Putting Christ Back in Christmas

This is awesome. Very creative use of viral/guerilla tactics spreading the true story of Christmas.

Members of a church in Kansas City, Ks., are protesting the secularization of Christmas by dressing like Jesus at their jobs, malls and restaurants.

The 600-member church posted videos on YouTube of congregants wearing Christ-like garb in public — which they say has led other churches across the country to consider similar demonstrations.

"A lot of businesses and people are saying that they have to say, 'Happy Holidays' and 'Season’s Greetings,'" church receptionist Chelsea Johnston told FOXNews.com. "They’re not allowed to say 'Merry Christmas.' It makes us upset because that is the holiday and it goes against our freedom of speech."

Pews or Shoes?

My mind works differently than most others. It is completely random a great deal of the time. My brain is equivalent to an Allen Iverson crossover (video references below), you never know which way it is going to go. Erin, my wife, is the only person that I know who can link my disparate ideas.

Last night I began wondering, what do churches do with their old pews? After “doing the Google” on old pews, apparently there is a huge market for repairing and replacing worn out pews. This got me thinking that our churches are doing a whole lot of sittin’.

I am all for having people in the pews, but wouldn't it be better if Christians had to repair their shoes before the church needed to repair the pews? The church has an attractional, come to us mindset, but the world has a missional, come to us need.

The bible says in Matthew 28:19
”Therefore go and make disciples.” It doesn’t say to develop another new program and hopefully they will come to us. 

For most people, church consists of about 4.5 – 6 hours a week (Sunday and Wednesday). What are we doing with the other 162 hours? Do we serve our friends, neighbors or co-workers by going to them? Are we active in visitations or hosting a home group? Are we serving in the nursery or greeting guests at the door?

If you evaluate your own life or the church body as a whole, is it pews or shoes? Unfortunately, for most people and churches its pews.

We need to ask God to show us opportunities to serve and witness - then with courage and boldness act upon them.


On a side note:
Our pews (chairs) at First Baptist Jenks are pretty new looking. I think it is because Mark Powell has us stand for most of the service. We don't do the aerobic form of worship service where you are up-and-down the whole time. That would certainly increase the wear and tear. We are more into endurance and stamina.

Some seriously nasty, ankle-breakin' moves. Gotta watch these, even my boy Kobe gets shook.

Athens on the Bema - 8 Days of Rioting

Athens, Greece seems to still be chained to the Bema Seat. 

Bema is a Greek word for "step". The Bema, in Athens, was a raised stone platform in which a judge would preside over a court of law. Often, there were metal loops that convicted rule breakers would be chained to and beaten. Apostle Paul was chained to the Bema and beaten for preaching against the traditional Jewish laws.

The riots were sparked by the shooting death of a 15 year old kid by a local policeman, however, that was only the straw that broke the camels back. Athens has a host of political, economical and social problems. The range from corrupt politicians (Are all politicians corrupt?), high unemployment and infrastructure problems. Sound like any other countries you may know? 

Remember everyone in Greece - the missionaries doing the Lord's work and those that still haven't heard the true message of Christ.

On a side note ever wonder how a petrol bomb works: 

Thank God for protective clothing.

Mr. Wonderful Heeds God's Commands

In Genesis 1:28 God commands us to be good stewards of the earth and it's resources. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." The word subdue means to tend and take care of. In Revelation 11:18 it states, "that those who destroy the earth will be destroyed."

It has taken several millenia but I think this guy has it figured out:

Dong Yun Yoon - You Are the Treasure.

By now, you have probably heard the story of the F/A-18D jet spiraling out of control after it’s two engines malfunctioned sending it crashing into a San Diego neighborhood. The pilot was able to eject to safety but the family inside one of the homes had no chance.

Dong Yun Yoon, the father of the family living at the house, had kissed his wife and kids goodbye about an hour earlier as he headed off to work. An hour later he had lost his wife, his 2 month old daughter, his 15 month old daughter and his mother-in-law who had moved in with them to help with the newborn.

