Ben Stein! You know him as a writer and a savvy businessman worth millions. What you may not know is that he is taking on Darwinism and the theory of evolution in a new movie coming out on April 18th, called “Expelled”.

I have added an entire page that gives you links to go explore the movie, what it’s all about, watch trailers, win free tickets, and gather resources that you may find helpful. Click on the “Expelled” tab at the top of the page and dive in.

If you have a few minutes, watch the super trailer. If time is short, watch the teaser trailer. Either way, you’ll get an idea of what this movie is up against and what he’s taking on.

It is hard for me to imagine what it must have been like on that day of days for Mary and Mary.  Matthew 28 tells the story of that early morning arrival of the two women before dawn.  In all likelihood, they were still mourning…still shaken that Jesus, this man they had placed so much faith in, had been so brutally beaten and murdered. 

Isn’t it amazing how quickly mourning can turn to dancing?  In short order they learned that Jesus was no longer a prisoner of death and the grave.  He had arisen.  It is his crowning achievment that death could not hold him.  Today he is ALIVE…and is forevermore.  Our savior lives!

I pray that you may find a community of worship in which to celebrate his resurrection on this special day. 

I’ve had several conversations over the last two weeks about the seeming decline in the importance of Easter among Christians. I’ve been wondering if I’m just missing it, or if it’s really happening. I grew up in the South, which has been known for years as the “Bible Belt”. And it’s true to a large extent. Church is part of the culture of the South. Even those who claim no religious affiliation whatsoever recognize the place of church in southern culture. And for those who are regular church attenders, church and church life often are the hub of life. It is the center point that everything else revolves around. So when Easter arrives, it is THE DAY! When you get down to it, Christmas is an important celebration, but there is no call for it in the Bible. But Easter….. Jesus told us to REMEMBER! Easter is the watershed event in Christianity because it sets Christianity apart from every other faith…because our leader - Jesus Christ - is NOT in a tomb. He rose again. And that is what led to Easter being such a large celebration in the life of the church in the South.

But maybe I’m NOT missing it. Maybe I’m NOT misreading the cultural tea leaves. In Friday’s edition of USA Today, There was an article titled “Has the Notion of Sin Been Lost?” (You can read it here). Rev. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, made this observation:

Read the full story

Businesses close. Schools close. It is marked on the calendar and observed carefully by millions of people around the world. So what is it? What is Good Friday all about? Before I answer those questions, let me offer another twist. I’m not convinced that Good Friday is really is Good Friday. I never have been. Why do I say that? Because Jesus Christ gave a recurring hint at how he would prove he was the Son of God. He would be dead for THREE days, and THREE nights. I am no math wizard, but I’ve never been able to count three days and three nights between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. I think there must be another explanation. And maybe this has bothered you as well. Maybe it’s kept you from connecting the dots. If so, or if you just enjoy deepening your understanding of biblical issues, take the time to read this excellent post (click here to read) examining the problems of “Good Friday.”

With that being said (and hopefully read…you did read the link,didn’t you?), let me add that whether people focus on the work of the cross on Friday, Thursday, or Wednesday, the important thing is that people DO recognize what Jesus did……… FOR YOU! That’s right! “Good Friday” is about YOU! Some of you out there are probably thinking that I have completely lost it….because Good Friday is about Jesus. That’s true in so much as it is the crucifixion of Jesus that we recognize.

BUT WHY WAS JESUS CRUCIFIED?

IT WAS FOR YOU!

No matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter where you come from, no matter what you have done, Jesus Christ died for you. Everything has a price. And so does sin. In our modern world, sin’s price is often time in jail or fines. In the Old Testament biblical world, the price of sin was death…the death of some sort of unblemished animal to “PAY” for the sin of the guilty party. But it was always a temporary fix. However, it served to point to the need for a permanent solution….a perfect “once-for-all” sacrifice. That was Jesus Christ. He is described in the Bible as a “spotless lamb” and “the lamb that takes away the sins of the world”. His death, His sacrifice, was offered to “PAY” for the sin of all guilty parties….and THAT MEANS YOU! AND IT MEANS ME!

It was the most brutal of deaths. But it was “GOOD” because it is now offered for you and me as a payment for our guilt. Just before Jesus drew his last breath he said, “It is finished!” It was the reason he came. It was the destiny of his life here….to pay a price we could not pay. And we can all apply this payment to our account….IF WE CHOOSE TO! For a more thorough explanation, please proceed to the information on “The Main Thing” page at the top of the blog.

