Jon Acuff's Blog, page 135

Here's what you missed from me this month!

It's been a busy month of writing, speaking and breakdancing.

Here are a few things you might have missed from June.

From JonAcuff.com

Please shut up.

3 letters that will radically improve every blog and tweet you ever write

Kevin Smith & holding on to criticism

From StuffChristiansLike.net

Calling your wife your "bride"

Complaining

Speaking authoritatively on books you haven't read

Miscellaneous Awesomeness

3 Ways to Kill the Biggest Voice of Doubt Leaders Hear, for Catalyst

5 Tips to Land Your Dream Job, my first appearance on Fox & Friends

Ditch That Day Job For Your Dream Job, my second appearance on Fox & Friends

Preaching from an easel or a whiteboard.

Want to know a secret trick I do in meetings? (No, it's not where I try to see how many glasses of water I can drink. I quit doing that years ago, but I promise I would still whup you in that game. Don't make me come out of retirement.)

When I'm writing on a whiteboard, if I find myself stuck in the middle of a word I can't spell, I just abbreviate the word wherever I am.

So for instance, let's say I boldly start to scribble the word "maintenance" in dry erase marker but realize in the middle that I have never spelled that word correctly. As soon as I realize I'm stuck, I'll just write "maint." Or the name Isaiah, a name I've spelled correctly twice in my life, I'd just write "Isa."

If anyone questions me about what those invented abbreviations mean, I kind of just look at them like, "Really? I'm too busy to be writing out whole words. I'll write it out if that's what you're asking me to do. It will cripple our productivity in this meeting, but I'll do it."

You probably don't need to do that ever. You probably never put an "e" in the word "judgment" or get terrified when you stumble your way into trying to spell "conscientious" or "accommodate," but I do. Which is one of the reasons I'm glad I'm not a pastor right now.

One of the things that's gaining momentum is preaching from an easel or a whiteboard.

Inspired perhaps by comedian Dimitri Martin or that UPS guy with the really nice hair, pastors all over the country are drawing notes in the middle of sermons.

If you haven't experienced this yet, here are a few things you'll notice when you do:

1. The disclaimer.

The very first thing that pastors say when they draw on an easel or a whiteboard is, "I'm horrible at drawing. This is going to be my very poor attempt at drawing what the world looks like." As soon as they say this, you will think to yourself, "If you're horrible at it, why are you doing it? If you were horrible at juggling swords, you wouldn't do that on stage." You probably won't think that second sentence unless you have the extensive sword background I have, but you will definitely think that first one. It's a very confusing way to start a sermon.

2. The marker will either be the size of your leg or microscopic.

I'm not sure where churches are buying these markers they're using, but they only come in two sizes: Tree Trunk and Invisible. Your pastor will either be drawing up there with a marker so big it looks like it was a support column for the building prior to serving as a marker, or one that is so small you can't see it and the notes appear to be flowing from his fingers as if by magic.

3. The easel will constantly look like it is on the verge of collapsing.

Is there anything flimsier than a three-legged easel? (Brian Regan does a brilliant bit on the ridiculous design of an ironing board, so yes, yes there is.) But I still contend that the easel always looks like it's on the edge of collapse. Don't get distracted by this. Don't watch for structural issues with the easel. You'll miss the sermon.

4. Someone near you will worry that the pastor will actually draw something inappropriate.

Not you. You'd never worry about that. You left that sort of behavior behind you in junior high. When a weather man does this and draws something he didn't anatomically mean to draw, you never laugh inside. But other people, sinners, they'll be worried that the pastor will make just such a slip up and go viral for all the wrong reasons.

Those predictions are rock solid. They will happen if your pastor uses an easel or a whiteboard during a sermon. Unless they're pre-drawn. Some pastors have their notes pre-written and pre-drawn by someone with ridiculously beautiful penmanship. And I'm OK with that. I think that still counts. What I'm not OK with is that no church is using those markers from the show "Picture Pages" with Bill Cosby. Remember those? They made music when you'd draw with them? I love those.

Question:

Have you ever seen a pastor speak from a whiteboard or an easel?

