Fearless

I talked to a guy today.  He told me that once, a long time ago, he went to church.  He told me the reason he went to church was that the pastor's daughter was about the best looking gal he'd ever seen, and he couldn't take her out, if he didn't go to their church.  

According to this fellow, the pastor's daughter had many times dated another young man who was the dictionary definition of a "rebel".  As he regaled me with tales of this young man's wild antics, he admitted to being somewhat disappointed in the church in general.  He said that though this young man was in actuality a true menace to society, he was a church-goer. So the pastor of the church allowed this young man to date his daughter.  

The guy I talked to told me that he figured if his friend, the wild one, could date this girl just because he went to church, then he ought to be able to pull off the same feat.  So off to church he went one clear Sunday morning.  Dressed in his best duds he entered the sanctuary and sat down in the back row.  After some preliminaries, the pastor stepped forward and asked if anyone had anything to add to the announcements.  A man in the front row seized the opportunity and jumping to his feet declared boldly, "I just want everyone to know that my wife isn't sleeping with 'so and so'!"  The guy I talked to thought to himself, "Well, this is going to be a humdinger of a church service".  He told me that as the choir stood to sing, he looked up and counted no less than four adulterers that he knew of, and one gentlemen, a deacon, who was known to frequent the beer joints.  He said to me, "I thought if there aint no more to this than that, I aint got no use for it".  He said that was the last time he ever went to church.  It was 30 years ago.  

I asked him if it offended him that people of "suspect moral character" attended church.  He said, "No, that don't bother me at all.  What got to me was that they all tried to cover it up".

I think most people feel that way.  I have often said that I have witnessed more genuine spirituality in AA meetings that I have in many church services.  Why?  I believe it's because the people in the AA meeting weren't afraid someone was going to judge them for being honest.  What is the reward for creating an environment where people can be transparent?  Authentic faith.  

We all live in glass houses, and we all tend to keep the shades drawn.  But that place of authentic faith and spiritual wellness comes from being willing to pull up the blinds and let others see into our lives.  When we do, we start to see how much alike we all are.  And we get a whole new understanding of  the importance of God's mercy and grace.  

Who knows?  If we could truly be fearless enough to reveal our weaknesses to each other, and see how those frailties demonstrate the glory of God, maybe that guy I talked to - and thousands like him - would come back to church.

        

Here's looking at you...

Does your vision ever get blurry?  I mean, do you ever look so hard at something that your vision actually starts to cloud over and become distorted?  Keep it up and soon both your eyes are focused on the tip of your nose.  Makes us look kind of silly, doesn’t it?  Sometimes that happens when we read a lot, or when we do close work, or when we’re tired.  There are other times we get cross-eyed, too.  Like when our focus is on our problems, and our challenges, and the obstacles we face in life.

The world is a visually noisy place.  Drive down any city street and your eyes are assaulted by streetlights, and stoplights, and taillights, and billboards, and store signs, and street signs, and buildings, and trees, and people, and junk of every shape, size and description.  How is it that we ever manage to keep our cars between the yellow lines with all those distractions?  We filter out the noise and focus on our destination – our purpose.

Jehoshaphat knew all about that.  His story is in the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 20).  He was a king and leader of the nation of Israel.  He faced certain annihilation by the enemies of God coming to make war with him.  Though shaken to the core over his situation, he resolved to cry out to God, and he said, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you”.

His world was visually noisy, too: Bad reports of a vast army coming against him and his people; visions of flaming arrows, gleaming steel swords, bronze shields and chariots of iron; fierce combatants, looming failure, bloody battlefields, and the hopes of a nation crushed.  But he found a way to filter out the noise.  It was no more complicated than the way we filter out the eye-noise we encounter when we’re driving down busy city streets.  Jehoshaphat decided where to focus his vision.  And when he did, he saw clearly.  And what he saw was God moving on his behalf, and guiding him to his destination – his purpose.

God has a destination for every one of us. Sometimes in the journey to that destination we encounter problems, challenges and obstacles.  But our destination is not TO life’s difficulties; it is THROUGH life’s difficulties.  And if we’re going to avoid crashing on the way, we’ve got to filter out the noise and focus on our purpose.  The next time life’s events cause you to go cross-eyed, think about where your eyes are focused.  Maybe it’s time to cry out to God, like Jehoshaphat and say, “I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you, Lord”.  

Give it a shot.  You’ll be amazed how much better things look.