What thrills me most is that Jesus is not still on the cross. There is still something more. And that is what Easter is about. I will add another post on Easter morning as we celebrate this MOST special time of the year.

So how about you? Has it really become “GOOD” Friday for you yet? Has it become “GOOD” news for you yet? It can be…..just say YES!

A busy day comes to an end and it’s time to reflect back on what transpired. Let’s start at The Grove.

We continued our series on LOST this morning. It’s built around the TV show by the same name. This week we walked into elements of the crash scattered all around the building. We had suitcases, books, articles of clothing hanging from trees and a “lean-to shelter” on the stage. It was all to create the idea of the crash that created a new set of realities of the characters of the show. The “crash” of humanity in Genesis 3 created new realities for mankind that we must also face. Here are some of the similarities and lessons learned from LOST:

• The crash resulted in injury and death
  • Our reality is that we live in a broken world. Nothing is what it should be. There are many that will look around and blame God for bad things that we experience in this life. But ever since the “crash”, nothing has been as it was intended. Sickness, pain, suffering, death are all parts of the curse of sin. And although God isn’t the cause of the brokenness of our condition, the good news is that he will show up and walk with us through the damage.
  • Romans 8:18-25
• There are many things about their circumstances that are mysterious and they don’t understand
  • Our reality is that much of what we experience in life is pretty mysterious to us. Often when we think we have it figured out, we realize all the questions have changed. Life can be very random and mysterious. And if we’re not careful, it can become very frustrating as we try to interpret life from our own point of view. I am reminded of a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that said “God is God and I am Not”. That’s a powerful truth. We need to make peace with the knowledge that if we don’t understand the circumstances, we can at least trust the Creator. I don’t understand everything about my computer, but I trust that Bill Gates knows how to make it work in ways that absolutely baffle me, and yet arrive at the desired outcome.
  • Proverbs 3:5-6 / 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:4

Read the full story

It’s late Saturday afternoon and I just got a call from my mom in South Carolina (click the picture for a better view of where) that they survived a near miss from a series of tornados that broke out in GA, SC, and other parts of the South in the U.S. today. They were spared serious damage to their own home while a church across the street suffered significant damage. My folks had several outbuildings on their property that were severely damaged, but their home is in pretty decent condition although they have no electricity.

This reminds me of several key points from our message series that we are currently in - LOST:

1. We live in a broken world
2. There is often a randomness that seems to make no sense, and it challenges our faith.
3. In these crisis moments, there are some who will see the hand of God and take comfort while others will blame God and turn from him.
4. In the end, we always have a choice about how we will view our circumstances and ultimately what we will do with them.
5. It reminds me of a wise proverb that goes like this, “Fear is looking at God through circumstances. Faith is looking at circumstances through God.”

I’m glad my folks are choosing to see their current circumstances through God. Please pray for the many across the south that have been devastated by the current series of violent storms.

We began our new message series today at The Grove that is built around themes found in the TV show “LOST”. Our tech team (you ‘da man Todd….you ‘da man too Jim) did an amazing job this morning pulling together a large number of elements into a pretty seamless whole. We had additional dramatic contributions of our flight attendant “Kiki” (you missed your calling Janet) and our Captain “Please fasten your seat belts” Proud. And that’s not to mention some creative script writing from Paula. My son, Zach, even contributed some great sound effects. It was a monumental effort this morning to create an environment that was conducive to crashing a plane. And so many people this morning made great contributions. Here are some highlights from the message: Read the full story

Fire is fascinating. Fire is consuming. Fire is attractional. Fire is mesmerizing.

And it is absolutely marvelous to see when when it is contained in a person that is on fire for Jesus Christ. Last week, Lesley and I had a chance to meet such a man. His name is Nathan Giffin and he is the creative and entrepreneurial force behind Vertical Artisans, one of the most incredible crafts that I have ever seen. Nathan turns ordinary concrete into works of art that look like massive stacks of stones. You literally cannot tell the difference. We went to meet with him because we are attempting to coordinate an opportunity for him to come and work his craft at The Grove. In the meantime, his business is growing off the hook. And I think there are two primary reasons.

