Is this the only blog you read? Most blogs I read I have discovered through the testimony of friends and or people I respect. You may not consider me a friend and you may not respect me, but I hope you will at least for curiosity sake check out some blogs I am going to introduce you to today:
on a wild horse | doing my best to blend in : This blog is actually written by my little sister, Erin. Erin received her degree in “Writing” I believe, yeah I didn’t know they had a degree in that either…yeah you’re right that limits the job field:) But all of that is okay because my little sister is the greatest stay-at-home mom ever! She writes about her experiences as a mom of two and surrogate mom for my two. Even if you cannot relate to this type of life, that is okay, because she is a gifted writer and I think just in general you will enjoy her caustic wit and self-deprecation (if you can get over the fact that she writes everything in lower case, still bugs me a little, but it is her trademark). So check it out and subscribe if you like it.
gastrobro | GI wannabe : This blog is the blog of my brother-in-law, Chad, yes we share the same name.
Quick story about that: A lady in church comes up to me, “Pastor Chad I met your brother.” Me: “I don’t have a brother.” Lady: “Yes your brother Chad.” Me: “Oh yeah my brother-in-law.” Lady: “NO your brother.” Me: “He’s actually my brother-in-law.” Lady: “He said he was your brother.” Me: *Confused stare* as I ponder how to deal with a member that A.) Thinks I don’t know whether or not I actually have a brother B.) A member that thinks my parents would actually name both of their sons, “CHAD.”
Sidebar over: Chad’s blog are the ramblings of a Medical Resident. Chad is a resident in Fresno, soon to be chief resident, and he is working on his writing skills through blogging…or maybe he is just wanting to share his brilliance with the world! Either way I am not medical at all and I enjoy his blog, probably because it is more about him and his outlook on things than pure medicine. He also throws in experience of his life as a dad and husband to the crazy sister you will read about above.
Modern Ekklesia | Some thoughs on the intersection of church, leadership, and technology : This blog is written by my friend, Rodlie Ortiz. In my opinion Rodlie is one of the most gifted young pastors in our denomination! I hope that one day I get to work with him or for him. Rodlie’s blog is beneficial to anyone in leadership whether you are a pastor or not. It is beneficial to anyone interested in technology.
Thoughts from The White Board : This blog I have mentioned before. It is written by Jason Lombard. Jason owns a marketing and design agency, Anagram Design Werks her in the Central Valley and he is also one of the Elders at Visalia Seventh-day Adventist Church (a site he built and designed). I read Jason’s blog because I sit with him each and every week and learn from him, so I figure I should read what he writes as well!
Seth’s Blog : If you read my blog you will read quotes from Seth Godin a lot. I believe he is brilliant!
Michael Hyatt | Intentional Leadership : The first blog I ever read with any consistency was, Modern Ekklesia, there Rodlie introduced me to Michael Hyatt and I have been hooked ever since. I believe ALL leaders should read Michael Hyatt and then folk that just have a curiosity about doing things well, should be reading Hyatt’s blog as well!
running: the dawn : My friend Gina Creek in this blog writes about her experiences as a runner. She is writes with great honesty and her growth as a runner is inspiring to me! She went from being a well over 4:30 marathoner to a Boston Qualifier!
Well those are some of the blogs I read. I hope you will check them out. Please share with me the blogs you think I should read, I am always open to reading and learning more!
Seth Godin is a genius voice for our time. Anyone that leads or wants to be a person of influence should spend some time gleaning insights from the things that come out of Godin’s brain.
<p>Exclusive interview with Seth Godin from GiANT Impact on Vimeo.</p>
I love that last line: “That is your opportunity to say what you believe and see who follows.” –Godin
When I was at The Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, I had the privilege of being a part of a group of individuals that created and began a worship known as FUSION. It was at FUSION and through the worship direction of my good friend Dilys Brooks that I began to learn and appreciate Gospel Music. I then did my evangelistic field school at Kansas Ave an African-American Church in Riverside, CA., and my love of Gospel Music fully blossomed. So I thought on this Sabbath evening I would share one of the songs I fell in love with during that time, “Total Praise” by one of my favorite Gospel Singers, Donnie McClurkin.
So I was just randomly thinking about all the ways we as pastors potentially deceive ourselves and thus possibly deceive those around us as well:
That we are great prayer warriors. “To the degree that we value public prayer over private prayer, we are seeking the approval of men, not of God.” –Darrin Patrick. Many of us pray well or at least decently in public, but how much do we pray in private? Many of us talk about prayer, but talking about prayer doesn’t make us prayer warriors.
That we are more generous than we are. Paying a tithe does not make us generous. God calls for all believers to give 10%, therefore 10% should be the minimum for a pastor. We should look at some examples like John Wesley and Rick Warren. Wesley set his expenses at 28 lbs and he lived off of that for the majority of his life, as his salary increased so did his giving. If we as pastors are just sitting at 10% then we are living in deceit if we think we are generous.
That we care more than we do. Just because a pastor visits all the time and seems to always be extending his time and energy for the needs of his or her paritioners doesn’t mean we have an abundance of care for the people. I once heard a conversation between two pastors, it went like this: Associate Pastor, “Family A. contacted me the other day, Mr. A is having some health challenges and he had to go to the hospital. It looks like he is going to have to have surgery.” Lead Pastor, “Why didn’t they call me?” When your lead question out of this conversation is about yourself, then we are deceiving ourselves, we are not that caring.
That we are spending a lot of time with God. I am in the Bible every day, this doesn’t mean I am spending time with God every day. Every day I answer folks question with the Bible or I am working on a sermon. Maybe I am sending out some scriptures to encourage an individual. This is not spending time with God. NOTHING can replace a set aside quiet time with God!
That we are great preachers. Just because people say “good job” at the door, doesn’t mean we are are any good at preaching. A little note y’all, people just don’t like to feel uncomfortable so they say “good job” whether it was good or bad. How do I know this? A couple ways, when I was in college I would go out and preach at small local churches. At these churches by the affirmation of the paritioners you would have thought I was Dwight Nelson or something. Then I would go back to preaching class, preach the exact same sermon, probably better than I had the first time, and my peers would point out to me dozens of ways to improve! Another way I know is that I get the exact same “good jobs” today as I did 10 years ago, and I think it is safe to say I’ve gotten a little better. Great preaching helps to grow people and grow a church. It is like the old adage, “if you think you’re a leader, look behind you, if no one is following you ain’t a leader.” (Or something like that:)). If you think you’re a great preacher and no one is showing up to listen, you probably need to grow in this area.
These are just some ramblings that were going through my mind.
What other ways do we deceive ourselves? Whether pastors or laity?
What do you think?
“You shall not commit adultery.” –Exodus 20:14
With your eyes…
With your mind…
With your words…
With your heart…
With your body…
Yes all these can play and do play a role in adultery!