Today, he issued a statement to the press that he did not blame the pilot along with a few other remarkable words:

"Please pray for the pilot so he does not suffer from this accident."

"He is one of our treasures for the country," he said in accented English punctuated by long pauses while he tried to maintain his composure.

"I don't blame him. I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could," said Yoon, flanked by members of San Diego's Korean community, relatives and members from the family's church.

Yoon said he could not have imagined “such a horrible thing would have happened, especially right here, right (at) our house.”

“But I believe my wife and two babies and mother-in-law are in heaven with God,” he said. “And I know God is taking care of them.”

What a great example of love and forgiveness. In Dong Yun Yoon’s darkest hour he wasn’t thinking of himself but was asking for people to pray for the pilot. What a great living testimony to the entire nation. I wonder what non-Christians think about these acts of love and forgiveness. They must wonder how a person can put the lives of others ahead of their own in such a tragic circumstance.

Hopefully, this story will show them the power of Christ’s love and the peace he brings to those that believe.


Dong Yun Yoon at press conference.


Dong Yun Yoon's home immediately following the accident.

Athens on Fire but Not for God

During November 1 – November 9, 2008, thirteen of us from First Baptist Jenks went to Athens, Greece on a mission trip. 

Why Athens? Athens is a city with a population of close to 5 million with only .04% being born-again Christians. That comes to about 2,000 Christians.* How do we put this in perspective?  That would be like taking the senior classes of Broken Arrow and Jenks and dropping them in a city the size of Los Angeles(1)  and Dallas(2) combined. 

While we were in Athens, we saw God open many doors and provide us with opportunities to begin relationships with citizens, educators, business owners and even government officials. We made many friends in Athens - including a group of missionaries that are living and working there for an extended period of time; Raymond and Billie, Jonathan, Anastasia and Suzanne.

Three days ago, a 15 year old boy was shot and killed by police. That has set off 4-days of massive riots. Rioters are throwing concrete slabs, rocks, flaming gasoline bombs, torching businesses and cars and gunfire can be heard throughout the city. The violence has spread beyond Athens to much of Greece and the situation is very volatile.

Please keep Athens, Greece in your prayers and specifically those listed above. Pray for their peace and safety.

You can click the image to see a short video showing the intensity of the riots.

•Mathematical computation provided by Dustin Talley

1) "Los Angeles (city) Quickfacts from the US Census Bureau" (html). US Census Bureau (25). Retrieved on 2008-10-14.

2) "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

Christamize (christ-a-mize)

It's a self-centered, customize it for me-me-me world.  There are 312,000 different ways to fix a hamburger. You can trick-your-truck with 24" chrome rims or turn your glove compartment into a tropical fish tank. You can add Alabama's "She Ain't Your Ordinary Girl"as your custom ringtone when your special lady calls. You can design your own Nike's at nikeid.com, as if there aren't enough shoes to pick from already. Your car knows how you like it and automatically conforms the interior to your customized specifications. Lastly, if you don't like one of the 800 breeds of dogs recognized by Kennel Clubs Worldwide then you can have a one-of-a-kind designer dog bred for you. There is nothing in this world that can't be customized.

Unfortunately, all too often we see this mentality in our churches and among churchgoers. People want to pick-n-choose their own forms of Christianity. They like certain portions of the Bible but abandon the things that aren't convenient for them. Since when did we become the central-figure in Christianity? I was under the impression that we were to conform our lives to Christ and not the other way around.

Therefore, I am coining a new term for this; Christamize.

Christamize - To make or alter Christ or Christianity to individual or personal specifications or preference.

Christamizer - One who alters or modifies Christianity to their individual or personal specifications.

In writing this, it brought to mind the Ricky Bobby's, (character played by Will Ferrell), prayer in Talladega Nights when they are arguing about the type of Jesus they prefer. A perfect example of Christamization. The video is a cleaned up church version - so enjoy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVJSEEOyblw&NR=1