Sunday, August 31, 2008

Twitter

Have you heard about twitter yet? It's the new thing the hip kids are doing. Check out www.twitter.com . My first thought was that facebook does this already. But sometimes facebook does too much. This does only status updates so I know what people are doing and they know what I'm doing. Cool concept. If you join up let me know. My Twitter page is www.twitter.com/timheerebout

Friday, August 29, 2008

Another blog to consider

I read this a week or two ago:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/08/the-dead-zone-o.html

It's a really interesting principal. Here's the question I wrestle with...how does one go about choosing to be "real" or "slick". People are always wanting things to get better. But if it's true that just being real gets us as far as being slick...shouldn't be be striving as hard or as happy to be real as we are to be slick. I know from my perspective being real would be a lot better than always trying to get more slick but probably not making it too far up that side of the hill.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Whatcha think about this?

"If we design our service experiences for a younger audience, we’re more likely to reach that younger person and we’ll also reach older folks. The reverse is not true. If we designed our service experience for an older audience, the younger crowd would not show up."

http://tonymorganlive.com/2008/08/24/are-you-comfortable-with-being-uncomfortable/

Do you:
a) Strongly Disagree
b) Somewhat Disagree
c) Don't know
d) Somewhat Agree
e) Strongly Agree

Lazy blogging is sometimes more effective

I found it hard to decide what to blog on today...then I read this.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/08/theological-preoccupation.html

I resonate with this so much. I come from a hyper-evangelism background. It is now engrained into who I am and I doubt that will ever change. I desperately want to see people come to know Christ. However, I've seen churches that "win" a lot of people to Christ and then fail to help them grow up.

The more I get to know, and really know, the Word the more I love it. The more I want to know about it and apply it to my life. I want desperately to help people know it and apply it to their lives.

It's a shame these two loves don't more often meet and get practiced. I admit, it's tough. I don't think that's an excuse for not trying to have church be about both.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Careful what you pray...you might just get it.

So I've been doing my best to pray for stretching, ruining and healing the last two weeks. A great idea in theory. I'll tell you though that this weekend was one of the most stretching I've had in a long time. It got me thinking...you'd better not pray for something unless you WANT it to happen. Don't ask God for things just to sound good because you might just get what you ask for. Be serious about it. Give it careful thought.

I'm glad to say that even though it's been a tough weekend that God has worked in my heart and brought some things to light that I think I needed to wrestle with and will continue to wrestle with. I'm glad I asked...I pray for each of you that you'll be glad you asked too.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Heal me.

The Great Physician. Jesus Christ is our only hope for healing and redemption. I think most people have addictions and vices. Maybe not the big ones like alcohol or drugs but we all have something. Money. Sex. Something that we just can't get enough of.

Part of having IT is calling on Christ to heal us of our diseases. It's what he came to do. When Christ was heaing people physically during his time on earth he was showing us part of who he is and what he came to do. He came to heal the human soul and to help rid us of our sin.

Be real and honest. What is your addiction? Where does sin exist in your life? Call on Jesus to heal you and to work mightily in your life that others might see IT and give glory to the Great Physician.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Two Quotes, One Intention

I've come across two quotes this week that I really resonate with. I thought I'd share them:

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw

"And may God bless you with enough foolishnessto believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim can not be done" - Franciscan benediction.

Being safe and reasonable doesn't line up with the life I think Christ calls us to. I want to be as foolish and unreasonable as I need to be to do something great for the Kingdom.

Ruin me


The natural state of my heart is cold. Unfeeling. I have been conditioned to guard my emotions and the put up walls around my vulnerability. Don't feel too much, you might get hurt. Don't think about things too much, you won't like what you see. This is how the world teaches us to deal with pain and suffering...ignore it and it will go away.

This is not the way God wants us to be. God desires for us to care deeply for the oppressed, for the broken, for the poor and the orphans and the widows. He wants us to be in pain for them...for our hearts to be broken on their behalf. In order to have IT we need to be ruined to core for those who need God. Whether they need to experience his love in their lives or whether they just need to have their physical needs met our hearts need to bleed for them. Jesus said "whatever you do for the least of these you also do for me".

Are you allowing your heart to be ruined? Are you doing something for the oppressed for the sake of Jesus? Pray with me that the world would not win the war for the condition of our hearts but that God would come and do as he promised for Israel:

"...I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes..."

