Master Mentor #12

Yes...
I am way behind on my Master Mentor reading... about 6 weeks behind. But I am catching up and will likely be posting double until I catch up in time to turn in this project near the end of next month.

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Chapter 11 (Book 3, Chapter 1)
CS begins to talk about morality in this chapter. And he lays out three things that must be agreed upon for the “human machine” to operate properly. The first is that as individuals we must agree on mutual behavior between us as humans. The second is that we must agree on behavior that is proper for within each of us as individuals. And the third is acting in accordance with the general purpose of life as a whole as defined by the One who created it.
CS does a great job of laying out multiple examples in this chapter that help illustrate his point… that of a gearshifter in a car, ships sailing in a formation and a band playing a tune. And this does a great job of driving home his point… which is well-taken. Then he says this at the end of the chapter:
“It seems, then, that if we are to think about morality, we must think of all three departments: relations between man and man: things inside of each man: and relations between man and the power that made him. We can all co-operate in the first one. Disagreements begin with the second and become serious with the third” (page 73).
It is interesting to me how the breakdown of number three affects all the others. We are living in a different day and age from when CS wrote this. I’m not sure that CS could have imagined the world that we live in with the vastly different ideas about number 3. I think that CS has quite a bit to say about postmodernism… but I’m not sure he could have seen how incredibly skewed it would become… but maybe he did. Mostly because CS seems to be somewhat ideal about agreements on the first one.
I don’t think we have it easy enough to decide how we should act between man and man. To use CS’s terminology from this chapter, we have some people who have decided that it’s okay to drive their ship in whatever direction they want and they don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. Whereas in CS’s day, people generally still cared what others thought about them and whether or not they were going in a socially acceptable direction.
I think we are living in a day and age in which all three of this tenants of morality are up for discussion. It is also a great day for Christians to begin to set the table for a discussion on those three tenants.

Jim

Kittens for a week!!!

We've had the kittens for a whole week!!!

It's hard for us to imagine the apartment without these two little furballs running around, playing, getting into things and onto the table. But it's only been a week.

But it's been a great week.
Especially with cute moments like these (Zoe is hanging out in her little, red bed).

Jim

His Ways... Day 13... Michelle Diamond

Today's devotion... by Michelle Diamond (who put this devotion together!!!)... is from 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."

Michelle had a good thought today about God being in control. She points out... and I think this is true for most Protestants... is that even though in our minds we realize that God is in control, most of us still try to do it on our own. We are good little Armenians who believe that somehow we can still affect the outcome of our salvation. And to some degree, I'm still there.

But then there are verses like Romans 8:28... Paul says that GOD works things together. That's something that only He can do. One for instance was last night's Good Friday service. Steve put the music together. I wrote the message. We talked briefly about the direction of the night. But GOD tied together the pieces in a way that neither of us could have even if we would have written the whole night together in a room. There were strands of the message that showed up in the songs... in the video... there were strands of the video and the songs in the message. Something that wasn't intentional on either of our parts.

It always makes me wonder what GOD might be tying together even right now that I don't even begin to realize. And what is HE doing with it to impact HIS kingdom in a way that I may never realize.

Jim

Good Friday last night!!!

We had a great Good Friday service last night.

Steve Osborne (our worship guy) did an incredible job of picking some songs that led us straight to the cross. And he arranged them in a great way that made worship easy. It was quiet and thoughtful. It was a really great experience.

I taught last night briefly...
Here's the basis of that talk:

• We have all made mistakes (sin) in the past.
• We will all continue to miss the mark in the present and the future.
• When Paul told us those two things in Romans 3:23, he included everyone in those two categories (not just some... but all).
• Those mistakes are a debt that couldn't have been paid any other way than through Jesus' death on the cross.
  

I'm so glad that Jesus came to pay my debt. Thanks Jesus for doing that. I hope that my life honors you and what you've done for me.

Jim

Book #3... kinda... James Montgomery Boice "The Sermon on the Mount"

I'm going to go with a 1/2 book here.

I'm officially caught up on reading with my Thursday morning guys group. We've been reading this book by Boice... "The Sermon on the Mount" and actually I started it HERE.

Today I finally caught up with the rest of the reading. We are officially about 2/3 of the way through the book, but I'm going to count it for now as 1/2 a book. (I'm reading Kurt Johnston's new Junior High Ministry Book right now and it's about 80 pages... most of which aren't that tough reading... that will likely pick up the other half of this book.) So... just so my reading is up-to-date here as to what I have completed... even though I'm about 2 books behind on the year. School reading has been taking a bit of an effect... plus just general laziness.

Now, onto the next book... whatever that might be... probably "Speaking to Teenagers" by Doug Fields.

Jim

His Ways... Day 12... Mark Batts

Today's devotion... by Mark Batts... is from John 13:21:

"After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.""

Mark gave us some great thoughts about betrayal today. I especially enjoyed Mark's stories about his children. But his conclusion really got me.

Most of the time, when we do something sinful... whether its premeditated or not... we often feel like no one will know. But that simply isn't true... as Mark reminded me today. God knows. And he sees that betrayal in a similar fashion to the betrayal that Jesus felt from Peter and Judas... two guys that I have often drawn comparisons between. The actions of both were similar (betrayal of Jesus... one to authorities... one to bystanders... but both betrayals). The difference was in the outcome.

