I just found this article, through Q.  It's very similar to what has been stirring in me about Avondale, the neighborhood I live in.

Love Thy Neighbor

Did you know that Facebook recently passed Google as the site that has the most time spent on it?  Did you know that Facebook is now a leading cause of divorce in America?  Who hasn't lost 2 or 3 hours of our lives without even knowing it to the time-suck that is Facebook?  This started creating a feeling.  Maybe not like impending doom or anything, but it seemed like it was on the horizon.

I'm going to fast from my personal social media.  I can't fast from the All Pro Sound social media.  It's my job to put that stuff up.  But from my own social network.  I will not partake.

I'm not blaming her, but Jill is the reason why.  She recently got an iPhone 4.  Now, she's always on it.  Looking at stuff.  Playing Words with Friends till 2 in the morning.  We went to dinner and she barely talks to me.

So for two weeks, I'm off of Twitter, which is the only network I actively participated in anyway.  I will tweet one last time to let people know that the Twitter fast has commenced.  I believe that this fast will go much like food fasts, in that when I feel the twitter pangs in my stomach, I will pray for God's strength to get me through.   Maybe I will cope with the lack of twitter by blogging...NO!  No social media!!  Are location based services social?  I don't any friends on them, so does that make them unsocial?  Quite the conundrum.  I do love Gowalla, and I believe I will be going to some cool places over the next two weeks that may need to be cataloged into my Gowalla passport.  If I don't share my check ins on twitter, is that still a social network fast?

I think this is a picture of what many Christians do.  We start out with great intentions, fast to focus on God.  But then we see how close to the line we can get.  What doesn't go over the line but comes really close?

Maybe you can join me.  If you want to join me from a twitter fast send a final tweet with a hash tag #twitterfast, time and date, and then let's do this together.  Imagine what you'll be able to accomplish without reading tweets!

Does this look like what Jesus died for?

I've rediscovered qideas.org this week, and I've been doing a lot of reading on their blogs and essays.  There is tons of good stuff there.  And it's got me thinking a lot about the church.

Our job as Christians is be innovating what it means to be a part of the church.  But innovating in line with the biblical mandates from Jesus.  And really, I feel like the shift that needs to occur is a backwards shift.  The church has become a marketing machine, winning people to a way of life that doesn't challenge, but placates.  We want to seem cool.  We are watering down expectation levels to allow people to feel like they belong instead of holding people to higher standard.  When the marketing message a church is a self focused thing, it doesn't matter how many messages a preacher preaches about living for something bigger.  Those two things are diametrically opposed, and the church is shooting itself in the foot.

In the church culture I live in, Pensacola FL, I feel like the church is in a very dangerous limbo.  More people here go to church than any place I've ever been.  But here, I'm having a hard time finding people who are the church. Our job as the church is not to listen to some music, hear a message, drink some coffee and go home.  But honestly that's what I see.  I see a politician in Pensacola, who goes to a large church in town, campaign for a clean race and then steal campaign signs of his opponent, all the while acting like there's nothing wrong with it.  Across our state, there a fanatical preacher who thinks that the best way to show Christ's love to others is to burn the Qu'ran.  That's the danger of isolation that I see in these churches.  When you focus internally so much, and ignore our calling, these things don't seem to far fetched.

Christ calls us to more.  Christ calls us to make disciples.  Christ calls us to love those that don't deserve it.  Christ calls us to forgive when it's the hardest thing in the world to do.  Christ calls us to make the world a better place.  The Kingdom of God, that Jesus preached about, is here.  It's us.  It's the church.  I think Jesus is looking at our clinical, sterilized version of what the church is and is asking where the dirty people are.  He's a guy who chilled with lepers.  He's a guy that love tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners.  Now it's our turn to wake up and do what we're called to do.

We are called to go to the poor and oppressed. To be help to those who need it.

