Merry Christmas

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"- Luke 2:14.

Oh Christmas Trees

We have two Christmas trees up in our house. One is the "official" tree in our living room that Tonya decorated; it's symmetrical and very tastefully decorated with lots of silver and clear ornaments and grapevine serving as garland.

But the second tree is in the bonus room and the boys decorated it. The ornaments only go up so high on the tree (they couldn't reach any higher); the red ball ornaments are clustered in only a couple of areas; while the rest of the tree is decorated with a collection of random mini-Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ornaments. It wouldn't win any awards at the Fantasy of Trees but it may be the most beautiful Christmas tree ever.

The Santa Claus Dilemma

When it comes to the topic of Santa Claus, we have friends at the polar opposite ends of the spectrum. Some people see him as the embodiment of all things pagan and evil ("Santa is just Satan misspelled") to those who see him as a harmless "jolly old elf" who adds to the wonder and innocence of childhood. This much I know, he's hard to avoid.

But here's where it gets hard for us as parents. Tonya and I desire that our sons develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That they learn who He is and what He did. That they accept Him in childlike faith. But they can't see Him. However, Santa is everywhere at Christmastime, much more so than the Babe in the manger.

So we are left to try to explain that Jesus (who they can't see) is very real; while Santa (who they can see- they can even visit him and tell him their toy wishes) is not real. Therein lies the dilemma. We don't necessarily see Santa as being "bad" but if he ever distracts from the real meaning of Christmas, if he ever distracts from the Giver of all gifts, he will quickly be taking a one-way trip back to the North Pole.

Fortunately, I don't think our 5-year old buys it all anyway and our 2-year old could care less.

A couple of other (much more minor) things about Santa that bother me:
In most cases, we tell children not to talk to strangers.
Most men I know wouldn't be caught wearing a red suit.

Book Review- Mark Batterson's Primal

The Point was recently accepted to participate in the Primal Blog Tour. As I have heard Mark Batterson speak several times and read his first book, "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day", I was glad to receive an advance copy of his newest book, "Primal".

The premise for "Primal" is what Batterson calls the "Primal Commandment", Mark 12:30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." To more effectively be "great at the Great Commandment", Batterson challenges his readers to focus on: the heart of Christianity (primal compassion); the soul of Christianity (primal wonder); the mind of Christianity (primal curiosity); and the strength of Christianity (primal energy).

While there are abundant references to scientific terminology- alpha waves, disuse syndrome, reticular activating system and many more that cause the book to drag at times (Batterson states that he is fascinated by the study of the mind and science), there are numerous pages of concepts and thoughts that are certainly challenging for one who desires to grow in his walk with Christ.

"Primal" is available from http://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/ or http://www.randomhouse.com/. If you desire to be reminded of the things of first importance, I would encourage you to read "Primal".

Fun on Friday- Fun at Christmas

I've noticed two distinct camps when it comes to Christmas sweaters: one camp thinks they are a rite of the season; the second camp treats them more like Halloween costumes.

We have a manger scene on the coffee table in our living room. But I didn't anticipate ever hearing myself ask these questions: "Has anybody seen the Baby Jesus?" and "Why is there a tractor in the manger?"

Driving home a couple of nights ago, Parker (out of nowhere) asked, "why are people so much nicer at Christmas?" I'm glad he feels that way. But he's apparently not been to West Town Mall or Turkey Creek recently.

An unnecessary Christmas gift (http://www.snuggiefordogs.com/). Isn't this why God gave them fur?

Update on Matt Chandler

The link below was posted today on The Village Church website regarding Matt Chandler's condition. Please be in prayer for the Chandler family as well as The Village Church.

Pathology results revealed

Joy in the Journey

On Sunday, I taught through the verses in Luke 1 where Mary comes to grips with being "highly favored" as she was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. For a young, unmarried, virgin girl to have to explain what was happening to her and through her (being visited by the angel Gabriel- v. 26; how the Holy Spirit would come upon her- v. 35) was certainly a difficult circumstance. And yet, Mary found joy in her journey.

Mary goes from "how can this be" in verse 34 to "my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" in verses 46 and 47. As I read this passage, I am challenged by how Mary found joy even in her circumstance.

There is a lesson to be learned there.