Family Christian Stores Picks Up Quitter!

One of the questions I've been getting is "Where can I walk into a store and buy your new book Quitter?" That's a great question, perhaps second only to, "Where can I walk into a store and buy a case of your new book Quitter?"

I'm happy to announce that Family Christians Stores is now carrying Quitter. I'm really grateful that they decided to carry it.

Click here to find a location near you.

Or

to order Quitter online from Family Christian Stores.

The problem with punctuation.

Sometimes, when I speak about social media at conferences, I talk about the Most Interesting Man in the World commercials. Dos Equis put them together, and they are hilarious. In them, a parade of over-the-top statements are thrown out about a bearded James Bond-type guy.

They say things like:

His words carry weight that would break a less interesting man's jaw.

He bowls … overhand.

His blood smells like cologne.

Sharks have a week dedicated to him.

He never says anything tastes like chicken. Not even chicken.

On and on these statements go. And as funny as they are, that's not what I talk about when I speak on social media. The sentence in the commercial I find so interesting is the one The Most Interesting Man in the World says. Here's what he proclaims when he looks at the camera and ends the commercial:

"I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis."

That sentence is a wild departure from traditional beer advertising. In the 1980s, Miller Lite had commercials where people got in fist fights about why they drank their product. "Tastes Great! Less Filling!" And in the Dos Equis spot? The main character is saying he doesn't even use the product all the time. Not only that, he uses the word "prefer."

That's an incredibly weak word. He doesn't say, "I've got to have" or "I love" or "I need." He says "I prefer." To test how soft that word is, guys, go home to your wives tonight and say, "Out of all the women I saw today, I prefer you. Baby, I prefer you." Let me know if that "fills her bucket" or speaks her "love language."

Of course it won't. The difference between "I prefer" and "I love" is gigantic. Word choice makes all the difference in the world when it comes to really communicating. And sometimes, punctuation is just as important.

I thought about that recently when I realized I was reading the Bible with the wrong punctuation. Maybe I was just reading too quickly. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. Maybe I grew up thinking that God was serious and boring. He wore quiet, baby blue suits and sang hymns that wouldn't elevate your heartbeat. Yeah, he invented lightning, but he's a little embarrassed about that. It's so bright and flashy, which isn't like him at all.

He's not an exclamation God!

He's a period God.

Maybe a comma God,

Or a semicolon God;

Or a God devoid of all punctuation in the original scrolls of the Bible

But certainly not an exclamation God!

That's how I've read the Bible for years. God might have been loud and big in the Old Testament when he was angry, but when it comes to his love, he's quiet. Like a willow tree figurine or a tiny porcelain angel that sits on your grandmother's mantle.

But lately, I've had a hard time ignoring the exclamations. They don't feel nearly as invisible to me as they used to.

Here are just a few examples:

Isaiah 30:18

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;

he rises to show you compassion.

For the Lord is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him!

John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Isaiah 43:19

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert

and streams in the wasteland.

Philippians 4:2

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Can you hear those? Those aren't quiet verses from a quiet God. They're loud. They feel shouted, as if from a God whose love is louder than even the most cluttered day and broken life.

Blessed are all who wait for him!

But take heart!

The old has gone, the new has come!

See, I am doing a new thing!

Rejoice!

Over and over and over again, the !!! cannot be stopped in the Bible. But when I look at my own life, I'm not so sure.

How would I punctuate my faith?

Do I live with exclamation?

Do I pray with exclamation?

Do I worship with exclamation?

Or instead, do I ever give into the routines of faith? Do I go through the motions and finish the sentences of my life with periods and commas. Do I forget that praying is talking with the Alpha and Omega? Do I take for granted the wonder and the mystery and the majesty of God, even as I try to urge readers of this blog to live loud lives that exclaim who he is?

Sometimes I think I do, but each exclamation I find in the Bible makes my ordinary faith difficult to maintain.

And so my new prayer is that I would not be blind to the times God calls me to exclaim. Because there's much more at stake than simple punctuation.

Winners of the Priscilla Shirer Video Series!