We are supposed to be the living breathing arms and legs, hands and feet, of Jesus.  We are supposed to be going to the hurting.  We are supposed to be thinking of others.  We should be striving to develop relationships with others like us, and those very different than us.  We need to be striving to make the world a better place, every minute of every day.  This isn't easy.  This isn't fun.  But neither was dying on the cross.  We need to step up and live like we believe in grace.  We need to step up and understand that we are losing the Spirit of "The Way."  Let's reclaim the term "church."  Let's reclaim love.  Justice.  Charity.  Compassion.  Hope.

Let's be the church as Jesus called us to be.  Let's live to a high standard.

If there's anything I have learned from my trip to Cincinnati this last weekend, it's that I should only golf one time a month.  If I golf once, do the best I can, wait till the next month.  I played twice in 3 days with Jimmy.  He shot par everyday, I shot like an average of 110.  I can't hit straight.  I was leaving clubs on tee boxes.  Horrible out look.  I bet if I had new clubs, that wouldn't happen.  Possibly some Nike Victory Red Forged 3-PW SC Irons (Men's Right-Handed, Stiff).  Just a thought.

I just finished my second book on the iPad.  My first book was Stuff Christians Like, very very funny.  And this next book I bought was A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller.  I've always liked his style, it's conversational and real.  I feel like that's what's important.

The gist of the book is to understand that your life is a story and that the things that make a story awesome and exciting are also what make your life awesome and exciting.  It really made me want to create a better story for my life.  Really become what I want to be.

So I've been thinking and praying about what could make my story great.  And God really did drop something right in my lap.

A man named Pastor Frank showed up here in Pensacola.  He's a village leader and church leader in Kampala, Uganda.  He came to America to learn and become a better leader for his people.  There was a conference in Orlando FL that he attended and while he was there he decided to extend his stay and visa here in the US.  He saw a brochure for Pensacola Christian College (don't get me started) that said he could learn and work.  So he flew to Pensacola, got ripped off by a cab driver and made it to PCC.  When he got there the receptionist said that those work opportunities were only for their students and there was nothing they could do for him, but maybe a church could help him.

He eventually ends up at my father-in-law's church, and they try to help him.  He's been hanging out and learning from some people there.  And on Thursday, he came a spoke with us at work.

His story is incredible.

He was born on the side of the road, because his mother was trying to walk the six miles from their village to the hospital.  As he grew up, his family made him their spiritual leader, but to the family spirits.  A corrupt governmental regime was in charge and beheaded his father.  So Frank went to Kampala and lived on the streets.  Here he met some missionaries who helped teach him about Christ.  And he was captivated.  He became a strong believer and leader and returned to the villages to plant a church.  He faced opposition form the witch doctor of the village and God's power showed through and the witch doctor was actually converted.

He was living an exciting story!!  He doesn't sit and watch TV or paint his house, he lives a life fully devoted to Christ.  The faith in God alone to leave his village to come get training in the US, not knowing anyone, is enough to put me in my place.

He showed us pictures of his village, and the orphanage that he helps runs, and his church.  There are major needs in his community.  Because a man can have as many wives as he wants in their culture, when something happens to him, he leaves many widows and many orphans.  In the village of Bendegere, where Frank works, he said there are 280 orphans.  They live in houses of host families, about ten to a house.  10 kids sleep under 1 mosquito net.

They had begun construction of a school for the orphans, but ran out of money.  I asked Frank what it would cost to finish the building and he said $10,000.  And now I want to be a part of his story.

A quote from Bono has always stuck with me from God is on the move, where he says,

Stop asking God to bless what you are doing.  Get involved in what God is doing...because it’s already blessed.

And I see God working in Pastor Frank and Jesus Power Church in Uganda.  So this is my goal.  I want to raise the money Pastor Frank needs to build the orphanage in Bendegere.  And I want to help get a well in the village where people can have better access to clean drinking water.  Also, easier access to clean water will allow quality of life to increase, as they people don't have to spend hours of their day collecting water.  They need supplies for their vocational school, funds for micro-loans to teach others to take care of themselves.

My starting goal is $15,000.  It's a big number for me.  Actually, it's impossible for me.  But God can do it!  If you would like to help, and be a part of something big, go to www.crowdrise.com/pastorfrank and donate to the project.  All the money will go through Liberty Church here in Pensacola.