But I guess I don't think often of my sinfulness in terms of betrayal. But it is. Mark says this, "When we sin, we are betraying God's grace and sacrifice. Whether it is a huge glaring betrayal like Judas' or a little white lie to protect ourselves like Peter, we have not lived up to the example set by Christ."

Thanks for the thoughts Mark.

Jim

Good Friday Fun!!!

I realize as I type that that doesn't sound very religious... and I'm not referring to the cross. I will post a more serious reflection on the day later on.

But today is going to be an interesting day...

• I slept in this morning... That was nice.I'm teaching tonight at our Good Friday Service at church (Romans 3:23-24 and Romans 5:8) .
  
• Chris Genders and his family are coming over before the GF Service for pizza and hanging out and check out out new kitties...
• Steve Osborne (our worship guy) and his wife are coming over after the GF service for coffee and/or ice cream and hanging out with our new kitties...
• I've got a bunch of phone calls to make.
• I still have to read about 75 pages of "Culture and Conflict" by Cohen for my Ministry to Muslims class next weekend.
• And I need to write a communion meditation for Easter.
• It's snowing today (even though it's the 2nd day of Spring). But hopefully it's done for today... and we got a couple of inches... and it won't affect tonight's Good Friday Service.

So... It's going to be a busy day!



Jim

Buckeyes draft Pryor!!!

The Buckeyes signed a winner... Awesome! And maybe the best part of it (sorry Joel), but he picked the Buckeyes of "Gagigan" (Michigan). Way to go Pryor!!!

It will be great to have a young talent like Pryor learning the ropes this season and be ready to step in as needed (I've never been a big fan of Boeckman. But this kid is pretty talented.

Here are a few of his stats from this ESPN article:
"Pryor, the No. 4-rated player in the ESPN 150, has left a legacy:

• In football, he became the first Pennsylvania player to pass and rush for more than 4,000 yards.

• He helped the Jayhawks win back-to-back WPIAL football championships, advancing to the last two PIAA Class AA title games, triumphing this season.

• The football team went 30-2 over the last two seasons, including 16-0 this season.

Pryor, a rare 6-6, 230-pound physical specimen, will concentrate on football at Ohio State.

"Everyone says he's a can't-miss player," Jeannette coach Ray Reitz said. "Not too many 6-foot-6 athletes can run a sub 4.3 40[-yard dash]."

I almost can't wait until August!!! Go Bucks!

Jim

His Ways... Day 11... Ken Hempel

Today's devotion... written by Ken Hempel... is from Mark 14:12-17:

"12On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

13So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."

16The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

17When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve."

I have often wondered about the people in the Bible who don't get names and faces. With all the people in the Bible, if we were to know their whole story, we could never carry it around... we would need a box truck. But I wonder about some of the people from time to time.

Like this guy... this guy who had an upper room that was prepared and ready to go when Jesus showed up. What was his story? When he put the upper room together, did he have any idea of what was going to happen up there? When he began to build it, did people think he was crazy? Did they look at him weird (you're going to build a "what")?

Similarly, what did he think when these two disciples showed up and wanted to use it? Did he think that was strange? Did he wonder what they might do up there? Could he hear them from below in the rest of the house? Did he have any idea of what might be happening above?

I've often thought of people like this and wondered what happened to them. Did he ever become a believer? Did he hear Peter preach? Did he weep when Jesus was crucified? Or did he chant "Crucify, crucify" with the rest of the croud?

Here is a nameless, faceless person who had huge impact on the story of Christ. He provided the upper room... the room where Jesus ate the meal with his disciples... where he washed their feet... where he prayed for them... where the instituted the "Lord's Supper"... where he called them "friends." And yet, we know nothing about him. Maybe that's God's way of doing things. We think we need to be in the spotlight. Rather, we should just serve where we're at and with what God puts in front of us today.

Jim

And... we're back...

Sorry...

I feel like I have to apologize. The last couple of days I had to make a quick trip to Ohio. My grandpa built a "coffeebar" for the Warehouse at FVCC and I needed to swing down and pick it up. It's beautiful and I can't wait to get it painted and get into use. But the trip was quick... down on Tuesday... back on Wednesday... Monday I was sick...

So that's why I haven't been on here the last couple of days...
And I know that I have several days of "His Ways" to catch up on and will be catching up this morning.

But the trip was good aside from picking up the coffeebar. I had the chance to hang out with my parents a little bit and catch up with them.

I also caught up on about 6 hours of podcasts that I had been needing to listen to (Chris Genders at Great Oaks and SYM Podcast). I still have a few more podcasts to listen to... but I'll catch up.

I just thought that I would give you a little update as to why there haven't been any posts for the last couple of days. So... there you go.

Jim

His Ways... Day 10... Jennifer Waltermire

Today's devotion... written by Jenn Waltermire... is from Exodus 13:8(NIV):

"On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'"

I need to be reminded of important things often.

I am a to-do-list person... I also leave piles of work on my desk... on the couch at home where I watch TV (when I should be doing work)... on the "to-do-list" of my iCal calendar... just about everywhere I can think of. Because, for me, out of sight is out of mind. And I need to be reminded. Reminded to stay 'on-task' and to get done what needs to be done. Even my wife knows this about me... In fact, when we got married almost 5 years ago, my wife knew that I would forget the date. So she had it engraved inside the band of my wedding ring (now... I can't wear it because I lost too much weight last year... and need to get it resized).

But I forget things easily. Even my Bible reading plan falls behind if I'm not careful. It's just part of who I am.