Hooray! 5 people won a copy of the Priscilla Shirer's Seed video series. If your name is on the list after the jump, please email your mailing address (to this email) so that we can hook you up. If you click on the name you can see the actual comment that was left to verify that you're the "Tori" who won for instance. The comment will appear at the top of the page you click through to. Thanks for participating!

Winners:

Tori Palmer

Carmen Jones

Kim V.

Melanie D.

Rebecca

Videos in church.

Depending on the size, denomination and stance on smoke machines of your church, this post might be a complete miss. The church I grew up in certainly didn't have any videos during the service. Sure, we watched McGee and me in Sunday School sometimes, but that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about big screen productions shown during the middle of the church service. Now some of the more progressive churches are going to giggle at this post, pat it on the head, and tell it, "You're adorable."

They've already moved on to piping in specific scents for specific sermons, not kidding, and are developing hologram ushers, sort of kidding.

But whether you've seen a million videos in church or never experienced this phenomenon, allow me to school you on the three main types.

1. Comic Relief.

Turns out that in Ecclesiastes, it says, "there's a time to laugh." Take that people who act like laughing in church is a sin! OT bombshell! And what better way to laugh than a video involving a kid or a dog or, preferably, a monkey riding the back of a dog like it was some sort of miniature pony. But everyone knows what a diva that dog-riding monkey is, just a huge hassle to work with. So, sometimes, to bring some comic relief into the service, the video will involve a kid. Here's an example. I helped write this video with Tripp Crosby and Joel Thomas for a North Point Community Church service aimed at single adults.

2. Public Service Announcement

Remember all those Public Service Announcements NBC used to make? Some random character from the show "Scrubs" would stare at the camera while wearing an approachable looking sweater and say, "I'm on a funny show, but there's nothing funny about rabies. If you've got raccoons in your backyard during the day, be careful. Raccoons are nocturnal. That's not right." Sometimes churches need to make Public Service Announcements too. And this is probably my favorite of all time. In it, Tripp Crosby and Tyler Stanton make a hilarious plea to parents who are bringing screaming babies to church. (Sensitive subject!)

3. Sermon Promo

This one is pretty self-explanatory. You promo a sermon. You let everyone know, "Hey next week, we're starting a new sermon series you don't want to miss." I love these, except they do leave you open to the odd Jesus Juke. "You want a sermon promo? Here's my Bible! Look at it! This is what I'm preaching about from today until sweet baby Jesus calls me home." But if you do go the sermon promo angle, here's a simple rule of thumb to remember: "When in doubt, Royal Tenenbaum it out." That didn't even rhyme, but it is exactly what my church, Cross Point, did recently. They dressed me up in a jumpsuit as a character from the Royal Tenenbaums, outfitted Carlos as a wrestler, and threw some of the craziest characters together for a Summer Slam series. (I'm preaching five services on July 17th.) Here's the video:

Am I the only one who attends churches who use video?

Have you ever seen a video during church? Braveheart clip? Matrix scene?

Anyone?

Does your church use video?

Want to be a writer? Let's talk.

In the last few weeks I've received a lot of emails and phone calls about being a writer. From how do you publish a book to how do you create new ideas for blogs, folks have asked some really good questions about writing.

In order to answer them, I'm holding a special Writer's Q&A for attendees of the Quitter Conference. If you sign up for the conference before Tuesday, July 5th, you'll get a VIP invitation to it. It will be from 4:30 – 5:30PM immediately following the conference. (If you've already registered for the conference, you're already in.)

If you want to write a book, a blog or just really amazing post cards, I encourage you to sign up. I think it will be a fun chance for us to hang out after the conference and will give me an opportunity to share everything I've learned about writing over the last few years.

And if you're thinking, "Oh, great, a writer's Q&A, my dream job is to be a plumber," fear not. If you sign up before July 5th we'll give you a free Quitter notebook in which you can scribble plumbing schematics. (I am assuming there are schematics involved in plumbing.)

The coffee with Jon morning session filled up fast and is already closed. Don't miss out on the Writer's Q&A.