Frank wasn't looking for a hand out.  He never once asked for an kind of money.  But his ministry has many needs.  As a part of a culture that is privileged beyond our understanding, we need to give back.

I'll be posting some pictures soon as I get some, so check back on the blog often.  I'll keep it up to date with all of the work Frank is doing.

So Jill warned my not to "open up a can of worms", or "ruffle some feathers," so I'm going to be somewhat careful.  I think that this spill is terrible.  I feel for the families of the 11 men who died when the rig exploded.  I think the impact will be far reaching and will affect lives for years to come.  That being said, I feel like the reaction of many people has been a little bit ridiculous.

Apparently, there is a Facebook status going around that says a little something like this,

"So where are all the "Save the Gulf" concerts? Where are the T.V. Benefits with celebrities, musicians giving heart felt speeches on the poor fisherman, wildlife, beaches, loss of income, sabotaged gulf economy? I find it rather strange how these people (including our own government) are so quick to help Haiti and other countries, but sit on their butts for this one. Just stating the facts. Post if you agree!"

This set off quite the debate between some of my Facebook friends and acquaintances.  I don't get involved in these kind of things.  But reading the thread, I got madder and madder and madder.  I can't understand how people can compare a natural disaster like the earthquake in Haiti, that came without warning killed over 230,000 people in a matter of minutes, destroyed homes and displaced thousands of surviving people, and completely disrupts normal life with an accidental spill of oil that is hard to stop and clean up, even with 100s of people cleaning.

I thought I would compare how my day went yesterday.  I live here in Pensacola, on the Gulf coast.  I know that this will have an effect, but on day 54.

1. I woke up around 9 am.  Brushed my teeth.  Fed my dog.  Let him out. Got dressed.
2. Drove to Lowe's.  Bought string for my weedeater and a Mountain Dew.  Stopped at Citgo and got gas for my new lawnmower. Came home.
3. Filled up the mower and mowed the grass. It was hot but it was fun to use the new mower.
4. I used my weedeater to trim and get rid of some plants growing in my fence.
5. Finished up, cleaned up, took a shower and drove over to my in-laws house.
6. Ate a tuna salad sandwich, doritos, and a sweet tea while watching the world cup USA vs England game.
7. Proceeded to paint the back bedroom in their house a lovely dark green.  Painted for a few hours till it was done.
8. Ate some Pizza Hut pizza and breadsticks.
9. Went swimming.
10. Drove home.  Watched the Rays 9th inning.  Played a little Modern Warfare 2.  Went to sleep.

I really feel like this discussion is happening solely because Americans are the most selfish people on the planet, myself included.  We are so blessed and privileged that we just hoard more and more and more.  We look at this minor setback in a major economical system of America that produces more money than we even know what to do with.  We have also decided that if something doesn't go how we deem it to be "fair," then we whine and moan and complain and look for people to blame.  When I look at this "disaster," the only people to blame are Americans.  We demand so much oil to make our economy work.  Yet we complain when the price gets high.  We want people to get us thing cheaper and cheaper and cheaper and this is what happens.

I love this quote that a great and inspiring friend of mine posted,

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.  -Mark Twain"

This speaks to our American sensibilities.  We only think about what we are doing and how our lives are effected.  We need to stop whining about something that responsible people will pay for.  We need to stop looking for handouts.  We need to understand that the poorest American is a king in most impoverished nations.

As a Christian, I am a part of the Kingdom of God, an active vibrant community that should be bringing His compassion and love to the world.  I never saw the disciples complaining that they faced hard times. Paul was shipwrecked, imprisoned, snakebitten, flogged, and kick out of town for doing what God calls all of us to do, love others in need.  And I'm not going to apologize that I don't feel sorry for us, not being able to go to the beach, eat seafood, or make a little less money and adjust your life accordingly.  I feel for those that can't take care of themselves.  What's not fair is the fact that I was born into a privileged country, in a well off family.  And at the same time, others are born into countries where their families make less than 1 dollar a day.  That's not fair.  Those are the people that need the benefits, and the help.