But I am grateful for what Jenn shared today. That God gave the Israelites a built in way to remember what God had done for them (the Passover) and that he has given me a built in reminder for what he has done for me and for you (Easter). What a great opportunity to go back and remember... remember again... what God has done for me on the cross.

Thanks God for knowing me... and us... so well as to know that we would need to be reminded often.

Jim

His Ways... Day 9... Alex Glass

Today's devotion... by Alex Glass... is from Psalm 23:

"1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

These verses are quite possibly the most familiar to most people. I can't think of a funeral that I have been to when these words have been used or printed somewhere. Most years at VBS growing up as a kid, I was asked to memorize these words. Most people, regardless of their familiarity with church, will recognize these words.

And yet... the picture behind him is so powerful. God as a protecting shepherd carrying caring for His sheep.

Jim

Logos finally goes Mac!!! YAY!!!

Ever since switching over to the Mac platform a year and a half ago, I have never regretted it. The only frustrating thing was that I couldn't have one program that I was beginning to get used to using on a regular basis... a program called "Logos" from Libronix.

Basically it is a library that you can install on your computer that features a searchable nature to allow you to cross-reference different aspects of Bible study. It's a pretty big deal down at Lincoln... Basically if you aren't using it or don't have it, you can't get around down at Lincoln... Which is fine. Expect they didn't have a Mac version.

Instead, they have been claiming for the last 2 years that they are "working" on a version for Mac. Every time I would check, they would say that it was coming out in the "next" quarter... then the "next quarter" would come and go and still... no Logos.

Today... I've been sick... and was doing some work at home (in between sniffles... sneezes... and cough drops) and I see an email saying the "Alpha" version is ready to go!!! I was pumped!!! I just got done downloading it and checking it out a bit.

At first glance, it looks pretty cool. The "Exegetical Guide" isn't available yet... but hopefully it will be soon. Looks like it will be cool. I would like to put it up against a regular Windows version on a computer that can actually keep up with a Mac (do those things really exist???) and see what is lacking and what isn't running just right. Since I don't use the program all that often... or at least I didn't before downloading it today... I'm not real sure how to put it through the paces to see what's there and what isn't. But I would be interested in trying that.

I wonder how long it will test before they release the full-blown version??? Hopefully not long.

Jim

Sick day...

I almost made it through the winter without getting sick... my regular habit of vitamins and oranges was doing well... until Saturday. Saturday I started coming down with what everyone else had been dealing with. I managed to make it through Sunday (mostly on adrenaline I think).

But today I'm home sick. Ugh!

I made it for a brief staff meeting and a quick lunch with Steve and Mel. Then I came home and crashed on the couch for a hour long nap with Zoe. Now, I've got to get the one task done that I have to do today... then back to the couch... writing small group material.

I hate being sick. Hate it!

Jim

2 year old drumming - Rohan Marr

Here's our Family Time Director's 2 year old son Rohan drumming... He's actually pretty good.

Jim

Check it out HERE.

His Ways... Day 8... Julie Brooks

Today's devotion... written by Julie Brooks... is from Matthew 6:27:

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Julie focuses part of her devotion on a really, really big word (that seems really small): the word 'IF'. God can take care of us if we let him... God can handle our problems if we give them to Him... If is a big word... and a word that many of us don't like. Because it isn't very certain.

Then she said something that caught me off guard a bit. She says, "If Jesus could trust God to take care of Him through his death and resurrection, why shouldn't I trust Him to take care of me?" Wow.

Often I think about the resurrection and Easter in terms of the end of the story. I know that when Jesus goes to the Garden on Thursday night that he is going to end up crucified and nailed to a cross and then on Sunday he is going to raise from the dead. But imagine staring down that notion from the first person side of things. Knowing that I am going to be betrayed, crucified and killed. And that I am going to put my trust in God to take care of me and carrying me through. Why? Because He is the only one who can. Wow! Imagine the faith that Jesus must have had in his Father. Obviously Jesus is God and is confident in the outcome. But he is still man and he still must have been crazy with fear.

One of the scenes that just came to mind... and I will likely watch it over the next couple of days is from the Mel Gibson "Passion" where Jesus is in the Garden at the very opening of the movie. One of the things that the movie did for me was to paint some "fresh" pictures of the crucifixion for me (which I needed). But the scene that popped to mind is where Jesus is wrestling with whether to go through with it and Satan, the tempter, is right there with him, almost whispering in his ear. But yet, Jesus trusted God.

Incredible.

Jim

Chilling and playing with the cats

I got in some needed play time with Zelda and Zoe!!! Fun stuff.

His Ways... Day 7... The Alford Family

Today's devotion is actually written by a whole family... that's pretty cool... the Alfords (they have a 6th grade daughter who is AWESOME!!!)... and it's from Revelation 21:5:

"He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.""

The Alford family all had a part in writing a part of today's devotion.

In thinking about all things "new"... if you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that we adopted a couple of kittens yesterday... Zoe and Zelda... I wasn't sure if after we had to put Spot down that I would want another cat. Now, as I listen to them play under the couch and attack each other and run around the apartment, I'm glad that that's something "new" in my life. I can't wait to be "new" in heaven when God does what only God can do in the way that only God can do it... and everything is new... Wow!

Jim

His Ways... Day 6... Suzy Gerber

Today's devotion... written by Suzy Gerber... is from Exodus 13:17-18a:

"17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea."

