Erwin McManus - 2

This is my second post about the one day conference that I went to where Erwin McManus presented. One of the things about Erwin that is pretty impressive is that he is a consultant to people in the business world and media industry - giving advice about how to help people connect more to the "human story" (as he puts it). As he shared, he told us there were three things that every good story has (movie, book, etc.), and three main cravings that the Bible points out that all human beings share:

1. Intimacy - he said that all people, everywhere, want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. That's why we are so big into: nations, cities, communities, teams, etc. When people give up on intimacy, they move towards immortality or isolation – even when people are wounded in LOVE, they still have the desire to be loved and to love.
   
2. Meaning – humans have found endless ways to communicate – we create ways to find meaning. When people give up on meaning and move to a place of doubt and despair – becoming superstitious (we give meaning to meaningless things).
3. Destiny/Progress – we are designed to believe that tomorrow can be better than today. When this is thwarted we move towards apathy or anger – and mental illness.
   

Erwin said that as we communicate to people, the more we can address these issues of the heart, the more effective we will be - both in preaching and in evangelism. Oh, and just a quick side note, the three cravings are the core content of his book Soul Cravings - a great read if you haven't read it yet.

Beautiful day

This just in... it is already summer time in San Diego! I love it. I am sitting on the patio of a coffee shop, studying for this Sunday's message, enjoying the fact that it is 83 degrees in January. I love my life!

Lately I have just been really grateful to God for how good he has been for me. I am enjoying life a ton and can't wait for the next phase... fatherhood! Thank you Lord for your goodness to me.

Retreat

We had a retreat this weekend for The Well. If you missed it, you missed out! It was a great time. I think my favorite part of the weekend was seeing our group really bond together. We did a lot of playing and it was so fun to see groups mingle and people hang out with people that they didn't previously know.

The second highlight was the band. They really did a good job leading us in worship.

After this weekend I am reminded how grateful I am to serve God, to serve him with people that I truly love, and to serve people that I truly love and care about. I'm very tired today, but very grateful for the life God has given me and the calling that he has given me.

Reasons I'm Excited for '09

As I sit here watching the Rose Bowl on the first day of 2009, I am fairly confident that no previous year will bring as much change to my life as this year. I say this knowing that in 2007 Kelly and I moved from our longtime home of Colorado to Southern California. In 2002 I married the love of my life (a great and a drastic life change). But, I'm not sure that any of them will rival 2009. In 2009 we will welcome our first child into the world. From what I hear, my life will never be the same. I can't wait! That's the #1 thing that I am excited about for '09.

Other things seem to pale in comparison, but I'll throw out a few other things that I'm looking forward to:

• Seeing The Well go to the next level. I'm excited to focus my time this year on equipping student leaders and helping students connect with each other. We are going to make an impact on campuses in '09!
• Running a marathon. 2009 is the year that I am going to run a marathon. May 31st baby!
• Finish my MDIV at Seminary. It's going to be a heck of a push, but I'm going to give it my best.

I don't think I have ever been this excited for a New Year. Bring it on 2009. Bring it on!

Life on the Run

Over this vacation I have finally had some time to think and reflect on what series that I want to do next with The Well. I have had some time to read, study and pray, and the next series that I am going to do is going to be on the book of Jonah. I was captured with the way this story so dramatically illustrates the human condition. It shows our propensity to run both from God and from the call that God has on our life. Jonah shows the way that we even run from God in the name of religion.

The series is going to be called, "Life on the Run." I read a quote from an author and he said, "All human beings should learn, before they die, what they are running from, ad to, and why." I think that's true. I think it is a fair statement to say that we are probably all running either from or toward something. Once we figure out what we are running from or toward our life will make a lot sense.

HOT or NOT

A while ago there was a popular website called, Hot or Not. It still exists, but I'm not sure of its popularity level anymore. Anyway, the whole premise of the site is that people upload pictures of themselves onto the site and other people vote on how hot they are. Pretty funny, huh? (if you wouldn't mind taking a few mins to rate me, I'd really appreciate it... just kidding)

This week i am teaching on Revelation 3:14-22 - the passage where Jesus tells the church that he would rather them be either cold or hot, but because they are lukewarm he is going to spit them out of his mouth. Harsh words. Words that demand that we ask the question... "Am I hot or not?" As I was studying this passage I started to develop a sense of gratitude that this is the kind of God we have. A jealous God. A God who gave all of himself and in return wants all of us. What would it say about him if he didn't? It would be like a husband saying to his wife, I really don't care if you cheat on me and have other lovers... We would have to question whether or not the husband really loved his wife. So, because we have a God who loves and gives passionately, we also HAVE to have a God who is jealous for our affection.

Unfortunately I think because of the comfortable nature of religion in the States, we have become a church where Jesus is more like a hobby than a way of life. This passage demands that Jesus be more than a hobby. More than a Sunday morning activity and a nice ideal. This passages begs that I ask the question, I am I HOT or NOT?