Grace vs. Justice?

The feminist, activist author Margaret Atwood said, "Never pray for justice, because you might get some".  While her humor is not lost on me (demonstrating the concept that true justice is a pendulum that can swing both ways) I am grateful for those who prayed that our request submitted to the City of Enterprise Planning Commission for a Conditional Occupancy Permit to hold worship services at the Crossroads Annex would be approved.  I am writing this to let you all know that at 4:45PM on Tuesday, our request was indeed approved, unanimously...but, conditionally. We are grateful that the city planning commission agrees that the Crossroads Annex is a valuable tenant at Morgan Square Mall! Thank you to all the commissioners!  

Someone else once said, "The wheels of justice grind slowly".  That quote is borne out by the fact that our approved request now goes before the city council for final approval.  After that - assuming they, too, approve our request - we will need to request an inspection by the city engineering department to be officially granted a permit to hold worship services in the Annex. The next time we can get on the city council's docket will be the first Tuesday in May. (Could that be the sound of grinding wheels I hear?) 

As my understanding is that we have a conditional opportunity, we will forge ahead.  Our next "conditional" service will be on Sunday, March 30th.  Be sure to be there for a special message simply entitled, "Crossroads".

Oh...and Margaret?  You may have a point, dear.  Perhaps sometimes it's better to pray for grace than justice.  Keep the faith, Roadies, we'll be non-conditionally-official soon.      

With God, All Things Are Possible!

What an awesome, inspiring day yesterday was!  Resurrection Sunday, and what better way to celebrate than joining together with old friends and new friends at the very first service at our new facility, Crossroads Annex!  Sixty-three people came to celebrate with us, twenty-one of them for the very first time.  We are fast reaching the 100 mark we're looking for to really launch out!

I remember very clearly on Thursday morning last week, unlocking the doors to the building we leased just a few short weeks ago.  I sat in the middle of the main meeting area and looked around at what a complete shambles the place was in.  Absolutely NOTHING was close to being finished. I had started everything...and finished nothing.  I was sitting there (feeling sorry for myself...kind of weepy and mopey...and, alright I was boo-hooing a good bit) and I just cried out to God.  I said, "Lord, if You are truly in this then You gotta' get me some help!  I can't do this alone.  But we have to have a service in here Sunday morning, so something has to give!"  And He spoke to my heart in that instant.  Not words like, "Oh poor Gene, all of this is going to be okay.  I know how hard you've worked and how dedicated you are to Me".  Nothing like that.  I really sensed the Spirit of the Lord speak to my heart saying, "Get up!  Gird up you loins!  Man up you sad-sack, and get back to work!"  Thank you for those comforting words Father...

From Thursday night until our Sunday Easter service began, you could barely move in the Annex for all the help that was there working to make our facility a showplace.  We had more help than work to do.  People that don't even GO to Crossroads spent endless hours there giving of themselves - time, money, strength, energy.  It was humbling in every respect, and I am so very grateful to everyone for everything they did.

You should just SEE this place!!!  It's incredible.  And it will serve us well in the weeks, months and years to come.  But the best part of that Thursday to Sunday press, was seeing relationships develop between people that really weren't all that connected before.  I had the privilege of spending time, forging new relationships in the pressure of the work that had to be done.  There is no greater way to learn about people, and grow closer to people, than working together in the service of God.

This morning I think about all of you "Roadies" that have sacrificed for this mission of reaching our community with the love and compassion of Christ, and I am overwhelmed again.  This time, not overwhelmed with the work left undone - but overwhelmed by God's always amazing provision!  I can't wait to see you all again.

You've completely captured my heart.

Friends, God did it again, and we got to see it!  He made the impossible possible - right there in our midst at the Crossroads Annex!  And he used us ALL to do it!      

Dark to Light

As we approach Easter Sunday I keep thinking about the final week leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus, and the range of emotions his followers experienced.  On Sunday he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.  Thousand pour into the streets to cheer his arrival, believing that he has come at last to establish an earthly kingdom, and overthrow the government of Rome, giving control of all Judea back to the Jews.  But little do they know, the kingdom he has come to establish will be far different than the one they envisioned.  Little do they know that by the end of the week, Jesus will be dead, and their dreams will die with him.  But the story doesn't end there.

