Jeff Noble's Blog, page 34

Discipleship substitutes

Last year I read A.W. Tozer’s The Set of the Sail, a collection of devotionals. One entry in particular really hammered the church during his day for its separation of salvation from discipleship. The notion that someone could “ask Jesus into his/her heart” and not progress in joyful obedience to Him is unacceptable in the New Testament.

Tozer identifies three substitutes that the church of his day (and I think of ours) made for discipleship.

Pietism

…an enjoyable feeling of affection for the person of our Lord… It is entirely possible for a person to feel for Jesus an ardent love which is not of the Holy Spirit… The heart is adept at emotional tricks and is entirely capable of falling in love with imaginary objects or romantic religious ideas… [Beware] the erroneous notion that love is an enjoyable inward passion, without intellectual or volitional qualities and carrying with it no moral obligations.

We fall into pietism when we make our relationship with God about how we feel at any given moment. If we aren’t having warm fuzzies in our worship encounters or daily devotionals, we interpret our lack of emotional intimacy to distance. While that may be true in isolated instances, it most certainly is not an accurate way to gauge our relationship with God. We will not always feel close to Him. Tozer quotes Jesus:

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him… If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. (John 14:21-24 ESV)

In other words, loving God should involve our feelings, but it should be led by our feelings. True love and intimacy with God is characterized by our joyful submission and willing obedience.

Literalism

It lives by the letter of the Word while ignoring its spirit… external compliance with the text… Literalism attempts to build a holy temple upon the sandy foundation of the religious self. It will suffer, sacrifice and labor, but it will not die.

On the other hand, our discipleship should not go to the other extreme – of a rote obedience to God without seeking to cultivate an inward affection for Him. God is not an unpleasant boss to be brown-nosed. Rather, He is a loving Savior to be adored. We serve Him because He modeled service for us (Philippians 2:5-8), we we love Him because he first loved us. We should be wary of embracing TRUTH at the expense of love. Paul even urged us to “speak the truth.. in love.” (Ephesians 4:15)

Zealous religious activity

Christ has become a project to be promoted or a cause to be served instead of a Lord to be obeyed… The result is an army of men who run without being sent and speak without being commanded.

Tozer also identified busyness as an improper way to grow in our discipleship. Though he was writing in the first half of the 20th century, this avenue to “spirituality” is alive and well in the first half of the 21st. We see all kinds go great initiatives being substituted for true discipleship. If a person is deeply involved in _______ (you name the cause), they may be misled to think that they are growing in their relationship with God as a result.

Discipleship is only discipleship as it is centered on Jesus. When we attempt to center it on our emotions, being right, or in serving others, we delude ourselves.

Two other entries from reflections on The Set of the Sail are:

Preaching to diversity
Tozer on the inequality of all people

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Nuff said: Pastor ponderings

“Nuff said” is a collection of saved entries from across the interwebs. Here are some interesting, provocative and fun things for your reading and viewing. This particular entry focuses on pastors.

What It Takes to Thrive in Ministry

I really affirm some of the conclusions of the Pastors Summit Project that Kara Miller writes about in her Christianity Today article.

The Summit included 73 pastors, representing 26 states, who met in small cohorts three times per year for two years, along with their spouses and occasional outside experts such as psychologists. Each Summit meeting was recorded and transcribed, resulting in 12,000 pages of material to be analyzed, which eventually became the book Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving.

Credit: Ron Edmonson

What the Summit identified is that most people in a church don’t think very often of the demands of the pastoral profession. Miller suggests humorously that a pastor’s job posting would look something like this:

WANTED: Person to teach, preach, and disciple others by offering amazing insights every week. Master’s degree required, doctorate preferred. Will actually spend majority of time managing a business operated by volunteers, setting up systems, managing conflicts and politics of competing priorities, and creating and defending budgets. Volunteers will simultaneously be friends, congregants, counseling clients, critics, and the bosses who decide your career path and compensation. You’ll work on the day others are renewed and be expected to work the other days ‘normal’ people are in the office.