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Stretch Me



Have you ever wondered what it would be like to feel like this guy? I'm certain it's not comfortable although Stretch here always has this goofy, obnoxious super hero-guy smile on all the time. I've tried doing the splits...it's not that fun Stretch! On the upside being able to reach uncomfortably far has it's advantages. I mean when my wife sends me to get that one dish at Christmas time we never use except at Christmas time and it's all the way at the back of the cupboard and far out of the reach of my 5'9 1/2" frame it'd sure be handy to be able to just stretch my way on up there, wouldn't it?

And so it is in life that at times we need to be stretched in order to accomplish things that might be coming in our future. The work of being stretched is rarely fun but it's necessary. See, I firmly believe that God wants to use us in ways that if we could see now would baffle and amaze us. But we're not ready. We need to be stretched so that when the time comes to reach a higher height we can get there. I'm praying these days that God would stretch me in ways that take me way out of my comfort zone so that I can be someone he calls on to really make his glory known to others. Are you willing to stretch too?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Let's be honest...IT is more than this

I'm going to go in a different direction with this week's blog than I thought. IT saved the best for last. I started the blog for this week before reading the last 2 chapters of IT and I've got to say above anything else these two chapters really hit me hard. Craig rightly addresses the crux of the issue here...that if our ministries/families/lives are to have IT then WE (I) have to have IT. If we don't have IT then how can we possibly expect anyone else to have IT?

I want IT but don't often have IT. I've been a part of IT and know what IT feels and looks like. I have high hopes and expectations for the Church Universal, WLA, my family etc. Often I talk big about how things should be but don't live up to my own expectations. Frankly I can't live up to my own expectations. I don't experience IT to the degree I want to because I don't have IT right now. I NEED God to do this in me. And so to have IT is to have God with me, working in me, and through me. To experience that I have to be committed to pleasing God first and foremost. So often I'm looking to please people...to have a slick, well put together morning when I should be looking to have the Holy Spirit moving in power. I'm not repenting of wanting to do things well just of wanting to do them well in order to look good.

Sometimes I'm more in love with the Church than with Christ. Craig told his story of coming to this realization and it hit me square in the face. That's me at times. I want the church to be great more than I want to know Christ and more than I want people at the church to know Christ. It's a painful realization and it's not always true but sometimes it is.

So the question for me is how do I get to the place to allow God to consume me rather than the church or anything else consume me? Craig proposes we pray in three ways which have been helpful to him and I'm going to adopt. The rest of the week will be dedicated to looking at these three prayers: stretch me, ruin me, and heal me.

My question to anyone out there this morning...is Christ your first love or something else? If He is not our first love then IT is likely not close by.

Monday, August 18, 2008

I want to have IT

I really love to read. I love to read because it challenges me. My mind works this way...I read something, I get re-energized, I want to incorporate what I've read into my life. This often happens when I open God's word (as I hope it does for you!) but it can also happen when I read other books. Most often it's books on leadership and the church.

The most recent book I've devouered? Craig Groeschel's (pastor of LifeChurch.tv) newest book called IT: How Churches and Leaders can get IT and Keep IT. Craig's church has IT. Two years in a row now they've been recognized as the most innovative church in America. They have 13 campuses. They minister to over 25,000 people each weekend. People come to Christ weekly. Baptisms are constant. They leverage everything they can for the cause of Christ. Sounds amazing and exciting, doesn't it?

So how does Craig propose we get IT? He proposes there are 7 elements that contribute to IT. It's not that if you do these things IT will happen. More like, IT tends to follow these things and if you don't have them it's unlikely you'll find IT where these things are lacking.

Today's IT factor: Vision.

The KJV quotes Proverbs 29:18 as "Without vision the people perish". God knows the power of vision and means for his people and his church to have clear vision. I like how Craig describes clear vision. It has to be memorable, portable and motivational. I think a good vision has to be all three. A catchy phrase that doesn't inspire people is worthless. A great vision that can't be applied to every aspect of ministry (or life if it's a personal vision) is useless.

Vision is so vital to our lives. To our ministries. Even if you don't "lead for a living" you should be thinking about vision. Pray with me for vision in our lives, our churches and our ministries. Without it, we perish...or we might as well perish.