Video from Matt Chandler

Matt Chandler (see the two previous posts) had a seizure over Thanksgiving weekend and has had subsequent brain surgery. He remains hospitalized following surgery. The video link below is to a video Chandler filmed prior to his operation.

I hope you will watch the video. You will be challenged.

Video from Matt

Please pray for Matt Chandler, his family and The Village Church.

Right Now Conference- Chandler (Part 2)

Chandler led a second session titled, "The Great Cause", focused out of Luke 24:

We know the resurrection of Christ happened but do we know what that means? The resurrection was a physical event not just a spiritual event. So much changed after the resurrection: the disciples were cowards, then weren't; Jesus' family changed their belief and worshipped Him; worship shifted from Saturday to Sunday; the sacraments were introduced; communion was instituted.

Christianity spread rapidly in the 1st century, and not by the sword.

We look at the law as being bad, but David praises it. The law was given to keep us in line with God's plan, but we couldn't meet the requirements.

The cross saves us from, the resurrection saves us to.

There is no hierarchy in the Trinity. There is selflessness in the Godhead.

Be proactive in being ministers of reconciliation.

When not following our calling, we get bored and fall into sin.

If we don't change the way we live now, one day we will be embarrassed.

Right Now Conference- Chandler (Part 1)

Matt Chandler is the Lead Pastor of The Village Church www.thevillagechurch.net. He shared two sessions at the conference. Here are my notes from a session titled, "Getting the Gospel Right" focused from 1 Corinthians 15:

You must preach sanctification in the light of the cross.

Our goodness is wicked; that's how holy God is. My good day is filthy rags (Isa. 64:6).

You leave the Gospel if you put a "defining" word in front of the Gospel (social Gospel; prosperity Gospel). The Gospel, the cross, must be our message.

Get the Gospel right; live in humility; preach the atonement.

The church meeting social issues goes back to the book of Acts (Acts 2).

Is church your niche or do you belong to Jesus?

May we spend our lives in radical generosity because of how Jesus has been to us.

Right Now Conference- Batterson (Part 2)

Batterson led a second session titled "God Ideas":

One God idea is better than 1000 good ideas.

Maybe "taking every thought captive" (2 Corinthians 10: 4, 5) means following through on those God-given thoughts.

When you pray, you'll see things other people don't see.

Right Now Conference- Batterson (Part 1)

Mark Batterson is the Lead Pastor of the National Community Church. His daily blog is http://www.evotional.com/. He shared a session titled, "Leading with Your Right Brain" and focused on a passage from Numbers 11:

Don't try to get out of situations; try to get something out of situations.

Sometimes as we age, we must continue to work to be creative.

Every person who enters a church has an agenda for the church; we must have a vision.

Filter arrows of criticism through Scripture. Rebuke, correction and exhortation should come from those close to you- stay humble. However, if you listen to every criticism, it will harden you- be discerning.

If the wrong person criticizes you, maybe it's a compliment. If the wrong person compliments you, maybe it's a negative thing.

When things don't add up, it may be a God moment.

If God has placed a dream or a vision on you, you must not let that die. Many visions die because we cannot answer the "how" question. Don't get stuck on "how".

Maturing in ministry means saying the things you don't want to say. We need to to stop answering questions that no one is asking. We must address difficult topics.

Have fresh eyes for Scripture. Read as if you don't know the outcome.

We get frustrated when it doesn't add up but we love it when God adds it up.

Right Now Conference- Chan (Part 2)

This is the second post of notes from sessions led by Francis Chan at the recent Right Now Conference:

From a session titled, "Redefining Church":
The church must emphasize "one another". Fellowship is important; the church body, the church family. Lego pieces aren't cool on their own. Legos are only cool when put together. That's the problem with the church; when the pieces are put together, they build a body, a family.

I can speak about Jesus but I can show Jesus only in community with other believers.

Jesus' pattern wasn't to change the "big thing" overnight.

Rather than complain, pray and set the example; humbly come under leadership.

Ten year plans seem great but daily walking in the Spirit is biblical.

From a session titled, "Setting the Pace in Love":
People live as if they are afraid they will starve to death. We're not concerned about living, we're concerned about our standard of living.

Today's church is so stoppable.