Bob Burns, dean of lifelong learning at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri says that a typical day for a pastor looks like:

“A pastor could have lunch with a businessperson who’s dealing with an ethical issue, then spend the afternoon working on sermon preparation, which is interrupted by three phone calls requiring pastoral care. The pastor then goes from there to the hospital, counseling a family with someone in crisis or even dying, and spends the evening at a church board meeting defending the way the budget is being spent.”

Jackson Carroll, professor emeritus at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, and a long-term clergy researcher says that, “Pastors average more work hours per week than other managers and professionals.” I had a mixed reaction to that. I was incredulous at first and then as I considered all that pastors do on any given week, I could certainly believe that we work as much as other professionals – I don’t know about more. My speculation is that pastors are probably paid less.

The expectations of a pastor to provide leadership are immense in most local churches. As a result:

“..pastors struggled with expectations of success…  they need wisdom to wisely disappoint the expectations of their congregants. Pastors need to manage expectations of time and attention, friendship, and the pressure to produce star-caliber sermons each week like the “celebrity” pastors people listen to on podcasts or television.”

The article was both encouraging and sobering for me as a pastor. If you’re wanting to look inside the mind of a pastor, I encourage you to read Miller’s article. It has practical tips for pastors to preserve their ministry for the long haul that also include ways the local church can support their minister creatively and spiritually.

How to Talk to Your Pastor on His Way to the Service

This article is soooooo on point. I can’t tell you all the things I’ve heard right before I go preach. I’m in the hallway of the middle school that our church meets in, and… “Hey Jeff, I have an issue with how the church did _____.” One of my favorites is “Did you know that there’s an error on the website/church newsletter etc.?” Thannnnks.

On his blog, Chuck Lawless has six things that you shouldn’t say to your pastor on Sundays and six things you should say.

7 Ways to Support Your Pastor on Sunday

In the same vein, Ron Edmonson offers Seven Ways to Support Your Pastor on Sunday. My personal favorite is “Don’t share something you want us to remember.” I can’t tell you how many times someone tells me something, and by the time I leave, I can’t remember what they’ve told me!

 

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Nuff said: Pastor ponderings

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The inspirational quote

These days you see it coupled with a great photograph or watercolor art. It used to be crocheted on some homemade pillow. I’m talking about the – get ready – INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE. (insert music with birds chirping in the background).

You can’t avoid them these days. Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. Gift shops. Even gas stations have them. They’re taking over. They’re like the fire ants of the Hallmark world.

“Peace is where you make it…”
“Go where you are celebrated – not tolerated. If they can’t see the real value of you, it’s time for a new start.”
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”
 “If you want to achieve greatness stop asking for permission.”
“I was wondering why the frisbee was getting bigger… Then it hit me.”

Even in the new Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie (which I reviewed here), Martha Kent opined,

“Be their hero, Clark. Be their angel, be their monument, be anything they need you to be… or be none of it. You don’t owe this world a thing. You never did.”

Really, Martha? Come on.

Usually these quotes are combined with a picture like the one at right and a font that must have been scientifically determined to provoke the same chemical in your brain that is triggered when you have your favorite ice cream. These fru-fru artsy images are intended to further garner your inspired meditation.

Why are there so many stupid quotes out there? The sad thing is that really smart people will repost them. If we’d all pause to evaluate them and simply ask, “Is this true? Does it actually make sense?”

Instead, we post and even create them. We are quick to think that a sound byte or attractive image equates with wisdom. Because something rolls off the tongue or is alliterative, it’s proverbial.

Wrong.

We are perpetuating mindlessness. Even Christians, who claim that the Bible is God’s Word will ignorantly get caught up in the trendiness of these cliches. Without evaluating what they advocate on their social media, walls and pillow, we actually reveal our biblical illiteracy. How many of the quotes we post or choose to obsess over are antithetical to biblical truth and Christian reality?

I could segue here into a sermonette and simply say, “Post what’s true. Use the Bible, folks.”