I think about how bitterly disappointed Jesus followers were throughout the events of that final week.  How they must have been so confused as Jesus rehearsed in their ears his own coming death.  How their hearts must have failed them for fear as Jesus gave himself up without a fight. How all they had lived for, all they believed in, all they gave up - homes, families, businesses - all of it for nothing now; how it all must have seemed just a mad fantasy, as Jesus hung dying on the cross.  But the story doesn't end there.

How dark were those final hours?  Thursday night Jesus is arrested, and a horrific string of events planned from time immemorial takes place, causing even the most stalwart in the faith to desert Christ and flee to the relative safety of obscurity and anonymity.  How we, too, tend to be ready to surrender our God-given vision when darkness falls in our lives.  I keep thinking how important it is for us to remember that before the glorious day of resurrection, darkness fell upon the face of the earth.  Because the story doesn't end there.

You may be experiencing dark events in your own life right now.  You may be looking at your life thinking, "How can I possibly survive this?"  It could be a physical problem, it could be a financial problem, it could be a relationship problem.  It could be all three.  Whatever the situation, we all share that same humanity with those early Christ-followers who said, "This is more than I can bear", and chose to walk away.  Who could blame them?  Who could blame anyone for questioning God's intentions whether the face of the earth is covered in darkness, or our own life situation seems dark and hopeless?  But the story doesn't end there.

I encourage you to fix your eyes not on Friday - the day of Jesus trial and conviction, the day of Jesus crucifixion and death, the day of Jesus burial, the day that darkness fell on the face of the earth - but on Sunday, the bright and shining and glorious day of new beginnings, the day of the empty tomb, the day that the darkness could not overcome the light!  I encourage you to look past your present darkness, toward the bright and glorious light that is Christ - the mender of broken bodies and ruined relationships, the guarantor of God's of promised peace and provision, and the hope of the world.

Take heart, mom worried about wayward children.  Take heart, dad fretting over bills greater than the bankroll.  Take heart, wounded, sick, or faith-weary children of God for Christ the Lord is risen!  Like those that lined the streets of Jerusalem that day - we have no idea what awesome plans God has for our lives.  We don't know how they will unfold.  We don't know when things will come to pass.  We don't even know the shape our lives will take in the years to come.  But we do know this is what the scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor 2:9).  

Let's not decide in advance that things can't or won't work out because we may be facing trouble. Instead, let's decide in advance that we don't know everything.  And let's remember that God has a plan for our lives.  It may be dark where you are, but it's only dark because the dawn is coming.

"Floor it man, we're almost there!"

We had a fantastic (if completely exhausting trip) to Ocala on Saturday.  For you brave souls who made the trip, I have an update.  Our 80 year-old bus driver will be just fine.  The mild coronary he suffered at mile marker 162, only served to make him meaner than he was when we started the trip.

All kidding aside - but just for a minute - I really appreciate all of you who gave up an entire day and night to visit The Springs.  I hope you caught some of the vision of a place that has grown from 21 people in a basement, to a 3000-member church getting ready to construct a new facility on 67 acres. 

For me, the heart of the Springs success is not their size, or how cool their church is, or how much technical gadgetry they use.  The heart of their success is that over 60% of that 3000-member congregation made a decision for Christ at The Springs.  Now that's success!

For those that could not make the trip with us, I know you were with us in spirit.  And I promise you I thought of each and every one of you several times during the trip.  First, when we left our house in Enterprise, I was so overwhelmed at how quickly we outgrew our home in the "media room".  Later, as we were so warmly greeted by a caring and helpful team of volunteers at The Springs, I was struck by how much their spirit of excitement and anticipation mirrored that of our Launch Team.  And finally, as I labored through the late night haul home to keep our octogenarian bus driver awake, I though how important it was for all of us to return in one piece, so we can worship together again.  (I know it sounds silly, but I really didn't have a great deal of faith that our bus driver would live through the trip home - refer to my previous blog "Who's In Charge Here?")

As we prepare the Annex for our first service there on Easter Sunday I encourage you to reach into your world with the love of God that has been placed in each of you through Christ and invite someone.  At it's core, that is the mission of Crossroads.  Let's pray throughout the week that each and every time we gather together we do a little more damage to the kingdom of darkness, and we bring a little more light into the world.  Pray this week for a successful service that ADDS to the kingdom of God in the earth!  Pray also for those who labor to get the Annex ready, and hey - if you're not doing anything this week - come on down and grab a paintbrush.  Many hands make light work.