I have a fundraiser going right now to build wells to give clean water to people in Kenya.  As Americans, the best way I see to deal with this oil spill, (which, honestly, right now we can do nothing,) is  to think about others less fortunate than us.  Stop whining about not being able to go to the beach, or eat seafood.  Make a difference.  I really think some feathers need to be ruffled, so consider your feathers ruffled.

H2O4K

I've been thinking about Lost on and off ever since the finale aired.  Believe me, I wasn't happy.  It seemed to me like they didn't answer anything at all.  I understand that actors get older, or won't come back to the show.  But you spent six years developing a story line, and in the last season you introduce new things and only answer those things.  It didn't sit right with me.  I know the people that like it say that it was perfect and beautiful way to give the characters closure.  I get what happened.  Just not what I wanted.

All that aside, I think somethings about Lost makes a connection with Christianity. (Not the all paths and being a good person will get you to heaven, when you are ready to go, thing though.) Our lives are complicated busy things.  Intricate details are all around us.  There are things that we dwell on, (like what was so special about Walt), and they become what is important to us.  A lot of things we don't understand, why things happen, what happened, whatever.

But I think what God is concerned about is the final result of the journey.  Just like Lost.  While being wrapped up in details and unanswered questions loomed, the story ultimately brought the people where they ended up, and it didn't matter how they got there.  Faith should be the same thing.  Some of us have complex twisting pasts that have brought us to where we are today in our lives.  We can't possibly understand why things happened, why did that person die, why did I get fired from that job, why did that person leave with no explanation.  God had a plan for you.  Those things were there because they brought you to where you are.  They equip you for something more, something maybe only you can handle.  When we end up serving and being a part of God's plan, the minute details that brought us on the journey aren't really as important.

The important part of my Christianity is not what has happened, but what I will do next, for the glory of God.  How will I respond?

I was surfing the web and saw this video on StuffChristiansLike.net.  I laughed for about 45 minutes.


"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

I'd love to know what you think.  I'll admit, I laughed to myself in church this morning because it's so true.

So today, I did a lot of work in the yard/front of the house.  I painted the car port and foundation across the front of the house so I could plant the plants we bought.  I think the final product looks pretty good.  While I was painting, 3 kids from Pensacola Christian College came to the house.  They were going door to door asking people if they wanted to go to heaven.  (The obvious answer is yes, by the way.)  I talked for a couple of seconds, told them I go to church, and that I have a degree in the Bible.  They asked if they could pray for me, but I didn't have anything.  I pretty much have a one track mind so I wanted to get back to painting.  But when I got to painting, I got to thinking.  Here are a few of the things I was thinking about.


1.  Is that an effective way to show the world who Jesus is?  


The more I thought about it, the less it seemed like the way Jesus would have envisioned.  I mean, I am a different senario than most.  But I can see a person who doesn't care about Christ saying, "Sure I want to go to heaven, but what about paying my light bill?"  "What about feeding my kids?"  Heaven is an awesome reward but that's not what we as Christians have to offer.  We are supposed to be bringing a piece of heaven here to earth.  Heaven is "otherworldly" and people in our culture don't think about that.  They are trying to survive, everyday. 


I am constantly trying to live in a way that shows God's common grace.  But also, I don't want to do social justice for the sake of social justice.  This neighborhood that I live in could use a lot of common grace.  I know people here need to see the church in action.  The church needs to be the church.  Seeing if people want to go heaven isn't something people are really going to care about.


2. What is the motivation for these kids?  What do they think about what they are doing?


Back many years ago, companies would have a sales force of people going door to door selling their products.  They would have say a vacuum cleaner, like a Rainbow.  They would demo the product and then sell right there at the house.  That used to be the way to sell things, but then something happened...the Internet.  Now people research and pick what they want.  People are incredibly skeptical of everything.  So this is what door to door evangelism does.  Do we want to put Jesus in the same category of a door to door salesman?