However, I think I’ll simply say, “Quit posting stupid stuff.” Please. It’s killing brain cells. (But it’s sooooo pretttttyyy….)

 

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Movie with Aaron: 10 Cloverfield Lane

I have a regular group of “movie buddies,” but it’s also common for me to catch a flick by myself due to spontaneity. One of the guys who almost always says “yes” to a quick text about a movie is Aaron Peck – internationally famous blogger over at the Confusing Middle. Aaron is also the children’s ministry assistant at our church, and he and I both simply enjoy movies.

He suggested over on his blog that we write movie reviews about the ones we see. Although we love movies, we often disagree about whether we liked what we watched. So without any further ado, here’s our first collaborative (kind of) effort about 10 Cloverfield Lane. It was posted in its entirety on Aaron’s blog.

Aaron: Recently I mentioned that I’ve been catching a lot of movies with my pastor and friend, Jeff. And, since we’ve been seeing so many movies, I thought it would be a good idea for us to work together on dual movie reviews. Luckily, Jeff was willing to play along. And I thought that our first opportunity to see and review a movie would be with next week’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. But, as it happens, we ended up seeing 10 Cloverfield Lane on a whim. And kids, it was a good decision.

As this is our first attempt at a movie review, I feel that some bugs may need to be worked out. After the movie ended, we decided that we would go our separate ways and write our own thoughts down and email them to each other. Jeff was able to get his review to me before I got around to sending mine, but I didn’t want to read his email until I wrote mine. So then I did. And then I read his and realized that our thoughts were really similar. Like, amazingly similar. So I’m gonna let Jeff take over from here:

Jeff: Before I embark on this new blogging direction of movie reviews, let me offer a few caveats. I have a very lowbrow approach to movies that causes much disdain among family, friends and coworkers. When evaluating a movie, I am generally going to give it a good review if it has one of three elements in it: explosions, aliens or zombies. I don’t pay any attention to movie reviews–especially ones by official movie “critics.” I’ve generally found that if the critics don’t like it, I will. On top of that, the ratings by movie goers themselves–whether rotten tomatoes or stars–don’t generally encourage or dissuade me from seeing a movie.

What do I not like? Lots of profanity turns me off quickly. It’s not completely a movie killer for me, but usually so. In addition, nudity is a turn off. Well, it’s actually the opposite, but I just don’t need it in my head or mind. It bothers me–especially because of my faith and though life, so I will steer a wide berth around movies with it.

Ok… on with the review. And I’ll avoid spoilers, because this is one of those movies that could easily be spoiled.

I loved the way the first five minutes of the movie was shot. The camera angles and music drew me into the story almost immediately. One of the main characters was shown on the phone talking, but she was muted out. All you could hear was the background music. Very nice set up.

The movie quickly takes a turn in which you begin to wonder exactly what is reality and what is not. It hangs on the acting of the three main characters–John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and John Gallagher, Jr. They do a superb job.

During this mid-part of the movie, it has a very M. Night Shyamalan feel to it. You can tell something is not. quite. right. and you’re left wondering which direction the movie is going to go. Subplots on top of subplots with a growing realization of otherworldliness leaves you feeling like you’re watching a combination of Seinfeld and Fringe.

The best line of the movie? Mine. During a particularly intense scene in which a woman tries to force her way into the doomsday bunker where the main characters are holed up, she screams, “Let me in!” It was unsettling. I leaned over and told Aaron, “I had some Jehovah’s Witnesses do that to me once.”

As the movie wrapped up, it simply got crazier and more intense. When the credits began to roll, I knew I’d seen a movie that would leave me comparing it to The Sixth Sense or The Village.

My rating? 4/5

Aaron: And I was going to include all that I originally wrote about the movie after Jeff’s review, but, like I said, our thoughts are kind of redundant. And I’d hate to bore you all by repeating everything you’ve already read already. The only thing I’d like to add is that, where Jeff compared the film to M. Night Shyamalan’s work, I was thinking along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock. But that makes sense, because Shyamalan paid homage to Hitchcock with a lot of his earlier films. Following Jeff’s lead on the 5-point scale, I’d go with a 4 as well.