I missed you all SO MUCH on Sunday.  I can't wait for us to be together again in God's presence to celebrate everything He is doing right here in Enterprise!  Have a great week!       

ROAD TRIP!!!!!!

Ocala or bust.  No...on second thought, just Ocala, no busting.  Leslie, Me and a group of 20 "Roadies" from the Crossroads Launch Team are headed to Church @ the Springs for a tour of their facilities and their Saturday night service.  We'll be back late, late Saturday night.  No meeting Sunday AM.  Get some ZZzzz's and meet us at the Annex at 10 AM for a half day of painting.  Yippee!!!!

WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE?

I'll be honest with you, roller coasters scare the beans right out of me.  It's not the "ultra speedy-twisty-uppy-downy-barfy" thing that bothers me, and it's really not the "hanging by your nails while your perched atop a rail (200 feet in the air) thing" that bothers me either.  It's the fact that I'm not driving! 

How dopey does that sound?  But like I said in the first sentence, "I'll be honest with you".  The fact that I'm not driving is the same thing that bothers me about flying. Now, I'm no neophyte when it comes to air travel.  I've logged several hundred thousand air miles in my life. But I have reached a point that I would just as soon take a covered wagon across the country as an airplane.  It's not the fear of being suspended at 30,000 feet in a sealed metal tube that concerns me.  Turbulence?  Not a problem. I get turbulence, it's like potholes for airplanes.  Doesn't scare me.  You know what really scares me? That I'm not behind the wheel...or the yoke...or the joystick...or whatever they call the thing that steers a plane.

Isn't that the same thing we're all just a little afraid of?  I'm not talking roller coasters and airplanes.  I mean, not being in control of our lives.  The biggest part of life-change for all of us occurs when we give up trying to control everything, and allow God to exercise His will in our lives.  Saying, "Okay God, I really, really like being in charge of my life - making my own decisions, doing pretty much what I want to do - but I'm giving up control to You".

I've noticed something that happens when we do things like that.  We're okay.  We make it.  God doesn't allow our lives to come flying off the track.  He doesn't allow us to auger into the ground, either.  (Two things we are always able to do if at any time we should desire to be back in control of everything).

Maybe you're different than me.  But I have found that my level of unease and difficulty in life is directly proportionate to the level of control I have given over to God.  Since Leslie and I have WHOLLY stepped into pastoring Crossroads (not an overnight decision, by the way) we feel two things: 1. Like we are strapped to a rocket we are not in control of, 2. Like we are completely safe and at peace.

What an unlikely combination.  What a remarkable God!  I encourage you to challenge yourself by taking new kinds of risks.  Not the same old "risks" where we all know the outcome in advance (Like...um...a roller coaster doesn't actually GO anywhere) but the kind of risk where we risk something really dear to us - like pride, lifestyle, future plans.  There's a great trade-off here: When we allow God to take control of the course of our life, He also takes responsibility for getting us to our life-destination!  We may not always know where we are going, and while we're traveling, we may not always know why.  But we have the confidence of knowing that all of His plans and purposes for our lives are good!

Maybe you're in control, and everything in your life is just groovy.  You're not looking to upset the apple-cart.  That's cool.  Do your thing.  Nothing remotely wrong with that.  But if you want more - I mean more peace, more direction, more out of life - get strapped to the rocket, and get ready for REAL adventure.  Together, let's put the burden for the outcome on God.  Let's put God in control of our lives, and watch what He does with them.  Hey, it's okay if you're nervous, bring a crash helmet and a barf bag, you'll be fine.     

4 packets sent, 0 packets received, 100% lost

"Is your mail server down", I asked?  "Oh, no sir", said "Bob".  "It must be a problem with your computer".  Aaackk! 

I just wasted a perfectly good hour talking to "Bob" at Time Warner Technical support.  "Bob" was very helpful.  "Bob" asked me about 150 different questions that had absolutely nothing to do with the problem and simply would not admit that there was anything wrong with his server.

But it turns our that "Bob" didn't have any problem accessing webmail.roadrunner.com. Because, apparently, he's taking a different route to get there than I am.  Wow!  A whole world of exciting new information just flooded my neural receptors.  Those who know me well call me "Analog Man".  But don't let that moniker fool you.  I now know how to trace routes, because I now understand that when I type in a website address, I don't go IMMEDIATELY there!  (I realize that all you people between the ages of 12 and 28 are laughing at me because I'm such a technological caveman.  Go ahead, I can handle it).

