I hadn’t heard much from Rob Bell and the folks at Nooma in awhile, so I checked their site to see if there were any new releases. Turns out they’ve got a new one that was released last week. As always, the message is right on target. How many of us are so caught up in the busy-ness of life that we spread ourselves so thin that, instead of being excellent in a few areas, we become mediocre in many. There are so many opportunities to do good, but if I do all of them, could I actually be doing more harm than good?
Just woke up from a nap. I slept in intervals last night; 30 minutes of sleep, then awake for an hour or two. Needless to say, I was a bit tired when I got home. Just wanted to post a little blog today because it’s Father’s Day. Unlike most of the guys I hang around, my relationship with my dad isn’t all that great. We get along alright, but considering that we haven’t seen each other in almost twelve years, our relationship is not where it should be. So I’m listening to Brent’s message this morning and my first thought was, “Great. My father left when I was four, so I haven’t exactly seen a good example of being a good husband and father.” But as Brent continued in scripture, he pointed out that in Ephesians 5:25-31, Jesus is supposed to be our example.
I know. Duh moment.
And I’ve read enough books to know that as well. Sex God, The Radical Reformission, Vintage Jesus; they all make this point concerning being a good husband and father.
But the statistics are still there. Fifty percent of marriages fail, and those whose parents are divorced are fifty percent more likely to go through at least one divorce themselves.
I don’t like those statistics. Not for anyone, but especially not for me.
Which is why I love what Brent said about legacy. He talked about how his grandfather decided that even though no one in previous generations gave a crap about legacy, he was going to be the one who changed that, even if he didn’t reap the benefits in this life. And because of his grandfather’s decision; because his grandfather took the road less traveled decided to follow Jesus with everything he was, to be a Godly husband and father; because he thought of his family and future generations instead of himself, his son, grandson (Brent) and now his great-grandchildren have a legacy. When people meet Brent and find out he’s J.A.’s grandson and James David’s son, they are impressed. Even though they don’t know anything about Brent, he has he grandfather’s and father’s legacy and reputation. And what Brent said was that for those who have not had a good legacy passed down through the generations, it is up to us to change that. So while I may not have much of a legacy from my father or those before him, I’ll be damned if I don’t leave one for my children and grandchildren and so on. Wouldn’t it be great if 250 years from now, my great-great-great-great-great-great (you get the point) grandson introduces himself to people and they say, “You’re a Jones? You come from good stock.”
I guess you could this is my declaration.
J
Today has been a long day. But it was fun and has been very informative. Brent and I met up with Ameen, our rep from Portable Church and hung out most of the morning at Starbucks where Ameen went through a detailed printout of what it’s going to take to launch Four Points Church the way we want in September. Sounds great, right?
Then we get to page 27.
The last page.
Yeah, it’s a tad over budget.
Okay, it’s double what we had originally hoped.
The funny part was, it was all stuff we had requested; Ameen did not add anything. He didn’t upsell us or hide anything in the multitude of paper; it was everything we asked for. It’s just that when you actually put it all down on paper, it can add up fast. So pray for us to have wisdom in making decisions in what to keep, what to cut, assuming we cut anything. Obviously, if God isn’t in this, we could raise a million dollars and fail miserably. However, I know God is with us, so I know He is going to do something great. Just keep us all in your prayers because things are moving so quickly and it can get a bit stressful at times. It’s so amazing to see what God has done just in the last ten months, I can’t wait for September 14 to get here.
J
Met up with Brent, Dan and Jess this morning at Pickets Mill Elementary School for day one of our consultation with our rep. from Portable Church Industries. We did a walk through of the facilities and decided the pros and cons of the different areas accessible to us on Sundays. The main services are going to be meeting in the school’s gym and the kids church and classes are going to be in the cafeteria. The cafeteria has a built in stage which will be perfect for worship and then they can split off into groups and have age-appropriate Bible teaching, crafts, etc.
As for the gym, it is HUGE. Plenty of room to grow and we’ve got a lot of cool ideas for things like a cafe, lounge, etc. to all be in the gym.
Anyways, gonna hang out with the consultant tomorrow too, so we’ll see how things are progressing in 24 hours.
J
Just doing my daily reading the other day (which I must admit, has become not so daily) and I began reading Philippians. Chapter two, verses one through eleven really jumped out. I usually use Eugene Peterson’s The Message for my personal study, so that is why I chose to post that version here. I also just love how blunt it can be at times.
“1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.”
“Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.”
“Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”
And if those verses weren’t enough, I love how blunt verses 5 – 8 get. Jesus had equal status with God the father, yet He dropped every advantage, every right He held as part of the Godhead to be one of us. To be human. He felt pain, He had His feelings hurt, He lost friends, He was tempted, He loved, even when that love was unrequited; He was human. And when He had the choice to say no, and to leave us to our own devices, He instead chose to follow through with the final reason for His coming: death. And as verses 9 – 11 state, because of His obedience, God the father has honored Him above all else: past, present and future.
So yeah, I got a lot out of that passage.
Then I bought the first North Point album from the iTunes music store.
It should be no surprise that my favorite song on the album so far is Todd Fields’ version of Not To Us.
Kinda funny how it echoes the sentiment expressed at the end of verse 11:
“Not to us, but to Your name be the glory.”
J
I don’t usually repost other’s work, but when I read Anthony Coppedge’s blog this morning, it stood out so much I had to do something. I thought about rewriting it to give it my own sound, but I wouldn’t add or remove anything. He really nailed it with this one.
During the times of my life when I’ve been really stretched and I learned to grow, God has often shown me an old thing a new way. For me, this has sometimes been through a different translation of the Bible (I usually read the NIV and NJKV). Last night that happened yet again when, on a whim, I used BibleGateway.com to read 1 Corinthians 13 from The Message.
I have a love/hate thing going on with this chapter, as it continually encourages me and then kicks my butt. So when I read it last night, it really popped off the page with a new twist. Here’s how verse 7 read:
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Sure, it’s the same, but the new twist of reading it differently made it come alive in a new way…a way that causes me to rethink where I’m right (dogmatically). As a husband, I can look at Ephesians 5 and think I’ve got a handle on things. But then when I re-read this, with a new twist, I realized that being “right” has less significance than showing love.
I’m a work in progress. I’m learning. But I am getting it…slowly.
Here’s your assignment:
- Man or woman, married or not, are you loving this way?
- When you think you’ve won a disagreement hands-down, does it matter if you’re not loving this way?
- Who you are going to show this kind of love to today?
J
So, I’m watching a video on Dave Stagl’s blog (he’s the technical director at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA). He is showing how to create snapshots on the Digidesign Venue D-Show FOH console.
I WANT ONE!
Dave's Home Guide to the Digidesign Venue: Creating Snapshots from David Stagl on Vimeo.
I now have an idea of what a day in the life of a music producer is like. Not that I am as skilled as guys like Rick Rubin, Bob Rock or Brendan O’Brien, but today I spent five hours producing and engineering for the Four Points band. We worked on a grand total of……(drum roll please)……ONE SONG!
It makes me appreciate albums such as Metallica’s black album even more.
Albums that took over a year to record.
Yeah.
I thought five hours was bad.
Imagine spending a year in a studio.
I’m going to bed.
All of you should go listen to the black album just to hear what happens when you spend one year and over $1,000,000 to record an album.
And that was in 1990. Considering inflation, what is the equivalent in 2008?
J