The church is a God thing; we can't create a movement.

God grants fruit to a man or woman who follows Him.

Right Now Conference- Chan (Part 1)

Chan is the Teaching Pastor of Cornerstone Community Church (http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/) in Simi Valley, CA and is the author of Crazy Love. He spoke multiple times at the Right Now Conference so I will be breaking my notes from his sessions into a couple of posts. Here are some notes from his first session. He had prepared to speak on a specific, pre-announced topic but once he arrived at the conference he felt led to share the following "from his heart":

People try to integrate Scripture and the American dream; a twisting of Scripture to create what we want and desire. We study Scripture to find support for what we want.

Whoever claims to know Him must walk as Jesus walked.

We play Simon says, but if Jesus says it, we just study and memorize it.

A new generation is coming that wants to embrace Scripture and actually do what it says.

In Scripture, suffering is expected. Why do we expect that our lives will be easy.

Is Jesus still your prize?

Going with the flow is another form of quitting.

Right Now Conference- Barna

George Barna is the President of the Barna Research Group. He shared the following:

"Why We Need Leaders to Step Up"
1. The more selfish our society becomes, the more important Godly leadership is
2. The more choices we have without a biblical worldview, the more confused our priorities become and the more crucial Godly vision and strategy are
3. In times of rapid cultural change, superior leadership must guide us
4. Recent poor decisions have ushered in skepticism; Godly leaders must restore trust
5. Focused leaders make sense of reality and promise vision in a culture that rejects absolute moral and spiritual truth
6. Team based leadership is needed in a culture of hyper-individualism
7. Churches have given lip service to leadership but there is a lack of real leadership

"Six Leadership Checkpoints"
1. Leaders can strategically change reality, but they cannot change people
2. Nobody is the complete "leadership package" so it's important to work in a leadership team
3. One of the most undervalued and lest common skills among leaders is listening
4. Leaders must master conflict and confrontation
5. Success is helping people achieve their potential
6. Do not accept a leadership position unless you're ready to pay a stiff price. The more significant the outcome you seek to achieve, the more substantial the price you can expect to pay

A few other thoughts from Barna:
People need to be led
Leadership is a calling, not a job
Commit yourself to others and a vision; the vision should be from God
Success is cooperating with God to facilitate life transformation

Right Now Conference- Ross, Danielson

Last month, I attended the Right Now Conference in Dallas, TX along with Tim Miller and Brad Damas. The goal of the Right Now Conference is to connect young adults to ministry because "The Mission of the Church Matters". With Tim leading our church's college ministry (http://www.insidethewalk.org/) and Brad serving as our church's student worship leader along with my involvement with young married couples, we each were challenged by the conference with regard to our different areas of ministry. On a side note, one blessing of the 3-day trip was that no one asked me if Brad (early 20's) was my son.

Over the next several posts, I will share some of my notes from the conference. Here are notes from a session by Tim Ross who serves as the Young Adult Pastor at The Potter's House in Dallas, TX:

If people follow me, will they get to Christ?

Young adults have seen and heard it all on TV; they can probably handle honesty. A lack of honesty is hard to handle.

The church cannot have matching alternatives to modern culture.

We must not desire to be cool for 5 years but rather to be effective for decades.

Alan Danielson, the Editor-at-Large for http://www.smallgroupexchange.com/, shared this thought:

We are so far educated above our level of obedience.

A Learning Experience

I've just begun coaching a basketball team comprised of kindergartners and 1st graders, and none of them has ever played basketball before. Everything is new. Where to stand, how to dribble, the concepts of offense and defense; it's all new. A major challenge is trying to explain what, to me, are long-ago learned concepts without using language the players on the team don't understand. Man-to-man defense, the lane, and posting up are phrases that might as well be spoken in a foreign language.

But then I remember that many of these children can't even read yet.

It's going to be a learning experience for both them and me.

Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger

This week, The Point was accepted as a Thomas Nelson Book Review blog. What that means is I will receive books from Thomas Nelson Publishers, read them and then post a review on The Point as well as on a consumer retail website. Thanks to Matt Pickwell (www.mattpickwell.com) for information on this opportunity.

