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Archive - August, 2011

Community In A Consumer Culture

August 22, 2011 in Family with 12 Comments

There are a lot of enemies to community out there, but maybe none greater than the consumer mentality. Skye Jethani has a new book coming out soon entitled With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God. In the book he says,

Consumerism is a supremely narcissistic worldview in which everything’s value is determined by it’s usefulness to me. I stand at the center while everything and everyone orbits around me.

Sound familiar to you at all?

While the consumer mentality may fuel our economy it doesn’t do anything positive for the community God wants to form in our life.

Consumerism in our relationships can look like this:

When my husband no longer meets my needs I discard him and get a new relationship.

When my friends no longer stroke my ego I discard them and get a new group of friends.

When my church doesn’t meet my needs I’ll leave it and find a new church to attend.

When my wife isn’t meeting my immediate needs for intimacy I will just engage in disposable intimacy called pornography.

When someone gets in the way of my agenda, I’ll run over them with no regard to their heart.

This mentality is doing immense damage in our culture today and you will simply never experience the community you were designed for if you continue down this road.

How do you see consumerism impacting your current relationships?

Jesus, My Father, The CIA and Me

August 19, 2011 in Friends, Spiritual Growth with 103 Comments

I had the opportunity to meet Ian Cron a few years ago through some mutual friends. I instantly knew the new friendship was an amazing gift to my life. Every wanna be writer should be so lucky to have a writer as gifted as Ian in their life.

I don’t read a lot of fiction (I’ve read two fiction books this year and I’ll tell you about the other one real soon) but this book will grab you from the first paragraph. My wife spent most of the summer totally ignoring me at the pool as she couldn’t put it down.

Here’s a little taste.

“When I first discovered the grainy picture in my mother’s desk – me as a towheaded two year old sitting in what I remember was a salmon-orange-stained lifeboat—I was overwhelmed by the feeling that the boy in the boat was not waving and laughing at the person snapping the photo as much as he was frantically trying to get the attention of the man I am today. The boy was beckoning me to join him on a voyage through the harrowing straits of memory. He was gambling that if we survived the passage, we might discover an ocean where the past would become the wind at our back rather than a driving gale to the nose of our boat. This book is the record of that voyage”

When he was sixteen years old, Ian Morgan Cron was told about his father’s clandestine work with the CIA. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father’s dark struggles with chronic alcoholism and depression, upended the world of a boy struggling to become a man. Decades later, as he faces his own personal demons, Ian realizes the only way to find peace is to voyage back through a painful childhood marked by extremes—privilege and poverty, violence and tenderness, truth and deceit—that he’s spent years trying to escape.

In this surprisingly funny and forgiving memoir, Ian reminds us that no matter how different the pieces may be, in the end we are all cut from the same cloth, stitched by faith into an exquisite quilt of grace.

I’m so excited to be able to give away 5 copies of Ian’s book today, if you don’t win, definitely go grab yourself a copy HERE. Just leave your name, social security number, credit card number and your mother’s maiden name. OK, just your name will work.

Lights… Camera… Action

August 18, 2011 in Random Fun with 8 Comments

So, yesterday we started filming the footage for the video curriculum for my next book, Empty Promises.

The book doesn’t come out until next Spring, but the videos and the participants guides will come out at the same time so we’re in full production mode.

We’ll be working hard shooting through late Friday night and here’s where I need your help.

We’re looking for 50 extras to help out Friday night. This is your chance to be recognized by Hollywood and become a video star!! Okay, maybe not, but we’ll have a blast, make some new friends and it would mean the world to me to have you be a part of this new project.

Here are the specifics the producer and director are looking for…

We need 50+ Extra’s (Both Male + Female) in the 20′s – 30′s Age Range (must be 18+)
Wardrobe: ‘Club Attire’ of the nicer/more up-scale. Dressed up as in ‘ready to party’. Think LA/NYC nightlife.
Call time: 8:00 pm (we’ll be shooting until close to 1am)
Location: Houston Station, Nashville TN

I know a pastor inviting you to a club late on a Friday night and asking you to wear “club attire” sounds a bit sketchy. You’ll just have to trust me on this one. I’m PRETTY SURE it’s above board.

If you’re interested please email Evie at evie@crosspoint.tv. Please don’t just show up or leave a comment. You really need to shoot her an email to make it legit.

Thanks guys.

I’ve Never Been A Dennis Rodman Fan

August 17, 2011 in Spiritual Growth with 44 Comments

I’ll be honest.

I’ve never been a Dennis Rodman fan.

I’ve always thought of him as a reckless, self absorbed, ego maniac. And while my assessment was probably fairly accurate, I think I forgot one thing. He’s a broken human being just like me.

His acceptance speech into the NBA Hall of Fame was unbelievably telling. If you have a moment you should watch (Warning: The language is a bit rough).

In his speech he did something that athletes (or anyone else) rarely do. Instead of focusing on his career he talked very candidly about his personal shortcomings and the pain he’s been through in life.

I almost started crying with him when he admits: “I have one regret; I wish I was a better father.” His own father abandoned him when he was five years old, and Dennis said that later in life: “He wrote a book about me and made a lot of money, but he never came and said hello to me.”

Just remember today before you judge that:

Arrogant boss

Self-absorbed friend

Angry parent

Everyone needs healing… Everyone.