So, these reviews will be a work in progress. I’ve proposed that, after Batman v. Superman, we have a conversation that’s recorded and then transcribed into a blog post. We’ll see if Jeff’s on board with that Thursday night.

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Fighting sick

Well. I’ll fess up. I’m sick. Blah. Of course, right now, I’m on some miracle drug that Carolyn finally made me take. This evening as she cooked dinner, I lay on the couch shivering under a blanket. She said, “You tired of being a martyr? Take this.” and offered me a little red pill – Food Lion’s version of Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Snot Stoppers.

I hate being sick. I rarely get sick. But when it hits, it hits hard and fast.

Here are the stages of my usual sickness:

Something happens. Usually, with me it’s upper respiratory. My nose starts running, or my contacts start getting scratchy. Last night, I had blown my nose and seen the equivalent of a gerbil come out. It was followed by a bloody nose. Yeah, gross. But of course, I had to show it like a trophy to the women in the house. “Look at this!” I gleefully said. It was truly amazing. I still felt relatively good.
The denial phase. My body tries to clue me in to slow down. I refuse to listen. Today, I woke up and got ready for the day, knowing that I had tossed and turned all night. My throat was rawly sore, but I convinced myself that coffee would burn out the soreness. After the womenfolk left for school, I read some and journaled, but I couldn’t get my mind into it. I was dragging. I lay down on the couch and before I realized it, it was 11:00 a.m. I woke up drenched with sweat.

Click the picture for more info on Typhoid Mary

The denial phase, part 2. I kept telling myself – “Self, you’re not sick. You just slept poorly and needed to catch up. You’re sweating because it’s hot in the house.” So I bounced up and went to lunch with a ministry friend. (He’ll thank me later for being the male version of Typhoid Mary).

After lunch, I went to Barnes & Noble to read and return emails, refusing to acknowledge that I was still sweating. Then… (here’s where I get really clever), I thought, “As long as I’m sweating, I’ll go run.” I figured I’d convince my body I was fine through exercise. After running, I returned home.
Assume that denial has worked and carry on as usual. (The stupid phase). When I got home, I dove into a flurry of house cleaning – vacuuming, emptying trash, straightening, etc. Sam is coming home tonight for spring break, and Carolyn was still at work, so I thought I’d help. I was sweating more than Donald Trump at the last Republican Debate, but as long as I was being productive, I thought, my body would forget it’s trying to be sick.
Give up and assume the fetal position. After I took my shower, I had to wave the white flag. I was still blowing interesting things out of my nose. I was tiiiiiirred. I had hit a wall. I crawled onto the couch and just… succumbed. That’s where Carolyn found me when she came home. That’s when she made me take a magic pill. While I lay shivering under a blanket (again), she whipped up an incredible dinner of pork chops, green beans and sweet potato wedges. The pill took effect in just enough time to be able to enjoy dinner and then to blog (which is what sick nerds always do).

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Why I voted for Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday

Beware. Political post… Remember, I love politics!

I surprised myself when I arrived at the Blacksburg Rec Center on Super Tuesday. I honestly didn’t know who I was going to vote for. I’ll give my reasons below why I would have (or would not have) voted for Trump, Rubio or Cruz, but when the poll worker asked if I wanted to vote Democrat or Republican, I heard myself answer… “Democrat.”

There’s a first time for everything, right?

This is an historic election cycle. Outsiders are scaring the bejabbers out of the political establishment. Right now, it appears that Donald Trump will win the Republican nomination. Bernie Sanders has given Hillary a run for her money (and that’s a lot of running for poor old Bernie). In the end, I think Hillary’s will be a race for the nomination or an indictment.

I’m from Arkansas. I’ve had enough of the Clintons. It’s time for fresh national leadership.