I never knew that I had to go through (for roadrunner webmail) 40 hops to get to the server. Which means there are 40 individual opportunities for my request to fall on deaf ears.  See, "Bob" had no problem getting to the mail server, because "Bob" didn't have to travel the same route that I did.  Long story short?  "Bob" finally talked to someone in his server department.  Probably "Dave".  And "Dave" told "Bob" that indeed they had a server problem on the 7th hop.  Wow! "Bob" could have answered my question in the first minute if he had talked to "Dave" before taking me through all 150 gyrations.

Thankfully, we don't have to go through multiple channels to get to God.  Imagine if we did.  What if you were able to get to Him immediately, but something along my route was stopping me? What if God never knew I had a request, because some server along the way was down?

But we have direct access through Jesus Christ!  The Bible says that "He is at the right hand of God, making intercession for us".  For you techno-geeks: Ping him some time and see what happens; 4 packets sent, 4 packets received, 0% lost.  You with me?  For the rest of us: Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus (phil 4:6,7).

Thanks for all your help this morning...uh, "Bob".

Joy Comes...

For many of us there is the temptation to succumb to the Monday morning "Blah's".  For some it may be a Monday morning "Blechh!" Personally, I've experienced the "blah's" and the "blechh's" right along with you.  

Let me encourage you this morning - this bright and beautiful morning - that with the morning, whatever day it may be - joy comes.  Have you ever been really upset in the late evening, perhaps even gone to bed and awaken late at night full of concern, or fear, or regret? Maybe you've even walked the floors all night, too upset to sleep.  Then you see the first glimpses of light break over the horizon, and you begin to feel like you can breathe again.  

Psalm 30:4 tells us to "Sing to the Lord and praise his holy name".  That can be a bit of a stretch when you're in the doldrums.  But the Psalmist encourages us to do that by telling us "why" we should sing.  "God's anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts for a lifetime".  We were separated from God, but through Christ, we have been adopted, we are sons, children of God, and today we are counted as friends of God.  We are no longer subject to His anger, but recipients of His favor.  

That's why, the Psalmist goes on to say, "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning".  Our weeping is over, our joy has come in the form of our leader and forgiver, Jesus. Jesus is the morning sun breaking through our night of loneliness and anxiety.  Jesus IS the light.  Jesus IS our joy.  Joy comes, and has come to make us free from our long dark nights.

I encourage you to join with me, and thumb your nose at the "blechh's" and the "blah's" this morning.  Joy has come.  Joy unspeakable and full of glory!  Psalm 68:8 says, "God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them JOY".  I pray that God's great joy would overtake you in everything you do today.  And that you would be so full of joy, it would rub off on everyone you come in contact with!    

How Long Does It Take?

I have to be honest.  This post is all about that picture.  Since I can remember, I've loved stuff like that.  Cool lighting and theatrical environments really crank my tractor, man.  I grew up in a theatrical family.  I remember many late nights as a real little kid, laying on the floor of the theatre, or hiding between the rows of seats, or crawling around underneath the stage while my dad set lights or ran tech cues until the wee hours of the morning.

In theatre there's an old saying, "The show must go on".  I grew up with that philosophy.  When the curtain goes up, and the seats are filled with people, you gotta be there, man. And you gotta do your job.  I did several thousand performances (looooong before I made a decision for Christ), but that work ethic has stuck with me in my service in church over the past 19 years.

There's another old show-biz saying that I love.  I picked it up when I worked in professional theatre just out of high school.  The producer of the theatre I worked in loved to say, "It always takes as much time as you have".  I still say it myself often when preparing services.  It speaks to doing things with excellence.  If good stuff takes a certain amount of time, and better stuff takes longer, than excellent work takes "as much time as you have".

I don't expect everyone to feel the way I do about doing church.  But if no expense is spared, if no stop is un-pulled, if no sacrifice is too great, if the show must truly go on, for theatrical performances and musical concerts performed for humans; how much more should the same attitude, the same willingness, the same sacrifice, the same effort infuse everything we do for God, and everything we do to connect people to the God we serve?

It only takes as much time as you have...

A Different Drummer

DISCLAIMER:  THIS POST FOR MUSICIANS

I'm a "back-in-the-day" musician.  I started playing drums when drumheads were still made of cowhide.  Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I was in my twenties during the time of technological breakthrough represented by the Sony Walkman.  