Suzy does a great job of pointing out that some times, God leads us through the difficult things rather than the easy things for a specific reason. She shares some of her and Steve's story.

It's a good reminder. The tough part is the questioning in the midst of the journey. It was always easier to stand on the other side and think "Wow... God DID that." And that is incredible. But it can be insanely frustrating to walk through the "wilderness" having no idea where you are going.

If that's you... I hope and pray that you keep following God... keep trusting Him... and allowing Him to lead you where he wants you to go.

Jim

Fun with Zelda and Zoe

Zelda and Zoe arrived home this afternoon.

We picked them up around 11 am this morning. They have been a pretty constance source of entertainment around here this afternoon.

Right off the bat, they love the new laser pointer that we picked up last night. Here they are trying to catch it.







Zoe seems to have a little meerkat in them. Zoe likes the fish tank too. Earlier she took a little "trip" onto the treadmill as she tried to get closer to the fish tank.











We even managed to grab an "All Family Nap" this afternoon. Zelda seemed to enjoy it the most. She spent most of her nap upside down and purring.















They are pretty crazy. They lay down for about 5 minutes and then they want to go exploring or they want to play. They don't know what do with themselves.

And just in case you're wondering, it's very difficult to tell them apart. Zelda has a little white patch of furr under her chin. Zoe has a little patch of white furr... but it's further down. That's the only way to tell. It's tough.









They seem to be making themselves at home.




Jim

great weather!!!

The last couple of days in the Chicagoland area have been awesome weatherwise.

Yesterday was the first day that I had my sunroof open. It was truly a great thing. I had it open again today and actually got the Cruiser washed. Jackie and I just got back from a walk... it's about 55 degrees outside. A far cry from last year's 73 record on March 13th... but still great none the less!!! Bring on the spring!

Jim

His Ways... Days 5... Hollie Sloss

Today's devotion... written by Hollie Sloss... is from Mark 6:34:

"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things."

Today, Hollie gave a good reminder when things get busy. She is asking us to look at the verses from Mark 6 where Jesus has just heard the news of John the Baptist's death and the disciples are returning from missionary work. Things are crazy and loud and he wants to mourn and he wants to catch up with the disciples and there are the crowds. And what is Jesus' reaction: compassion.

She says... "Its usually about that time the phone will ring from someone in need, an email will arrive with some sad news or my children need a kind word or a teaching moment. Its in this moment I am reminded of Jesus and his circumstances of sorrow, weariness and desire for solitude and his choice to forgo that and reach out to those reaching out to him in need."

I need to be reminded of that often as well. It seems that I get into my day writing a lesson... making plans... putting together a newsletter... and I really get into a groove and then someone calls me on the phone with a request. Or the other direction, I would really like to have a quiet day to myself and there's an email there waiting for me. Often in those times, I confess, I want to avoid it and skip it and do what I want to do. But I too need to remember that that wasn't Jesus' habit. His habit was compassion.

Good thoughts.

Jim

Shawn McDonald - Roots!!!

Last night I happened to be browsing the iTunes store on my phone and noticed that Shawn McDonald has a new album out called "Roots." (Click here to visit iTunes and have a sample listen.)

I got hooked on Shawn McDonald back when he released "Live from Seattle." So when I saw that, I had to grab it. I love to be able to download music directly over the Internet (through iTunes... legally of course) with the touch of a couple of keys. That's so great.

This morning while I've been catching up on my blog (HERE and HERE), I've been giving it a listen. So far, what I've heard I like! Check it out for yourself.

Zelda and Zoe

Tomorrow we are getting our new kittens!!!

As some of you know, we have been in the process for a little while now of adopting a couple of black kittens. Well... they go to the vet for their final check up today and if everything is okay with them, then we will pick them up tomorrow!!!

They were scheduled last week to get spayed and "front paw" declawed, which happened on Saturday. The vet wanted them to stay for 4 or 5 days. Then Zoe began to favor one of her paws, which led the foster mom to talk to the vet and keep a watchful eye on her. After a couple of days, she talked with the vet who thought that maybe it was some phantom pain (the kind that amputees have sometimes). But then Tuesday night, Jackie was talking to her on the phone and Zoe was holding up the other paw. So, either both are hurting or she's faking. (My money's on the faking).

So, they are scheduled to visit the vet today. And if everything is cool, we will pick them up at 11 am tomorrow. We're pretty excited. In fact, I would have to say that Jackie is about to go out of her mind. (Every time I talk to her, she gets this crazed look in her eyes and says "Kitties!" It's actually kinda creepy...) But it will be good.

Yesterday we got out the container with all of Spot's stuff in it. We're going to go through it this afternoon and see what we should keep and what we should get rid of. That will more than likely be a painful process... but it won't be long before that pain is turned to joy.

Jim

Hair today... Gone tomorrow...

So...

As many of you know, I've been growing out my hair lately. Actually, since last September with a couple of trims here and there.

I've always had it short, but I wanted to see what would happen if I just let it go. So, I did.

But I hated it.






So, last night I grabbed the clippers and took care of the problem. It just didn't do what I was hoping it would do.

I've always had my hair pretty short, except for Jackie and I's wedding (close to 5 years ago). I was hoping that it would grow long. But it didn't. as Jackie put it, instead of it growing long, "it just grew out and then grew fat."

So, since spring is coming... it was time. Jackie thought that I looked kinda like Brittney Spears in this picture.







So, for those of you who liked the "bald Jim," you got your wish. For those of you who liked the hair, sorry.