I really want to understand what these kids are being taught that is causing them to think this is an appropriate response to being a Christian.  I would hope they are trying to fulfill the Great Commission.  But how does going door to door asking people if they go to church or want to go to heaven make a disciple?  Isn't a disciple something that takes time to develop?  Isn't a disciple the recipient of a relationship?  The disciples with Jesus got a relationship.  They got three years, seeing every side of Him.  I see our job as Christian to be like Christ.  We are supposed to call people to hang out with us, to be our friends, to eat with us.  Going door to door, asking a question and leaving isn't a relationship.  Man, making a disciple is dirty hard work.


I think the culture is tired of Christians trying to just do the easy thing.  People in our culture respect hard work.  Jesus got dirty and we need to as well.  


I really wish that I had spent some time with those kids.  I want to understand the thought process.  I saw a guy yesterday standing on the side of the road at a stop light, white shirt, black tie, Bible in hand, screaming at the top of his lungs at people stopped at the light.  I guess my adjustment to the "Bible-belt" is going to be tough.  


If you are those three kids that were walking around my neighborhood on Sunday, I would love to spend some time talking to you, getting to know, understanding your approach to faith and why door to door Heaven invitations is the way for you. Come back and see me.  


I'd love to hear what other people think.

So the other day my phone totally died.  And I was lost, figuratively.  I couldn't remember anyone's phone numbers.  I couldn't tweet.  I couldn't check my email.  I couldn't check in with Gowalla.

And this really got me thinking.  Is our technology actually making us dumb? We have become so smart in small doses but it has made us not have to use our brains.

And this has allowed me to have an even better appreciation of why God chose to send His Son when He did.  At that point in history, people remembered things.  They passed on traditions orally. The writings that became the New Testament were from probably 40 years after Jesus had ascended into heaven.  Yet the details of the stories that were saved are incredible.  Somethings make us wonder why they are even there.

It's hard for me to imagine that God's hand was not in the creation of the Bible.  It's hard for me to think that it's an accident.  So, it's funny that, me not having any charge left in a device that makes me not have to think about things as much, really has caused me to think about where we came from.

God's ways are so much bigger than ours.  And I think Him that they are.

Jesus speaks many times in Scripture about loving your enemies.  Turn the other cheek.  Treat the least of these like kings.  Man it sounds great.  It sounds hard but it sounds great.  It's pretty cut and dry.

I was listening to the Mars Hill podcast today on my drive from Jacksonville to Pensacola.  For Lent, Mars Hill was going through the story of Jonah.  I honestly had never read Jonah in that way.  I'll let you listen yourself to hear the whole story, but one thing in specific stuck out to me.  Shane Hipps talked about the anger that Jonah felt because God spared the people of Nineveh.  Most times I simply passed that over.  But Jonah 4:1-3 says, But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry.  He prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord , was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.  Therefore now, O Lord , please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” Jonah would rather die, than live in  a world where God forgave the people of Nineveh.  He pointed out that Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria, a vast empire at the time.  They had enslaved and intermarried with Israel.  And that was the worst thing that Israel could have happen.  When Jonah got to Nineveh, he was wanting God to over throw Nineveh as justice for what they had done to Israel.  But God forgave the evil of Nineveh and showed Jonah truly what it meant to love his enemies.

In our culture, I think most average people don't have true enemies.  Sure Seminoles don't like Gators, but sports teams aside, most people strive to be liked by most people.  People will act in certain ways to allow others to like them.  Sure sometimes, people don't like each other, but rarely do we come across a life or death situation.  Rarely are we in America oppressed.  So the hunt for me is for an enemy.

I had a rough week.  I had an experience that I believe may have created a situation where I can love on someone I normally wouldn't, someone hostile to me and my belief.  The truth is, we don't need to find an enemy, or someone hostile to our faith.  In this postmodern society, hostility toward faiths is mostly a thing of the past.  What true for you is fine, but it's not true for me.  It's time to love in a way that changes the world.  We are to be a beacon of God's love.  That's why we are to love our enemies.  Because, as Shane points out, God loves indiscriminately, even those who enslave and destroy his people.  And if He can do it, we should too.

So I've been doing a lot of research on the new hottest thing in social networking: geo-location.  The fact that smartphones are in more and more pockets, all enabled with GSP, makes the possibilities of these networks interesting.  I have currently been trying out many of these services, both on the web and their respective iPhone apps.  I'm going to give you a little bit about each one.