Any thoughts?

The DTR Talk

August 16, 2011 in Spiritual Growth with 16 Comments

Do you know what DTR stands for?

It stands for “Define The Relationship.” A DTR talk, while inescapable in dating, can also be one of the most awkward conversations you’ll ever have. But they’re essential, right? This is the talk you have to have to determine the level of commitment that exists inside of the relationship.

These talks usually begin with something like….

“Where do you see this relationship going?”

Or…

“My friends have been asking if we’re exclusive?” (This is the more passive approach)

What’s interesting is that over and over again Jesus engaged his followers in DTR talks. He was constantly challenging them to evaluate what it really meant to be in a relationship with him.

One obvious place is Luke 6:46-49. Jesus says,

⁴⁶“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. ⁴⁸He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

That’s a great question isn’t it? This one question separates those who want to be “fans” of Jesus from those who want to be “followers” of Jesus.

Why do you call me “‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I say?”

Do yourself a favor and camp out on that question today.

So what do you think? Why do we trust Jesus with our eternity, but not with our relationships…finances…careers…decisions…life?

Megachurch Myths

August 15, 2011 in Leadership with 26 Comments

Okay, let’s get this out of the way up front. I’m not writing this post to say that all megachurches are great or perfect because we all know that megachurches can have their flaws and weaknesses just like any size church can.

However, I’ve heard three common myths about megachurches over and over and over and almost every megachurch is thrown under the bus for these three things. Saddleback Church, in California has taken a lot of criticism over the years, but I want to tell you about my experience there earlier this weekend and how they debunk these myths.

They were kind enough to invite me to come speak at Radicalis, a new conference they launched this weekend for college students and young adults. I spoke with both Rick and Kay Warren as we challenged them to make an impact with their lives around the world.

MYTH #1: MEGACHURCHES DON’T REALLY CARE ABOUT PEOPLE.

There is often this belief that at a megachurch you’re just a number. People don’t really care about individuals because they’re so focused on numbers and pastors of megachurches do everything they can to avoid contact with their attenders and are simply out of touch with them. However, often, nothing could be further from the truth. When you listen to Pastor Rick teach these college students you can tell he has a real heart for them. In fact, I watched him walk around and literally hug the neck of EVERY one of these kids (whether they wanted him to or not ). I’ve learned a lot about pastoring just from watching Rick walk through a crowd.

MYTH #2) THEY’RE ALL FLUFF.

For years I’ve heard people accuse Pastor Rick of cotton candy theology. They’re always quick to point out that he’s fond of preaching about “felt needs.” However, I listened as he challenged these students to make a radical decision to follow and root their lives in Christ. He never stopped short of calling them to fully surrender to how God wants to use them in life. Powerful, effective and very challenging.

MYTH #3) THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THEMSELVES

Megachurches are often criticized for not caring about the larger church. They’re often pictured as churches that are only out for themselves and don’t care who they crush in their pursuit of numerical growth. Nothing could be further from the truth at Saddleback. They could have easily pulled this event off by themselves, but they intentionally partnered with other churches in the Southern California area. While they certainly had enough staff and volunteers to lead worship they allowed the worship guys from other churches to come share the stage. They invited and introduced the other pastors and made it clear that it wasn’t about Saddleback, but about the Kingdom.

Anyway, in a world where we tend to hear the worst about the church, especially the megachurch, I wanted to pass along my personal experience. There are a lot of myths in general floating around out there about the church these days. Don’t jump to conclusions and buy into everything you hear. God uses all kinds and types of churches to reach His people.

Unfaithful

August 12, 2011 in Friends, Relationships, Spiritual Growth with 99 Comments

“When Chris Beall, my new star worship leader, confessed to me that he’d been unfaithful to his wife Cindy—I could have vomited on the spot.

Overwhelming emotions flooded my heart. Shock. Disappointment. Anger. Sadness.

Questions pelted my mind like hail smashing against a sidewalk during a storm? How did this happen? Why didn’t I see it? What am I going to tell our church? What will Cindy do? Will their marriage survive this blow?

I’ll never forget seeing the deep and seemingly unrecoverable hurt in Cindy’s eyes when she discovered the devastating truth…” (Craig Groeschel)

This powerful opening from the foreword of my friend Cindy Beall’s book Healing Your Marriage When Trust Is Broken introduces the reader to Cindy’s incredible story. Having survived the pain, devastation and heartbreak of betrayal in her own marriage, she’s now on mission to share the unbelievable miracle God has worked in her and her husband’s life. And it is nothing short of a beautiful miracle.

Beyond the shock. Beyond the confusion. Beyond the humiliation. Beyond the darkest nights and the rivers of tears.

There is hope. Restoration is possible. God is with you and He wants to take your hand and see you through the brokenness to the other side of the pain.

“If you are feeling alone, know that I am here to journey with you, and so is God. He already desires to make you whole, even as the pieces of your known existence seem to be scattered to every corner of the universe. If the walls have tumbled and you cannot recognize truth from lies in the remains, know that God’s grace and power to transform your life is right there in the midst of the debris.” -Cindy Beall

We’re going to give away 5 Copies of Cindy’s book today by random selection. You don’t have to share anything you’re not comfortable sharing. Everyone will be entered into the drawing unless you specifically say that you don’t need the book, you’re just joining the conversation.

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