I believe the race will eventually come down to a Republican nominee and Hillary. So today, when I was presented the option, I exercised my lone vote in a way to attempt to prevent Hillary from getting the Democratic nomination. It was a strategic and calculating vote. Because I do not think Socialist Sanders has any chance at all of winning the Presidential election, I voted for him in the primary in an attempt to keep Hillary off the ballot and give the Republican nominee a shot at defeating a socialist.

On the Republican candidates that I considered:

Donald Trump. I loved Max Lucado’s recent blog Decency for President . In it, he explained why he wouldn’t vote for Trump:

We appreciate decency. We applaud decency. We teach decency. We seek to develop decency. Decency matters, right? Then why isn’t decency doing better in the presidential race?… The leading Republican candidate to be the next leader of the free world would not pass my decency interview. I’d send him away. I’d tell my daughter to stay home. I wouldn’t entrust her to his care… Such insensitivities wouldn’t be acceptable even for a middle school student body election. But for the Oval Office? And to do so while brandishing a Bible and boasting of his Christian faith?

Credit: cnn.com

I totally agree with Lucado.

On the other hand, I’m a pragmatist with my politics. I think Trump can beat Hillary. If it’s him vs. Clinton next November (provided she hasn’t been indicted by then), I’ll vote against Hillary.

That’s not to say I do not consider my Christian faith as highly influential with my vote. In this situation, because of my biblical convictions about some of our culture’s hot button topics, I’ll vote against someone rather than vote for someone.

My opinion about The Donald is more an indictment on our culture than Trump. The very thing people detest about him – rude, arrogant, uncivil and even deceitful… is the very thing we already have in Washington. Trump simply doesn’t hide it. Our current administration and Congress is rife with these same characteristics. I find it interesting that people criticize Trump for what we already have. I think they just prefer these egregious character issues to be hidden rather than on open display.

In a sense, our country is getting what they deserve. We’ve had eight years of strife, conflict and a lack of unifying vision from the Oval Office. Instead of “hope” we got “change” that no one really wanted. So now large amounts of people are voting angry.

One upside to Trump… he can’t be bought. That’s a significant upside to his otherwise blunt, bombastic and celebrity persona. With dawning realizations that so many politicians leave office as millionaires, it’s almost refreshing to see someone running for office that doesn’t need to bow before PACs.

One positive note about Trump. I think he can actually lead and get things done. None of the other front runners have demonstrated leadership, management and success over the long haul like Trump has.

Ted Cruz. Early on, I thought I’d be voting for him wholeheartedly. However, his campaign’s insane missteps convinced me to look elsewhere. With trying to convince voters in Iowa that Ben Carson had dropped out of the race to the publication of a video with a false narrative about Marco Rubio, I got the impression that his was a “win at any costs” approach.

On the issues, I probably do lean more toward Cruz’s political referendums.

Marco Rubio. I’d love to throw my support behind Rubio. However, he’s a politician. He’s been in the system. He’s now the Republican Establishment’s candidate of choice (which concerns me).

He’s flip flopped. He’s been less than honest about his immigration legislation.

What’s ridiculous is that Rubio can’t keep his own views straight without a scorecard. [USA Today]

That and Rubio’s seeming inability to think on his feet in all but the last debate (in which he threw the kitchen sink at Trump) was telling. His repetitious speeches are now infamous, which led me to suspect that Rubio is a Republican version of Obama – a good orator but not a leader.

With all that said, after voting Democrat for the first time ever today, I walked out feeling a little strange. I’m not a self-identified Republican. At all. I am a political and social conservative. Does my one vote matter? At this point, it mattered to me. I expressed myself. I didn’t vote for a candidate that bothered me. And I voted against a candidate I have strong convictions about.

I’ll probably do the same in November.

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Rushing for relevance

I’ve been intimidated for a while. Secondary to feeling intimidated is a heavy sense of being irrelevant. Here’s why..

Ten minutes on Facebook on any given day is sure to surface a link posted by someone in my church or a friend. These links are usually blog posts or articles written by other pastors/Christian leaders about current issues. It’s unsettling just how prompt some pastors are with a post.