Click here to register for the conference.

Taking church off in the summer.

Wait, what?

No. That can't be true. Even typing those words should have caused little mini bolts of lighting to come down from heaven and strike my keyboard, rendering it useless. (Probably didn't happen because I wrote this on a Mac, and that's what God uses too.)

But girl, just like Milli Vanilli warned us all those years ago, you know it's true. I wanted to say "boys and girls" in that sentence, but you see my dilemma. I had a Vanilli opportunity, and I never pass one of those up. Especially when I can use that lip synching, international dance troupe to prove a point that is indeed correct.

We tend to take church off in the summer.

I swear I don't remember my dad ever dismissing anyone in his church at the end of the spring with a sermon called, "See you in the fall." But sometimes I think that's what we hear in our heads. The weather gets warmer. The days get brighter, and around Memorial Day, we pretend the pastor is giving us a pass for the next few months.

Why does this happen? I'm glad you asked:

4 reasons we take church off in the summer

1. Guest speakers.

As a guest speaker myself, this one pains me, but I know it happens. You wake up, it's a beautiful day, you start getting ready for church and then remember, "Oh yeah, Pastor Tom is out on vacation this week. They're having a guest speaker. I'm pretty sure the Bible says something about not needing to attend church when there's a guest speaker." And you're done. There will be no church that day. But when you skip, you don't know what you're missing. Maybe this will be the first and only time the phrase "Booty, God, Booty" is said from the stage. I'm just putting that out there. Could happen. Ask the people at NorthRidge Church in Michigan.

2. You go on vacation.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've gone to church while on vacation at the beach during the summer. That's horrible, right? Yeah, I assumed so. Thanks for verifying that. Some people love that, though. I have friends who enjoy finding a random, one-off church experience and wrapping that into their vacation memories. Or they hold a church service wherever they're staying with their family. Both are legitimate options. And if you're away on vacation, that is actually a good reason to miss going to your home church during summer.

3. You throw the "God is everywhere in nature" card.

What a beautiful day. What a warm, fun day this Sunday morning has already turned into. I'd like to go to church today, but you know, I don't want to miss God's glorious sunshine. It's too pretty today to go to church. Plus, God is everywhere, you know? He made it all. He made the ocean and the mountains and the lake that Sully has a ski boat on. Today, instead of being stuck in church, I will worship God in all his majesty. At the lake.

4. You're still recovering from volunteering at VBS.

Maybe you had a rough VBS week. Maybe you need to decompress from the "glitter incident." Maybe there are still a few other people who were a little appalled at how competitive you got with decorating your room. Maybe the animal you brought in on performance night bit you. And, let's be honest, it's not easy getting over a camel bite. Things will be better in the fall. Lay low. Remember you did it for the kids.

Will this post dramatically impact church attendance this summer? Probably. I'd like to think we're going to see a direct correlation, and church attendance is about to spike. But, if it doesn't, there must be some other reason for taking the summer off from church that I didn't mention.

What's your reason for missing church during the summer?

A new way to change the world.

Dreaming is fun and fluffy and often leads nowhere.

The world is full of dreamers. Doers? People who actually execute and change the world? They're rare. But it doesn't have to be that way. I think our generation can change the world.

That's a big part of the reason I wrote my book Quitter and was excited to partner with Praxis, a new non-profit organization set up to help social entrepreneurs build high-impact organizations.

Who is a social entrepreneur?

People like me and people like you.

My favorite part of Praxis is that it's mentor-driven. A lot of people don't know this, but when Stuff Christians Like and my hope of actually changing the world with it started to grow, I sought out mentors like crazy. One of the people I would regularly have dinner with is Brad Lomenick, the Executive Director of Catalyst. I'd email him questions before dinner and then he'd generously share wisdom and ideas with me. That's a big part of what Praxis helps make possible. It is a mentor-driven accelerator program for social entrepreneurs and innovators compelled by their faith to advance the common good.