It's all gone. In fact, this is the pile of what was left after the clippers got done. (It kinda looks like someone skinned a Yak in our kitchen.... gross!!!)


(the bald) Jim

His Ways... Day 4... Suzy Sitarski

Today's devotion... written by Suzy Sitarski... is from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18...

"16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

She also references a couple of other helpful verses on prayer... John 16:23 and Philippians 4:6-7...

Man did Suzy's devotion connect with me today. If you are keeping up, then you'll know that she talked about how when she prays, many times her mind immediately goes to things that she needs to do... call her husband to remind him of something... sign a permission slip for her children and drive it to school... etc... etc...

I think all of us have had that happen. That's a particular struggle of mine in terms of prayer. I am praying and suddenly I think of something that needs to be done... a phone call that needs to be made... plans that need to be finalized... etc... etc...

One of Suzy's suggestions was to pray continually throughout the day for whatever it is that you are working on or whoever you are talking to at the moment. That's good advice.

I would like to add one more idea. When I pray, one thing that I have found helpful is having an index card nearby. When I have a thought of something that I need to do, I write it down. I do this when I read my Bible and have my personal quiet time. Then if I think of something, I write it down. Then I don't have to think to myself... "Now what was it that I was thinking about???" and I'm off somewhere else. Quickly jotting the idea down gets it quickly from my mind to paper so I can remember it later and back to prayer or Scripture reading. Plus, I find that the more often I do that, the more I try to focus so that that list doesn't get longer.

Just a thought.

Hope your day goes well!!

Jim

Fresh Frontline News!!!

I just posted some fresh frontline news to our high school students, parents and leaders. It's packed with information about:

• CIY Summer Conference (Sign up by March 30... June 22 - 29)
  
• Rock River Retreat (April 11-12)
• Last weekend of the TRL Series (March 17)
• No High Voltage on March 23rd for Easter

Good stuff!!! I wish I could post it here... but alas... I can't.

Jim

FIREPROOF Teaser Trailer

This is the trailer for the new movie from the folks who put together "Facing the Giants." It looks like it will be cool.

Jim

Check it out HERE.

Group's Simply Junior High Newsletter... awesome!!!

I picked up a free copy of this newsletter this past weekend at Believe. I had actually signed up to receive it via mail when I was the NYMC in Cincinnati a couple of weekends ago.

But then I sat down to read it yesterday and I have to say that it was incredible!!! I read it cover to cover in one sitting (which isn't saying much... it's only 8 pages... but 8 totally packed with great information pages).

If you work at all with middle school (or as those boys like to call them... junior high) students, this should be a must for you. It's a little pricey ($39.99), but hopefully the price will come down if enough of us subscribe. But it's worth the money for the ideas.

HERE's where you can get a hold of some copies for you and your team. Enjoy!!

[The author was NOT compensated for his endorsement... but he would like to be... ;-)]

Jim

His Ways... Day 3... Harold Sechrest

Today's devotion is from one of our elders... Harold Sechrest... on Galatians 5:22-26.

"22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

Harold does a great job of sharing that these verses seem to sum up all of the many words of the Bible.

We are currently asking our middle and high school students to memorize these words. They are currently studying through the book of Galatians and these words for Paul are the bottom line for this book. In a couple of weeks, we'll see how many of them have them memorized.

But the funny thing about fruit... it takes time to grow. You don't just plop a seed in the ground on Wednesday (today) and go out tomorrow and expect to see an apple (or orange or banana or whatever fruit you want... the type of fruit is unimportant in this case... just the illustration). It takes time for the plant to grow to maturity and then begin to produce fruit that you can see and eat. And too many times in our "instant... now/now/now" society, I think we we get frustrated when the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc) isn't available in high speed, wireless and available through the drive-thru with my Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks.

Rather, it is slow. It's in God's timing. And many times, God's timing isn't Jim's timing. So I have to wait. But that can be tough. But like my dad said... and I'm sure many of your dads and moms said... "Good things come to those who wait." And the Fruit of the Spirit are an example of that.

Jim

Fireproof... YouTube not posting again...

Hey all...

YouTube is acting up again for me. Every once in a while, it goes through a time when it won't post any videos. I don't know what the problem is... and then all of sudden, they all arrive.

There is a trailer out for the new movie "Fireproof." It's by the same people who made "Facing the Giants." It looks pretty cool. Hopefully YouTube will get it's act straightened out.

Click HERE to check it out.

Jim

A Few Believe pics...

Here are a few pictures from the Believe weekend...

I didn't take too many. I forgot to grab my camera both days and only had my phone to take pictures with. My phone doesn't do a bad job... in fact, the pictures that it does take are pretty good. The only problem is that it doesn't have a zoom lens of any kind, so they are really far away. But here's what I've got...

This picture was of the main stage from our Friday night seats...





Laura and Shelby enjoyed the first night... They were all smiles...












Our seats on Saturday were off to one side. They were actually better seats than the first night for a couple of reasons... First, we were closer. Second, the seats were more comfortable to sit in.











There were about 3000 middle school students there over the weekend. When they turned the "crowd lights" on, it was a pretty incredible sight.







It was indeed an incredible weekend. I can't wait until Summer Conference in June and then Believe next year will be in April!!!

Jim

His Ways... Day 2... Ruth Anne Boone

Today's devotion by an elder's wife... Ruth Anne... begins with a Scripture from Matthew 9:12...

"On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."