All of these service center around checking in at locations.  You can link pictures, comments, and send them to Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites.  The popularity of Twitter drives these services.

Foursquare: Started in NYC, this is an awesome friend locator.  When you check in, it's going to let you know.  When you check in, you get points.  Points get you badges.  The game is to be the "mayor" of a location.  Some businesses are using Foursquare for promotions, such as the "mayor" of a coffee shop gets a free drink each time they come.  The possibilities for businesses and foursquare seem to be primed and ready to explode.


Gowalla: Gowalla is beautiful.  The design is catchy.  Right now, I would say it is my favorite.  When you check in places, there are patches and stamps you can collect.  They have also started building relationships with businesses to award players. Recently they partnered with inCase and Apple and gave away virtual and real iPhone inCase cases to people who check in at Apple retail stores.  I currently am using Gowalla as my network of choice.

Loopt: Loopt was one of the first networks I saw.  It would locate you on a map and allow you to say what you are doing.  It's interesting that they have evolved along with Gowalla and Foursquare to include check ins.  I like the map you can look at and see all the location of friends who have checked.  Again, this only works if your friends are actively opening the app and checking in regularly.

Yelp: What differentiates Yelp is the ability to leave reviews of the locations.  This is awesome for finding new restaurant, shops, coffee, in your area that rocks.  As a business owner, you can control the information available on your business's Yelp page, something like an online phonebook page.  You can edit information and release updates and promotion that show up on your city directory.  They have also started to add checkin so you can see what your Yelp friends are doing.

Brightkite: Another graphically well designed site. Check in and searchable to see what others are saying.  They also have a nice featured that allows for mass group text message conversations.   It seems like just another check in, conversation place, basically geolocation Twitter, which Twitter can do.

There are some draw backs to these services.  First is the people that use them.  I currently live in Pensacola, FL.  And not many people use these services.  Also, many locations don't have spots set up.  In the case of Gowalla, that makes it hard to collect items, because there are not any.  People who live in big cities will have a lot more to do with these services.

The other concern is the privacy issue.  Most friends I have think it's a great way to get stalked.  There is also a website that's called PleaseRobMe.com that is really just a wake up call.  The fact that telling people where you are can allow them to know where you are not.  The goal is to be aware of over-sharing.

I think that only one or two of these will really take off.  They are aiming at the exact same markets.  The two front runners now and Foursquare and Gowalla.  I think if you are interested in some of this, check one out.

My overall advice would be to find what your friends are doing and everyone use the same thing.  The point is to connect to people you know, meet people who like similar places as you, and share pictures and comments and reviews.  Do it where people will hear it.  If you want to see what I'm doing, I'm on Gowalla.  Friend it up.

I'd love to hear what you think.  Feel free to leave some comments.

This transition has been a little bit tough.  Moving, not as much.  But my brain has had to transition from "church" think, "church" speak, kingdom all the time, to a business mindset.  I mean, I'm trying to raise awareness now for a brand, where as before I was raising awareness of Jesus.

It's a little bit of culture shock too.  Pensacola is a small town.  And "church" is something that everyone has just always done.  I feel a weird sense of complacency all around me.  I don't feel a sense of urgency.  I want to figure out why that is.

I think this points to a larger issue in America.  Our lives as Christians cannot be lived in the a rigid framework.  It can't be when we are only at "church."  And "church" can't just be a another thing you do in your week.  Sunday shouldn't mean "church."

As my friend told me today, "We are the church, no matter where we are."  It is time for everyone to live like that.  Paul says that what ever we do needs to be for the glory of God.  Let's start living for the glory of God.  I'm going to spend time finding what it should look like.  I want to point us to a new way to live, totally centered on Christ.

I'm ready to get serious. I know I blog about serious stuff a lot, but now I need a place to interact with what God is doing. Moving from the ministry as a profession to ministry as a life. So over the coming weeks, I'm going to blog about some of the things I'm doing and some of the things I am seeing.