Praxis provides:

Cash awards totaling $100,000. At the culmination of the program at the Q 2012 event in Washington, D.C., Praxis will award prizes of $50,000, $30,000, and $20,000 to each of the top three organizations.
A year-long mentoring program for twelve early-stage organizations. More than just encouragement, the mentor program includes action-oriented education and planning, peer networking, and access to capital sources.
Three unique opportunities to gather and learn in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Over twenty mentors will get together to share key organizational development advice with "fellows" (people like you who are being mentored).

A complete list of what you receive when you become a fellow is right here.

In addition to people like my friend Brad Lomenick, who else is a Praxis mentor?

People like:

Gabe Lyons, founder of Q and founding partner of Praxis
Jamie Tworkowski, founder of To Write Love On Her Arms
Jason Russell, founder of Invisible Children
Chris Crane, former CEO of Opportunity International and founder of Edify
Jena Nardella, founder and executive director of Blood:Water Mission
Charles Lee, founder and CEO of Ideation
Peter Greer, president and CEO of HOPE International

And those are just a few of the mentors. Here's the complete list.

Praxis was founded and led by Dave Blanchard, a serial entrepreneur and former Principal Designer at IDEO. (If you've spent any time in the design world, this is the part of the post you geek out on. IDEO? Unbelievable.)

I would have killed to have a program like this years ago when I decided to take my ideas from "what if?" to "what is!" And that's why I was so excited Praxis decided to sponsor SCL and reach out to SCL readers.

If you want help changing the world with your organization, check out the Praxis Accelerator Program. You can learn more by visiting the Praxis website.

They will be accepting applications from now until July 15, 2011. That's the one thing I don't want you to miss. You've only got until July 15 to apply.

You can also follow them on Twitter, connect with them on Facebook or learn more by visiting the Praxis website.

Question:

What's an idea or dream to change the world that you'd love some help to turn into a reality?

The people who comment on your Christian Facebook status.

(It's guest post Friday! Here's one from Peter McMurray, a medical student/great blogger from Northern Ireland. If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here's how.)

The people who comment on your Christian Facebook status – By Peter McMurray

From time to time on Facebook, you will notice a Bible verse or a worship song lyric in your newsfeed. And no, that does not mean you can skip devotions and just go straight to Facebook for your daily bread. But when there is a "Christian" status, it is hard to scroll past it without feeling obliged to "like" it. (For those of you not on Facebook who don't know what "liking" a status means – welcome to 2006!)

After all, you can't not like God's word, can you? This is a trick I have used on occasion when I have been in the middle of a notification drought and have been thinking about ways to get my "likes" to skyrocket. One quick Bible verse/worship song video/famous pastor quote/SCL Serious Wednesday link, and suddenly I'm getting "likes" left, right and center from all my Christian friends.

But, when you post a Christian status on Facebook, you leave yourself open to the following people posting a comment on it:

1. The theological debater

Regardless of which preacher you have quoted, he will object. And have an endless supply of links to web pages saying why that pastor is a heretic who will burn in hell. And if you try to engage in conversation with him, you will either receive the ultimate Christian put down ("I'll pray for you"), or be told by a third party to keep such stuff out of the public eye.

2. Your pastor

You notice a comment from your pastor, and you do a mini victory dance at the keyboard. You just bagged yourself a whole dose of holy points for impressing him with your choice of verse, and you won't be voluntold to the chair stacking committee again. It's the elite league for you now. But then you remember that if your pastor can see your status, he can see your photos, including the ones from that party last weekend….

3. Your non-Christian work colleague

You see a comment saying 'cool' from that non-believer you work with and you think you have successfully used Facebook to witness to them, thanks to a handy verse from Ephesians. Small victory! But then you look at their profile and see they have recently changed their relationship status and announced to the world that they just went to the toilet. Then you realize they have merely been the victim of someone logging into their Facebook account and posting embarrassing things while pretending to be them.

Those are three that I came up with, but maybe you have encountered other types of people commenting on your Christian statuses. Share them in the comments. And, no, getting unfriended for posting a Bible verse is not the persecution Jesus warned us to expect.

What types of commenters have you seen on Facebook?

(For more awesome stuff from Peter, check out his blog, All4God)