A tornado hits somewhere. There’s a deeply insightful blog post about how to respond as a Christian/church or how to explain “acts of God.”
A shooting. There’s a post – with an attention-grabbing headline – that’s sure to be shared, liked and reposted.
A political candidate says/does something. There’s a post about the latest debate or a politician’s theological shortcomings.
A TV show offends. There’s a thought-provoking post about how shallow our culture is and why we should or shouldn’t watch certain shows.
A celebrity dies (or even a coach’s wife). Social media fills up with retweets, comments and wide-ranging opinions, affirmations or explanations.

You know how it goes. We log on. We see a link shared. And we click.

These johhny-on-the-spot social commentators are in some ways like blog traffic ambulance chasers. They rush to hammer out a post so that their comments will be some of the first seen on social media. Their rep increases at the same time as their blog traffic.

I know how it goes. I’m a pastor and a blogger. I’ve felt that tug and siren call of brief blog popularity by sounding off on current issues. It’s a guaranteed way to see a spike in your blog traffic.

The problem is that you’ve got to keep doing it. The principle is that you’ve got to keep doing what it took to get them there in the first place. A provocative post challenging status quo assumptions about, well, anything – that must be followed up with an equally thoughtful post about the theological implications of what the President had for breakfast.

Maybe I’m just jealous

Maybe this whole post is simply because I don’t have time to sound off on every little cultural hiccup. Maybe I’m envious of their block traffic. Envious of the attention that these Christian leaders are able to garner.

I can’t complain – especially when I know the formula and simply resist rushing to relevance.

A critical spirit then begins to surface within me, and I subconsciously denigrate these pastor-posters as I snippily begin to wonder –

Are they discipling people one-on-one?
Are they tackling problems head-on with a biblical perspective on a daily basis in their church?
With the time they spend blogging every day about this issue or that… what are they not doing that I am doing?
Am I just a terrible pastor because I can’t keep up?

I feel intimidated because as I wonder if my church members want me to blog about current issues like that? People do ask me what I think. Perhaps they need me to blog about current events.

However, my concern is that we have certain leaders/pastors essentially offering their own thoughts about current events, and as these opinions are read and shared across the interwebs, it supplants biblical thinking by Christians.

Rather than pointing Christians to relevant scriptures for current issues, we too often attempt to be relevant ourselves. I appreciate what Jennifer Bashaw said in her post The Thinking Church:

“..we might feel passionately, protest loudly, and correct indiscriminately, but we do not think deeply. And at the end of the day, [we] need a thinking church.”

Now some of you are probably thinking… “Hey, aren’t you linking and encouraging us to click away and read Bashaw’s article? Isn’t that exactly what you’re talking about?” Regular readers will also decry my occasional “Nuff said” posts in which I offer a collection of blog posts that have grabbed my attention across the net.

Am I being contradictory? 

I don’t think so. I am not saying we should ignore what leaders and pastors are saying. I’m suggesting we should think more about what they’re saying. And that we should each seek to offer our best reflections instead of just regurgitating links.

One of the things I’ve challenged myself with is that instead of just “liking” or sharing a post on Facebook, I should tell you why I liked it and why I’m sharing it. I want you to know what about it made me think. Here on the blog, I’ll tell you what I agree excitedly with or disagree vehemently with.

I think you should consider some of the same things… Insert your own thoughts for a change. Look up scripture and see if it supports your conclusions (or the writer’s). Take a risk. Put yourself out there!

Confession

I’d love to be “one of those” pastor bloggers who get crazy internet traffic daily. I’d love to be noticed. And as a result, I’d love for my book to surge into a top 10 list somewhere. These other blogger/writers have a platform, so don’t I need one too? Writers love affirmation, after all.

I’m just not able (or willing) at present to chase after every cultural whim and offer a provocative/shareable post. Bravo to those who can and do.

I want to remember that before I rush to relevance, I should think. It’s not enough to simply be noticed. Unfortunately, our culture – from social media to TV news – will foist on the public those who are talking the most, whether they’re thoughtful or not.