I'm surrounded by a lot of young musicians these days.  Many of them are great players. Someday, some of them may become great worship leaders.  But there's a catch.  To become, you have to come into your own.  You've got to find your own voice and discover the genuine you.  Lot's of things sound cool, but you have to cut your own groove, where there is no groove, if you want to be special, and not just a cheap copy of something else.  But these things we often copy - people and styles - do we really think about what we're trying to emulate?

The Prophet Amos gave a rather stern warning to Israel.  Particularly to those he called, "famous and popular".  And he used this really cool phrase.  He said, "You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and fancy yourselves to be great musicians like David".  He went on to chide them for partying away and said, "You care nothing for the ruin of your nation".

Strong words.  No, they weren't written to us, but how true those words still ring today!  Let's help each other remember that worship isn't about how we play, or even what we play.  It's about why we play.  In our rush to be relevant, let's examine our hearts, and remember why worship is called sacred music.  It's supposed to be set apart.  It's supposed to be different.  I don't care what the beat is, or what volume it's played at, it should still be sacred.  Here's the tough part: What if sacred is more about the vessel than the song?  The sacred vessel: that's the genuine you.

    

On my P&W bucket list: To play a one-hour long, all hot 70's funk, praise and worship set - with full horn section. I am not ashamed to dig funk music played by white guys. Not at all.  What's on your list?

Breakfast

Do you wake up hungry in the morning?  I'm speaking in practical terms now.  When you wake up, is your first thought about eating something?  That's me, man.  I wake up thinking about eggs.  Eggs, eggs, eggs.  I probably should have been a chicken.  For Leslie,  it's all about the coffee.  In fact, I think she could go several years with nothing but coffee.  Not to say she doesn't eat breakfast, but if she doesn't have coffee...well, let's just say it isn't pretty.

What's your routine?  What do you have to have in the morning to start your day?  I'm finding more and more, that one of the things I have to have in the morning is some time of my own with God.  You know, it doesn't have to be some grand religious exercise to take the edge off. Just some quality time, that's all.  

I've been changing up my routine some.  I'm a night owl, not an early bird.  I work with scripture and message preparation and "church stuff" throughout the course of the day, every day.  But when I finally hit the sack, and open up my Bible for some "me and God time", it's not long before the sandman comes and knocks me out.  I need to get on track with God - early - before I get derailed with the business of the day.  How about you?  

Is that bacon I smell?    

P.S.  If you don't have a devotion that you typically do during your day, check out www.heartlight.org, they have some great stuff there to help you get your day going!  

Fresh Water From A Salty Spring?

Hey guys, Happy Sunday!  What a great meeting we had this morning!

You know, while preparing to share more about doing purpose driven church with our Launch Team this week, I had the chance - once again - to venture into the realm of the absurd, looking for some video clips and other presentation minutiae.  What do you suppose I found in abundance on You Tube, when I typed in the words "purpose driven church"?

What I found is the same thing you will find if you type in such words as Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Jerry Falwell, Benny Hinn, Rob Bell, Erwin Macmanus, John Macarthur, Billy Graham, Kenneth Copeland, or any of a dozen other "Big Names" in ministry today.

Rock throwing detractors.  

Here's what's weird.  Rick Warren is obviously at the forefront of purpose driven everything.  I guess it's for that very reason that people from every camp throw rocks at him.  Pick a leader in the news, they are covered with rock marks.  Pick a leader in politics, religion, science, philosophy and what one thing will they have in common?  Rock marks.

I have - over the past couple of decades - received something from ALL of the above-named ministers.  I have also thrown out some things I have heard the above named individuals say. But Lord, keep me from ever bending down to pick up a rock for the purpose of marking them.  Ever. Maybe the rock throwers do it for attention - like teens post goofy or suggestive pictures and comments on myspace.  The rocks throwers and the teens have this in common: What they do, they do for ALL THE WORLD TO SEE.

Here's the frightening thing.  The vast majority of the ones throwing the rocks are themselves ministers of the Gospel.  Think about it.  Or better, pray about it.  

"Thank you Father, for the local church.  Lord, I pray you keep us from such a glaring spotlight. Who can possibly withstand it?"

How we gobble one another up when they don't believe exactly as we believe.  How quickly we take a rock in our hand when we disagree.  Question: How do people find the time, to spend so much time hating other people - when it takes an entire lifetime to learn how to love other people?

What do you think about all that?