1. Nathan does exceptional work. During our meeting, he affirmed his tireless commitment to excellence. There are many days that he is on a job completely alone. There are few people who can currently do what he does (although he is beginning an extensive online training course that will help anyone learn. Click here for info). And as such, if he were to cut corners, who would really know? Who’s going to come behind him and critique his work since almost no one else can do it? But day after day, he lives out a dying character trait - integrity. See, Nathan knows what he is capable of. Even if no one else knows or sees…… he does. And that is enough to drive him to never give less than his best. What an incredible business testimony to build. One job done with excellence may get you another one, but if you don’t carry that trait forward, it will catch up with you. But the opposite is also true. When you never give anything less than your best, people come to know that they can trust you implicitly. And Nathan earns business simply because his reputation is flawless. Take a look at a few of these pics from the jobsite we visited:

Read the full story

OK, we’ve been talking about going B.I.G. this year. We want to put ourselves out there for the cause of Christ and see what he will do with it. That’s part of the reason I started this blog. I’ve been astonished to have over 2300 hits and reach 5 continents through this effort in six short weeks. But, I’m even more amazed at a recent discovery. I noticed in the “stats” section of the blog that someone found us on Google by searching for the term “Proud of my country”. Well, I decided I would type that in and see how they found the blog. Here’s what I found:

I know it’s hard to read because I’ve had to smush it down so much. But what you are looking at is the first page that came up after that search term was entered. And the #1 item on the list was the entry on this blog. It may not even be #1 by the time this gets posted, but at least it was for a short time.

I don’t post this to pat myself on the back. I couldn’t make that happen if I took all my money (both dollars) and paid Google. This is the kind of thing we’ve been speaking about all year. When we put ourselves out there for God’s purposes and for his glory, he can, and often will, do amazing things. We have people that are dropping by this blog from all over the place and maybe, just maybe, they’ll come face to face with Jesus Christ and his power to change their lives.

God is good…..and he is BIG!

I’ve been calling these Sunday recaps “Sunday Night Reflections”, but these thought usually represent the highlights of my Sunday and what I’m looking forward to. So….I’m changing the name.

Today’s Highlights

• We wrapped up a series today at The Grove called “In The Fire”. It was based on Daniel 3 and the incredible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
• It was an awesome conclusion to the first two months of the year. In the first two months we have:
  • Started by going B.I.G. - Having a God-sized dream that drives you throughout this coming year.
  • Continued by exploring what it looks like to pursue something more. Both of these topics coincided with my decision to start this blog, to step further outside of my box and trust God for big things. And in only six weeks this blog has reached people on 5 continents and had over 2300 hits. That’s God-sized.
  • And finally, we spent the last three weeks looking at the story in Daniel of what will follow when we decide to go B.I.G. and pursue the something more that God desires for us - we will face fire.
  • Beyond the teaching, we have seen more accomplished in the restoration of our building than we did all of last year.
  • We’ve had the second-highest 2-month period of attendance in our history, trailing only the two months we went through 40 Days of Purpose that included a public advertising campaign.
  • We’ve had one tremendous concert in our building and have several more in the possible/planning stages
  • We re-started Greenhouse Groups (our group ministry) tonight and have over 85% of our congregation committed to groups.
  • Our teens have taken it upon themselves to strengthen their group and are headed to Dare-2-Share in April.
  • And to top it off, we’ve seen one person accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
• My favorite thought from today’s message is that the one thing that is inherent in fire is that it spreads. And when it spreads, it consumes.
• My prayer for myself and the church I lead is that we will all be consumed by God’s fire in 2008 and as it consumes us, it spreads to all around us

What’s Ahead This Week?

• I’ve already mentioned the Greenhouse Groups. We are embarking on an exploration of friendship through these groups.
  • Friendship is SOOOOO important. Studies show that when guest arrive at a church, they are NOT looking for a friendly church, they are looking for friends. But becoming a friend is more skill than most of us realize. We want to move past the “friendly church” label, and truly become a place where people find God honoring, life giving, stick-with-you come hell or high-water friendships.
• Lesley and I will be attending the TEAmerica Church Planting conference in Chicago. This is the group that welcomed us with open arms and partnered with us in our launch. It will be a time of challenge, celebration, and re-focusing.
• Bill Perkins, author, speaker, movement catalyst, and former pastor will be our guest speaker on Sunday, March 2. Can’t wait for him to get here.
• Several of our men will be attending the Iron Sharpens Iron training event in Springfield on Saturday.

It’s been a great year already. There’s a super week ahead of us, and the year is just going to keep getting better as we Go B.I.G., pursue the “something more” that God has for each of us, the spread the flame of God’s fire. Buckle up!