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. Most people listen with the intent to reply.” (Stephen R. Covey)

What about you?

What in this post resonated with you?
Who do you find yourself reading and listening to as a result of your Facebook or Twitter streams?
What was the last post you shared and why?
How good are you at actually sharing with the rest of us what you think?

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A daddy-daughter date selfie fail

Adelyn and I went out on a daddy-daughter date the other night. I was already parked at Barnes & Noble doing some reading that afternoon, so Adelyn said she’d text me when she left the house so I could meet her at the restaurant for supper. Here’s how the text sequence went down:

Adelyn: Let’s do Sakura (4:28 p.m.)
Adelyn: I’ll be there at like 5 (same time, she can’t just keep typing a text, she has to send multiple entries and blow up my phone)
Adelyn: Gonna put some makeup on (same time)
Me: OK (4:29 p.m.) Notice how succinct and precise I am.
Adelyn: About to leave (4:54 p.m.)
Me:

Nuff said: Impractical Jokers save the day, Watch Pompeii get destroyed, How to deal with crisis, How to reach millennials, Blacksburg Winter Storm aerial footage, 9 reasons the church need to reach college students

“Nuff said” is a collection of saved entries from across the interwebs. Here are some interesting, provocative and fun things for your reading and viewing:

Credit: “Christ and Pop Culture” website

“How a Bunch of ‘Impractical Jokers’ Helped Me Overcome the Isolation of Grief“

Valerie Dunham (I know her!) writes for Christ and Pop Culture and shares how the four friends behind Impractical Jokers provided a much-needed respite during a hard time.

I had just written an article about joy (and peanut brittle) yesterday, and so her first sentence grabbed me:

Joy is not the same thing as happiness.

How have you been encouraged from unlikely sources?

“How to Reach Millennials”

Over on The Porch, Jonathan Pokluda offers some great thoughts about reaching the generation born between 1980-2000. They’re summed up as:

Be real
Teach the whole truth
Hold traditions loosely
Under-promise and over-deliver
Find leaders
Call people to greatness
Give the ministry away

If you’re a millennial, which points most resonate with you? I encourage you to click over and read his fuller thoughts on each.

“9 Reasons Churches Must Reach College Students“

Our church ministers to a lot of college students, being in Blacksburg where Virginia Tech is located. At times, we’ve been called a “college church” due to the numbers of students in attendance. However, we’re much more a family church with a lot of students. I’m grateful our faith family has embraced students (see this recent video our ministry team made about offering them a Home Away from Home).

Chuck Lawless (I’m hoping he’s not in jail) offers these nine thoughts on why ministering to college students is essential for a church:

There are a lot of them.
They are in a critical stage of life.
God has often begun awakenings with college students.
They often have immediate access to the nations.
When they follow the Lord, they do so with great passion.
They want to do social ministry.
They need – and deeply want – mentors.
They’re interested in church planting.
They are the leaders of today and tomorrow.

Which of these most struck a chord with you? If you’re a college student, what are some reasons you’d offer? And what list might you come up with for “Why a College Student Should Participate in a Local Church?”

“Crisis? Bring it!”

Another friend – this one from college days – writes about the juncture that “mid-life” brings. She says:

I find myself at a juncture. But I’ve decided I want this juncture. I like this juncture. I need this juncture. I need God to keep moving me through these seasons. I want Him to keep moving me. Moving me closer to him and into a deeper and higher calling.

If you’re in a season of transition – whether mid-life or just decision-making – this is a great read for you to ponder as well.

And now… some videos:

Winter Storm Aerials of Downtown Blacksburg (2/15/16)

 

A Day in Pompeii (8:39)

This is a stunning animation of Pompeii being destroyed by the eruption from Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. There are more video resources at the Realm of History website.

Also in Nuff Said


Nuff said: Impractical Jokers save the day, Watch Pompeii get destroyed, How to deal with crisis, How to reach millennials, Blacksburg Winter Storm aerial footage, 9 reasons the church need to reach college students

View the entire series

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I choose joy

Last night at our small group, I chose momentary happiness.

