Hug a Veteran

Wednesday November 11^th is Veteran's Day. The following are a few thoughts of mine as I reflect upon an event we held at the Waynesboro church of Christ. My only desire for this post is that you may be inspired to say, "thank you" to a veteran you know.

Saturday evening marked the third annual Veterans Day Celebration at Waynesboro church of Christ and it was amazing! We had good food, celebrated with great friends, and most of all God was glorified. This event has become a favorite among our members as well as with members of the community. Some people came for the southern fried catfish but left with so much more.

This celebration is one of my favorites because of the people we are celebrating. Our Veterans are a special group of men and women. If not for them, we most certainly would not enjoy the freedoms we take for granted every day. A persons feelings about a particular war or war in general should not restrain them from honoring the individuals who have been asked to sacrifice on their behalf. One particular Vietnam veteran told me Saturday that he appreciated this event and others like it because, "It gives me the opportunity to make sure that none of our veterans ever feel unappreciated. . ." As he said this, his eyes began to tear and he finished, "like I felt when I came home." Powerful stuff.

We were also honored to have in attendance, members from the Waynesboro National Guard unit who are set to deploy to Iraq in January. Seeing these men and women in uniform reminded us, that even at this very moment, the sacrifice continues.

The next time you see a veteran or a current member of the armed forces tell them how much you appreciate their service.

Mitchell

Top Church of Christ Blogs

Matt Dabbs has released the latest rankings for church of Christ bloggers, at his blog Kingdom Living. 

If you'll remember, back in July, was the first time I made the list.  Actually, Matt did a huge favor to me and Matthew Morine by extending the list in July to 48 blogs because that is where we fell #47 and 48!  Thanks to this exposure and some other factors Matthew and I have skyrocketed up the list!  Check out the new list where you will find me at #6 and Matthew at #8!

I personally find this very humbling as well as exciting.  I like the fact that people are visiting my blog and reading what I am writing.  May God be glorified!

You will also find this list a great resource for finding other members of the church of Christ who do an excellent job of presenting thoughful messages in written form.  Do as I have done and bookmark the page for easy reference.  You will also find Matt Dabbs' blog contains excellent articles for your uplifting as well.

Is the Church of Christ a cult? Part 2

My last post, Is the Church of Christ a cult?, garnered a lot of attention.  That may be putting it lightly, actually the post was HUGE!  I was taken aback by the response it received.  From a numbers point of view it was far and away my most read post ever.  During the month of September I set a personal best for hits on my blog, due to the response to this post I broke that record on October 18th.  Even more amazing, the traffic count for the first first three days the post was up (October 17 – 19) exceeded the traffic count of the months of April, May, and June.  When the end of this month arrives Saturday I will have experienced a 50% increase in visitors over the previous record setting month!

I’m glad that so many people read this post. However, I’m humbled by the response people have had to it’s content.  Starting on the Saturday I posted the article up until today I have received well over 100 responses from my readers.  A few of you posted directly on the blog, others did so publicly on facebook, however, the majority of the response came in the form of emails, phone calls, and personal conversations.  If you read the post, and I encourage you to do so if you have not, you know that I was shocked as well as discouraged by the accusations being levied against the congregation I call home.

As soon as I had expressed my discouragement in words, God moved in to replace my discouragement with encouragement!  I was truly a recipient of the promise of Paul in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  You see, what I saw as a horrible setback in the Christian community, what I viewed as an opportunity for Satan to gain a foothold, God took and used it for his great purpose.  What could have been an occasion for more division, God used as a call toward unity.

My purpose in speaking out against this outrageous claim was not to “get back” at the source, if that was the case I would have named names and pointed fingers.  No, I purposefully refrained from naming the source because to do so would only foster divisiveness.  We all make mistakes and do things that, in hindsight, we wish we could take back.  My prayer is that by shining a light on the issue more people will be inspired to do as a dear friend remarked concerning this whole ordeal; “Let’s make the main thing the main thing!”

As I said earlier, I am humbled by the response I received to the article.  Your kind words were uplifting, your advice was invaluable, yet your show of friendship was priceless.

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”  Romans 14:19

Mitchell

Is the Church of Christ a cult?

It wasn't like this was the first time I had heard of or read someone attempting to make the claim that the Church of Christ is a cult, however this time was very different, this time it was personal. I, like most of you probably, have ran across some websites making this claim using erroneous, second and third hand knowledge about the Church of Christ and our beliefs or more times than not confusing us with the International Church of Christ. This time, however, a young person from my congregation was asking me why her friends would be saying that we are a cult. As I dug deeper into the situation, I learned that this young member of our congregation was told directly by one of her friends who attends one of the more charismatic denominations in our town that her Pastor was "teaching and warning" them about the Church of Christ "because they are nothing more than a cult."

Blind Ambition

What was the reason God confused the language of his people and sent them babbling in every direction across the earth? Take 18 minutes and listen to this valuable message from God's word then let me know what you think.

Blind Ambition

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Review of “Less Clutter. Less Noise”

The subtitle for this book is, “Beyond Bulletins, Brochures, and Bake Sales.”  It is authored by Kem Meyer, self styled as one who “used to think church was for out-of-touch people who just needed to “get a life.”  Now, after having left the business world, Kem is the Communications Director at Granger Community Church. 

The main focus of this book is about how churches can be more effective in communicating to our members as well as to the world around us.  You would think we would already be good at this, after all, as preachers it is our job to communicate!  Realistically, we know that we fall short in this area and because of that our ministries suffer.

Ms. Meyer is a huge believer keeping things simple.  At first I thought that her straightforward and practical style of communication was an effort at “dumbing down,” actually, it is just the opposite.  People are smart, people are also bombarded with tons of information on a daily basis, what about your message demands my attention?  Here is a small sampling of Kem’s minimalistic approach:

• The more elements you put on a page, the less important each element becomes.
• The more announcements you have from a platform, the less people hear. (I have always said the only announcement people hear is the one you didn’t make.  Think about it. Mitchell)
• The more brochures you add to the pile, the harder it is for people to find what they’re looking for.
• Which communication vehicles in my church or organization are most effective and why?  Which tools would not be missed if they were gone?  Can I identify communication pieces that exist purely to serve the internal politics of the organization?

The ideas in this book will help you reevaluate how you and your church communicate in every facet of every ministry.  Announcements, PowerPoint slides, bulletins, your website, email blasts, facebook, twitter, it all deserves your attention because realistically, it is probably not getting the attention it deserves.

If you are a minister, church secretary, elder, deacon, active church member, anyone who needs to communicate effectively in ministry then this book is a must read.  It is also a very easy read, written in everyday language with tons of insightful illustrations that really drive home the message.

Wrestling_with_Yourself

Find your Jabbok. We all have those defining moments in our lives when we must face God along with all the baggage we carry. Follow Jacob and learn how to be victorious over the sin in your life.

Wrestling_with_Yourself

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Made for a Mission

An urgent message about our mission! Have you lost your zeal? Has your fire for the lost been put out? Listen to this Slidecast and be renewed. (Contains Podcast audio along with the PowerPoint presentation.)

Made for a Mission

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