When I first read the Scripture today, I found myself instantly thinking of my life recently. As I posted yesterday, I recently visited my doctor. This doctor has been my doctor for over a year now and this was the first time that I had visited him. In sharing my recent visit, several people have asked why I waited so long. My response was simple: "I wasn't sick... Healthy people don't go to the doctor unless your doctor specifically asks you to come."

I am thankful that God looked down and recognized that even though we may think we're "okay" and "healthy," we really aren't. And he sent His Son... the "doctor"... who could help us and fix us in a way that we couldn't do ourselves.

Ruth Anne today talked about all the imperfections in our lives and how great it would be if we could have some of those peaceful and quiet moments of meditation and I must admit, it would be great to have those times. But I'm just like the rest of you... my schedule is way too full and I have way too little margin in my life. But I am grateful to have a God who loves me in spite of my mistakes and who made a way for me to be "healthy" before I ever knew that I was sick.

Jim

His Ways... Day 1... Daryl Johnson

Today's first devotion is from a former elder Daryl Johnson and focused around Hebrews 8:12...

"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."

This devotion centered around the idea of washing out the stains in our lives and trying to do it by ourselves. Daryl talked about a time in the Navy when he was picked for a duty based on some stains in his uniform.

As I was reading it, it made me think about a recent trip to the laser tag arena nearby. We took a bunch of high schoolers who were doing the 30 hour famine together. As we were standing there waiting to go in, the place is totally covered in "black light." And if you've ever been around black light, you know that you can see where the laundry detergent was when it was on your clothes in the washer. In regular light, you can't see it, but in black light, it's very plain.

That got me thinking about what Daryl was saying. He asked a couple of questions in making the application.
1. Has God washed stains in your life white as snow?
2. What stains are you currently trying to wash out by yourself? What is keeping you from giving them to God? Pray that he will wash you today.

In regular light, you can't see those invisible stains on your clothes. But they are still there. Just as looking at me as a person, you can't see the sin that's there in my life. But God can see it. And it's a stain that only he can wash away. And boy am I glad that he has??!!!

Thanks Daryl for the thoughts today.
Jim

His Ways... FVCC Devotion Leading to Easter

FVCC is beginning a 14 day devotion leading up to Easter. It's called "His Ways."

Part of the thinking behind this was building on the success of the 40 days of Community campaign back in the fall and how great it was that the whole church was doing devotions together on the same day and on the same topic. So we thought we'd try it again.

One of our staff members, Michelle Diamond, organized some people in the church to write a devotion. She collected 14 of them and put them in a little booklet that was handed out this past weekend following the services. One of the great things about this effort is that she is the only staff member who wrote a devotion... and only one of our current elders wrote a devotion...

Instead, this devotion was written almost entirely by people and families in our church family. It wasn't dependent on the staff or on the leaders... but instead on the people of FVCC.

I had planned to blog about it previous to today... as today is the first day... but being gone over the weekend with Believe, I forgot to pick up my copy of the devotion before I left. So I thought I would put a little preliminary post and then post about the first day. Since I'm the ONLY staff member who runs an active blog and I do have a considerable amount of traffic of FVCC folks, I thought I would post my thoughts about the devotion for the day.

So... without further adieu... on to the first day.

Jim

Congratulations... I'm "normal"!!!

So...

I visited my doctor a week or so ago. This was the first time that I have visited this particular doctor. So as part of my visit, he asked me to get some bloodwork done. He wanted to see how I was doing and if there was anything wrong in my body that I wasn't aware of. I told him that would be fine but secretly (I guess until I hit "post") I was worried that there was something "wrong" with me that I wasn't aware of... but don't most of us worry that most of the time???

Today, I got an envelope from my doctor. When I opened it, it was a letter from my doctor and the rundown of my test results. At the bottom of the results written by hand were these words: "You are normal... everything looks good."

So... to all of you out there who think that I am weird or that something is wrong with me (see HERE, HERE and HERE), we now have irrefutable proof that there is nothing wrong with me. I am normal!

Jim

Believe was great!!!

I got back from CIY Believe this afternoon. Jackie and I returned the vans and then we both absolutely crashed on the couch and took a nap. We were both absolutely exhausted. In fact, right now, I am still currently exhausted. But we had an incredible trip!!!

Here a few highlights from the trip in my opinion:

• 18 incredible students who made the trip...
• 3 awesome adults... two of which had never been on a trip with me... but gave up their weekends to help our middle schoolers have a great time...
• several times of having conversations with students... maybe not memorable conversations... but "available" conversations...
• several memorable conversations that I will follow up on this week.
• hearing Kurt Johnston speak... Kurt always serves up the good stuff and keeps me wanting more...
• the worship was incredible... especially the painter... more on him later...
• we got through the entire weekend without having any major hotel issues... I always get a bit concerned putting students up overnight in a hotel. when we don't have a choice, it's one thing (like if we broke down), but with this kind of event, I'm always a little bit concerned that someone will sneak out or someone will break something or whatever...
• no major road problems... broken down vans, flat tires, etc, etc...
• great times of relationship building that will be remembered for years to come.
  

One of the best things about an event like this... and it happened several times this weekend... is the next year hearing students saying "Remember when..." this happened... or "Remember what ..." that guy did. That's one of the best parts of doing a trip like this where go do a similiar type thing every year.

I find myself already looking forward to next year... but especially to Summer Conference with our high schoolers in late June. More on that later.