It all started yesterday when one of our church interns noticed that my key fob was just like hers, with one major difference. I had an extra button on mine. “Oh, that’s cool,” she said. “You have remote start.” I was incredulous. I had no idea that the little recycle icon was a remote start. I’ve owned the car for over a year. I couldn’t wait to try it.

We got back to the office, and I quickly pressed several combinations on the fob but failed. I figured I’d read the owner’s manual later. As we were visiting before small group, I suddenly remembered it and ran outside to read up on it. The instructions said to push the lock button and then hold down the remote start button. I did that. The car’s lights lit up, and I heard the engine. In my enthusiasm, I dashed back inside to my small group and screamed, “It works!” to everyone’s amusement and then ran back outside to turn my car off.

As I approached the car, I realized it wasn’t running. Then I saw one of our church members exit her car a few spots down. She had just pulled in earlier. It was her car’s engine that I had heard running. I frantically tried a few more key presses – lights, but no remote start. I sheepishly returned to my small group and sat dejectedly in my chair. My small group ministered to me through deep encouragement laughed at me.

Happiness gone.

Now when I look at my key fob, I want to smack my intern with it.

Happiness is circumstantial. Joy is providential.

About 11 years ago I wrote a blog entry Juanita’s, hot tea, and thee… aaaah. It’s amazing to read it today – especially considering I just got a new bucket of Juanita’s Peanut Brittle this week from my folks. The anti-blogger in that post? Neal Nelson. He was a campus minister then like me. Now he’s an associate pastor of our church here in Blacksburg.

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

As I reviewed that post, it’s amazing how much life has changed. I have less hair today, but I’m in better shape. I live in a different town and state. We’ve added more chapters to our cancer saga, but we’ve experienced financial provision that boggles the mind. While I often feel anonymous, I have also been affirmed beyond my wildest dreams.

In that post, I said:

I’m only a fellow struggler. So imperfect. Yet I am earnestly convinced in the existence of a perfect and loving God. I DON”T have all the answers. I’m NOT thrilled about our financial uncertainties. Things aren’t all good at the Noble’s. Yet, here I am… life is real, raw, and confusing sometimes. Things AREN’T perfect. Not situationally, at least. But deep down… I am truly, really, honestly, JOYFUL. I love life. I am able to endure all hardships – mystically, mysteriously, really – I believe, because of my confidence in my forgiveness. Being forgiven, freed, and given purpose enables a person to embrace life even when there are sharp edges.

I was told recently that one of the things that stands out about me is my joy. I didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard it. I have wanted joy to be my life’s echo. When we were choosing vision statements for our campus ministry in Arkansas, we settled on “To magnify God as life’s ultimate joy,” and I later claimed it as my personal life statement.

The humbling thing about being told that joy characterizes you is when you realize that you don’t feel joyful. It’s a sobering reality check. I recently wrote about “feelings” after a marriage retreat. Feelings are like skunks. When they’re little, they can be cute, but if they show up when you don’t want them to, well, they can stink.

So what do you do when you don’t feel joyful? You press on. You dig deep. You look up. And you trust God. Circumstances (like possibly having a remote starter) might make me feel happy, but only truth breeds joy. In moments of grief, confusion or anxiety, we must choose what’s true in order to experience joy. It’s a lesson I know. But it’s also a lesson I have to remember.

Rick Warren says:

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.

Settled assurance. I like that. Even though things aren’t as I want them all the time, I can still choose to be settled and assured. That God is in control. Of all the details.

I may not like how He is pursuing what is ultimately good for me, but it doesn’t change the truth that He is.

The interesting thing is that God is Himself joyful. When we choose truth, and truth breeds joy, we find ourselves unexpectedly stumbling into gratitude. And when we are grateful, our blinders are removed, and we see God.

Choose joy.

And if you can, order some peanut brittle from Juanita’s. It’s good comfort candy when your key fob gets your hopes up circumstances aren’t what you want.

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