love for Jesus.

It is so refreshing to see people that have so little in this world have so much appreciation for what they do have.

I am learning so much.

Traveling

Well our travels have finally brought us to our final destination - Ukraine. In talking with people in the states, I get the sense that this is somewhat of a forgotten country. As I told people that I was coming to Ukraine, the question was usually raised, "why are you going to Ukraine?" That is a good question. I am not sure that most people could point out the location of Ukraine on a map - I'm not sure that I could 6 months ago. But it is amazing how God can take forgotten unknown people and change the world. The country of Ukraine is very depressed. It is economically depressed. For so long it lived under the crushing communist regimes and you can quickly look around and see the affects of that time. But it is not a spiritually depressed nation. I keep hearing that God is on the move in Ukraine. I'm not sure what God is doing in this country or in me, but as we crossed the border late last night I was impressed with two things.

1) This feels really far away from home.

2) The spiritual atmosphere here is very 'light.'

I am convinced that God takes the 'least of these' and does the 'most of this!'

In Christ!

The following is a blog post of a testimony that we recieved immediately after leaving France. Carlos is a man that we prayed for on Sunday afternoon at the retreat. God dramatically set him free. This is his story.

The day I was born again
by Carlos H. Figueroa

There was nothing particularly special about that Sunday morning. Except for the fact that the church service would be held at a little place up in the Alsatian mountainside. So, without any expectations my wife and I hit the road. After an hour-drive, we had finally arrived and the setting was beautiful. Plus, the weather was especially nice that day.My friend John had mentioned that a group of American pastors (who were on their way to the Ukraine) would be sharing that day. I did not know what God had in store for me that day.The service took place: people shared, prayed, worshipped. You know the usual Sunday morning service that you would have on weekly basis. We even had communion, and to be honest, I was not even there. Physically I was but, my mind was elsewhere. So, after the service was over and once we were done with formalities, we sort of spaced out for a while, and waited for lunch-time. And it was then that John introduced me to his friends (some of whom I was supposed to have met a couple of days before but, had not), and after getting acquainted, they said that they wanted to pray for Violette and I. And then, BOOM!Ever since I was a kid, I had seen people being touched by the Holy Spirit in various ways: people speaking in different tongues, laughing, falling flat on the floor, prophesying, having visions and so on and so forth (Acts 2:2-4). But nothing I knew, nothing I had already seen, could have prepared me for what I was about to experience. As soon as the group of pastors laid hands on me (2 Timothy: 6), something surreal happened. I had never experienced God like that. I knew that I had a relationship with him but, I had never fully enabled His Holy Spirit to fill me up, shake me and turn me upside down. I had never experienced the power, strength and authority with which God's Holy Spirit pours down His grace upon us, and cleanses us from the inside. It came and it blew inside me, a new and refreshing wind of hope and peace. A power that knows no flaw. A power that comes with authority and takes no prisoners. A power that comes and wipes out everything which stands between Jesus and us. A mighty power which strikes so precisely that today, the armies of the enemy tremble in fear for they know that their time is near (Revelation 12:10).I could go on and on about what I went through, and what I experienced. And I am truly grateful for what God has shown me, and also, done in me. But I am not different from anybody else on this planet. I am a regular guy who pays taxes and has just realized that God has caught up with him. I do not deserve any more than you, or anybody else. I just choose to believe that God is real, that His relationship with us is real, and most of all: I believe that He can live in us and live through us.I feel that God is calling us to believe and get ready to see people being empowered by His Holy Spirit and become vessels of His will. We will see wonders and miracles being accomplished everywhere. And we can choose to just believe it, and that is fine. But, I believe that Jesus is compelling us to believe and live our relationship with Him.Let His Holy Spirit into your life, your heart, your soul and your mind. Let us become one with Him. Let us stop just being believers, and let us become living vessels of His love, power and authority on this earth.I want in, do you?In Jesus.