Jim

Back out in the hall tonight...

Well... I'm back out in the hallway again tonight. My laptop... a full battery charge (with the charger nearby)... and catching up my blogging and reading my blogs. This still stinks. Last night, I finally made it to bed about 1:15 am.

Tonight though, I had some hope. I was looking at my watch... 10:45 pm... thinking... "I'm going to get some sleep tonight." Especially since we aren't pulling out of here until 9 am. Sounds like sleep to me.

Then it dawned on me. Tonight's the beginning of Daylight Saving's time. That's means that 10:45 just became 11:45 pm... and my watch just beeped midnight. So much for a good night's rest.

But, that's part of the job and part of the glory. Thanks God for the chance to hang out and have some significant conversations tonight with several students... A... A... K... G... M... It was good to be able to look some students in the face and speak some life into their worlds and also encourage them when they have felt like that their world is about to end. This part of my job might be pretty sucky... see last night's post HERE... but it's still the best job in the world... hands down!

Jim

Kurt Johnston rocked the house tonight!!!

It was a pleasant surprise to walk into Believe tonight and see Kurt Johnston... Saddleback's Junior High guy.

I regularly read Kurt's blog and throughly enjoyed listening to him tonight. He talked about how God wants to "connect" with us... and how God wants to connect with "each of us." I have always enjoyed hearing Kurt teach and knew that he was on the docket to possibly teach, but didn't realize that he was actually going to be here.

It was good. I understand... because he teaches middle schoolers... but in both cases I found myself wanting more. But I guess that's one of the marks of a good speaker...

Jim

Suckiest part of my job...

So... I'm pretty much doing the suckiest part of my job tonight.

I love going on trips with students. There's just nothing like being on the road to have conversations and fun times that you can't have any other way. But one of my biggest concerns with taking students on the road is making sure that they stay where they are supposed to stay overnight.

Which pretty much means that most nights I find myself sitting in the hallway with my computer (blogging as I am tonight) and hoping to get to go to bed soon.

I hate this part. I wish I could go to bed and 'trust' them. But my wisdom says that I shouldn't. And obviously, there is no sure-fire solution (other than duct taping them to their beds... which I have considered in the past) to maintaining security, but they all have their drawbacks. And since this is the direction that our church is going, I find myself sitting in the hallway... blogging...

Ugh!

Jim

a '24' movie...

There are some some rumblings of a '24' movie coming this fall that will bridge the gap between seasons 6 and 7. Here's a small snipet of the story HERE:

"The movie, designed to bridge the two-year gap between Seasons 6 and 7, is targeted to air in the fall, leading to the January return of the real-time drama. On Wednesday, "24" producers began securing the show's core cast members for the film.
"24" was one of the biggest casualties of the writers strike. Three days into the work stoppage, Fox decided against airing a partial season of the serialized drama with the eight episodes produced before and during the first weeks of the strike."

That would be sweet. Plus, it would fix my 24 craving early. I hope it becomes a reality.

Jim

downhere is coming to Batavia in May...

We're bringing in another major concert event to FVCC this spring... We are bringing in downhere. You might be thinking to yourself, "I've never heard of downhere."

But you would be wrong. You have heard of them... Check them out on iTunes HERE or their webpage HERE.

We signed the paperwork today and will begin to promote the concert first of next week.

Here are the details:
When: May 18th (Sunday night) beginning at 6 pm.
Where: FVCC
How much: $5 in advance and $7 the day of the event
Who: Everyone who is interested in good Christian music

Tickets will go on sale in the next 10 days or so. If you have any questions about this event, feel free to call the church office at 630.208.8484.

Jim

First Political Rant... Early voting in Illinois is ???!!!!!

So...

I've never really delved into politics on my blog. But I'm betting that I will at some point over the next 6 months or so leading up to the Presidential election...

But that isn't what this blog is about... yet...

This Saturday is a special election here in Illinois for the 14th Congressional Seat vacated by Dennis Hastert. And in the illustrious state of Illinois, it is possible to vote early if you can't make it to a polling place on election day.

Unless you have a regular job... and then, you're out of luck.

I'm going to be out of town over the weekend.... Middle School Believe see HERE. So I thought I would swing in tonight and do my civil duty at 4:10 pm (before most people get off work). Only to find the doors locked. There is a beautiful RV sitting out there advertising the merits of voting early with the phone number on the side so, having my cell phone, I called.

The voter registration office opens at 8:30 am and closes at 4:30 pm. Which leads me to think... if you have a regular 8 to 5 job and needed to vote early, how would you do it? So I asked the guy... seems you can't. You have to come into the location during regular business hours and vote... and they aren't even open on Saturday!!!

Now you would think that if they thought this was going to be such a great thing and would really help people out, they would have set it up so that you could do it!!!

Most people have jobs that work 8 to 5. I happen to be lucky enough that that isn't the case for me... my hours are more flexible. So in this case, I will have to try to swing in in the morning and vote before going out of town. But how ludicrous is this???!!! Come and vote early... but if you have a job that works 8 to 5... tough luck... Your vote doesn't count.

I just found that insane. And thought I would share.

Illinois really missed the mark on this one.

Jim

CIY Believe this weekend!!!

I'm really excited.

This weekend we're (my wife and two other volunteers) are taking a group of middle schoolers to Believe in St. Charles, MO (outside of St. Louis). I'm really looking forward to this weekend for a couple of reasons.