Remembering Jeremy Frye

It's hard to believe it's already been one year since my friend Jeremy Frye passed away following a hiking accident in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. An accomplished hiker, Jeremy was spending the day traversing the mountains and trails he loved so well.

Jeremy (I and many others just called him Frye) grew up with me. For most of his middle school and high school years, I was his Sunday School teacher. When our student choir ministry took summer mission trips, he and I always ended up loading and unloading equipment (Frye would do most anything so he didn't have to sing or "dance"). While he was in college, I hired him to work with me as a recreation assistant (since we lived near each other I offered to let him ride with me on his first day of orientation but when I got to his house he was still asleep). Eventually, we both ended up working at Sevier Heights together.

The last conversation I had with Jeremy was a phone call on Thursday evening that went something along the lines of:
Me: Hey Jeremy, can you make sure the wheelchairs get back in the rotunda after the wedding?
Frye: Sure, I've got a couple more things to get done and then I'll take care of them.
Me: Thanks a bunch. Have a great weekend.
Frye: You too, sir. You have a good evening.

He often called me "sir". Not because he had too. He spoke that way to lots of people. He was just a very well-mannered, likable guy. How many guys in their early 20's come by your house to see your first-born son and then willingly hold your newborn for a picture? Jeremy Frye did.

As I remember Jeremy Frye, I'm reminded of the following and so much more:

He loved his family

He smiled all the time

He loved the game of soccer (especially World Cup), hiking in the mountains and firearms

Man, could he sweat

He could prepare two softball fields for play faster than anybody I've ever known

Everyone liked him; if you didn't like Jeremy Frye, you were the one with the problem

He would have been a great husband and dad

He was one of my all-time favorite people (maybe you're not supposed to have favorites, but he was one of mine and he knew it)

On this day last year, I had the horrible privilege of being in Jeremy's room with his family and some other close friends as he breathed his last breath on this earth. It was a moment and an event I will never forget. But there was, and is, comfort in knowing that his eternity was secured.

And today is a great day to be remembering Jeremy Frye.

Where Life Is

This week as we were heading to meet some family for dinner, we drove over a dried-up creek bed. One of those creeks that flows freely in the spring and summer but does not sustain itself over the winter. As we passed over the dry creek bed, Tonya asked Parker if he knew where the fish went, the ones that were in the creek back in summer. "They died" he replied. "Could be, but what might be another option?" we asked. His answer: "They went where there was more water".

And that got me to thinking. People, as well as fish, go where life is. They want to, they need to, go to where things are happening.

Some examples:
1. When a sports team gets off to a slow start to its season, people stop attending games. There becomes a sense that, since the team is not good, the games are not worth attending and people stay away.

2. Shopping malls that once thrived with customers become relative ghost towns. Why? Because stores that once drew crowds no longer do and close their doors. The stores that replace the original stores are usually less effective than the originals. A downward spiral begins.

3. Young adults and young families are looking for churches that have ministries that meet their needs. The preaching and teaching of the Gospel must be foundational to who the church is but many churches do not offer opportunities to allow individuals to connect with one another in meaningful ways. People are looking to live life with others. A church must be more than just Sunday morning.

Here's The Point: Just as fish make the effort to avoid seasonally dry creek beds, so do people as they look to find life. Churches that do not help people connect in meaningful ways, outside simply Sunday morning, are destined to dry up. People want to be where life is happening.

The Last 15%

I'm learning that it's that last 15% that separates good from great. That separates good organizations from great ones. That separates good students from exceptional ones.

Running at 85% effectiveness is difficult for several reasons:
1. For some people, 85% is good enough. "We can't get much better than this. Why try harder?" is the response of some.
2. 85% looks really good to those on the outside. They compare your 85% effectiveness to the rate they perceive for their own organization and they think you look great. Outsiders tell you how great you are and your organization can begin to believe the hype. But in your heart, you know better.
3. In some areas of life, particularly sports, 85% is great. Teams that win games at a .850 clip win championships; a free throw shooting percentage of 85% means you're really good.

Here's The Point: For these reasons and more, improving above the 85% line is difficult for an organization. The incentive is not great because improvement is difficult and often taken via painstaking steps. But that does not mean it's not worth the effort. While difficult, slow and sometimes frustrating, moving even from 85% to 86% is a great achievement and well worth the effort.