First, it's always an incredible relational time with the students who go. Of course, in the youth ministry world, it's a trip. Trips are always great opportunities to build relationships. Times in the van... times eating... times hanging out... times having conversations that can't be planned out or scripted, but instead just happen.

Second, the Believe program is always incredible. I always find myself being challenged by the worship, the speakers and the videos. As a 30 year old... almost 31 year old... youth worker, I still need challenged and encouraged and the Believe program always delivers for me.

So... I hope to post some pictures of the weekend here. It should be a blast and a lot of fun. But, now I should get back to getting ready to be gone and not blogging...

Jim

I Am Legend alternate ending...

I loved "I Am Legend" in the theaters and personally can't wait until it comes out on DVD... as I will be picking myself up a copy and watching it again.

I saw THIS tonight. It's an alternate ending to the movie. It's pretty cool. Check it out if you like.

Jim

Marko's blog...

I was catching up on my blogs a little bit this morning. And I saw THIS post from Marko. Maybe it just brings out the middle school boy in me, but I got a good chuckle. Thought you might too...

LCS today...

It feels weird.

I'm back on campus at Lincoln Christian Seminary today. Tuesdays are my usual days. But we didn't have class last week due to "Intensive Week." But it feels like forever since we've been here. I think it's just that so much has happened since the last time I was on campus... NYMC...

But it feels weird to be back on campus. It feels like it's been forever. But it's really only been 13 days. Oh well... Class begins in 40 minutes...

Jim

Rush win...

Rush win... 70-47!!! Go Rush!!

Jim Clark
Student Minister

Sent from my iPhone...

Halftime... Rush 28 - Cats 27

We've got a good game on our hands. A late field goal puts the cats
down by 1...

Chicago Rush kickoff

Steve and I took in a Chicago Rush game tonight... The scored on the
second play of the game!!!

TRL - Stressed Out and Worried...

This weekend we launched a 3 week series called "TRL". We asked our students for some topics that they would like me to teach on... This weekend we talked about stress and anxiety and finding a way to deal with it in a healthy and Biblical way.

Here's this weekend's outline...
--------
TRL (Total Request Live)
Week 1: Stressed Out and Worried!
Live Wire/High Voltage – March 2, 2008 – Jim Clark
Truths about Stress and Anxiety:
-Everyone deals with stress, anxiety and worry.
If you’re alive… it’s part of your life.
-You feel: -Overwhelmed.
-Strapped for time.
-Out-Of-Control.
-We tend to get stressed out about the wrong things.
-Stress can be managed.

Jesus dealt with Stress…
Taught about stress, worry and anxiety.
Matthew 6:25-34 and Luke 12:22-34
Dealt with stress everyday.
When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
Mark 5:21-29

-People.
-Healings.
-Expectations.

Jesus’ secret to dealing with stress… Adequate downtime!
Got alone with God.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35
Got alone with friends.
He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. Mark 4:36

Action Steps and a Touch of Hope:
1. Admit your anxiety and stress to God and others.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Psalm 139:23
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

2. Narrow down the things that need attention and those things that don’t.
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Luke 12:25

3. Share an encouraging word with the stressed out ones in your life.
An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. Proverbs 12:25

The Bottom Line:
Stress is part of life… But for the Christian it shouldn’t be an out of control part of life.

Sunday night... Depressed? Or Pumped???

So... It's Sunday night. Our High School service starts in about 20 minutes. But for some reason, I have some time to blog. But as I stand here... there aren't any teenagers around... yet.

But this is that critical time for my night. Right now, I'm wondering if anyone will show up. And if some don't show up (variety of reasons... school... family... laziness... etc...), how will that affect how I see myself tonight? And how I see the successfulness of tonight's event???

See what usually happens is that if a bunch of kids show up and the night goes off well, then I feel that I succeeded and was successful (which is similar to succeeded). But if only a few show up (and I know that "a few" and "a bunch" are relative to my situation here in the Chicagoland suburbs... what you consider "a few" and what I consider "a few" may be totally different), then I will feel that I failed. But is that true?

As much as I would like to say that numbers aren't important... and in many respects, they aren't. But in the hollow of my mind at 17 minutes before the event begins, it impacts me a bunch. And right now, my heart and mind is hoping that students will begin pouring through the door. Mostly for my sanity... but also for the other students who will arrive later on and wonder "where everyone else is at".

On the outside I seem confident and cool.
But on the inside, my heart is churning and turning.

Why after almost 10 years of youth ministry is my view of my self-worth still wrapped up to some degree in the number of students who will show up tonight for the high school service? Oh well... Gotta go... I hear voices...

Jim

Feels like spring

54 degrees... Feels like spring!!!

Jim Clark
Student Minister

Sent from my iPhone...

Being Out of Town... both a blessing and a curse...

I love being out of town from time to time...

Especially with last weekend. After the National Youth Ministry Conference I felt confident and refreshed. A couple of things that I haven't felt in a while. Which is great. The training was great. It's always great to get to see old friends and catch up on life. Plus, it was an extra blessing being out of town with three of my favorite people in the world.

Good stuff...

But there's always a downside to being gone. Today, instead of working on homework and maybe watching a little college basketball, I'm locked in the "den" in our apartment working on stuff for the weekend. So, it's both a blessing and a curse. It was great to be out for a little while. But then you have to work twice as hard when you get back to get caught up. But I guess that's part of life.

I just know that looking down the barrel of what I have to do today, I would rather watch some basketball.

Jim