PS - another great book on this topic which is applicable to anyone reading this is Visioneering by Andy Stanley. You can get both of these books on amazon.ca

Saturday, August 16, 2008

iRESTed

no posts yesteray on purpose. what good activity should you not do in order to better use your time to rest?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Sometimes Resting means Resting

What kind of person are you? Are you the kind of person that needs to unplug entirely in order to rest? Or, are you the kind of person that needs to remain a bit attached to your work in order to know that things are going well enough around the office so that then you can relax? Think about it? What kind of person are you?

I know that I'm the first kind of person. I often fail to realize that God has made me a certain way and that he means for me to be just exactly that person and so, to the degree that he's given wisdom and insight into who I am, I should use that insight to my advantage. The problem is I don't. Just about every time I'm on "vacation" I do something small that has to do with work and think I can just kind of slip in and slip out of that mode.

My email account is my worst enemy.

So what am I going to do? From now on vacation is vacation. I'm going to make it a priority to be away from my house, my computer and anything else that can be "workish" and rest. How about you? Could you see yourself unplugging like that?

ps - If Mike is reading this don't feel guilty about our meeting on Friday. It was my choice :) But I'll make better choices later.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Rest doesn't mean do nothing

One of my greatest struggles when I'm on vacation is to continue to spend time with God. It seems that in doing nothing I'm inclined to take it to the extreme and stop everything that feels like it takes effort. The reality is that our life as Christians always takes effort. Matt 11:29 says "take my yoke upon you...and you will find rest for your souls". See there is work involved in the Christian life - always. However, when it comes to really resting, the work is worth it as it will bring us the ultimate kind of rest, rest for our souls. So if you're like me and still have rest time to come, don't rest entirely. Do the work required to rejuvenate the very depth of your soul.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Resting: What not to eat?

I don't know about you but I really try to think before I eat. Sometimes I over-think what I'm going to eat. It's probably a function of having been an overweight kid since birth (popped out at a whopping 9lb10oz) and having just really got control of my weight in the past 3 years (was 250lbs). But you know as right as I think it is for us to care about our health and to treat our bodies as temples I think there are times when we're resting and we should focus more on enjoying what God has given to us than what not to eat.

I feel a bit like the Apostle Peter in Acts 10. Here is this smorgasbord of food in front of me (well yesterday it wasn't so much that as the menu at "The Wharf" in Port Stanley) and God says "eat". I look over the menu and say "but God...this food has too much white flour and carbs - I can't eat this." And I really think God is saying "I made this for your enjoyment. Eat. Don't be so uptight. If I say it's clean, it is." You see, just like resting, there are times to work hard at our diets and times to relax. Here's to relaxing!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Rest - it's not a four letter word

Well at least it's not THAT kind of four letter word. In our society there are pockets that believe taking time off and resting is unacceptable. I don't prescribe to that model of thinking. Don't get me wrong - I believe that working hard is VERY important. I believe it's even biblically mandated that Christians be hard working people. However, it's equally mandated that we rest. God instituted the Sabbath. In some very real way resting was the first religious observance. The oldest ritual in our faith is the Sabbath. And just as God has set out the Sabbath as rest, so he sets out different seasons of rest in our lives. This week is one such time for me. I hope God will use this time to refresh me for the hard work to come. I pray for all of my friends that this summer has brought times of rest for each of you. If you haven't found rest yet, take time if you can.

Friday, August 8, 2008

In-Ear Monitors...a love hate relationship

I know for most of the members of the WLA arts team In Ear Monitors (IEM's) conjure up really positive thoughts or cause them to sin in our hearts with dreadful thoughts of what they would do to their arts pastor for intriducing the foul inventions.

I think people have two major complaints about IEM's. The first is the feel...they just kill the feel. This problem is due to two things...first that they don't push as much air as people are used to and so the "vibe" (yes intentional) is lessened. The second reason is fit and sound quality. If the IEM's are uncomfortable then the whole experience of using them can be quite negative.

Fortunately there are ways around this. The first is to get a better set of earphones. Yes, they exist and yes I'm admitting the ones we provide are not the "best" option. They aren't terrible but they aren't the best. The IEM's we have at WLA are single driver ear phones so they don't carry much bottom end. Bottom end is a big part of the "vibe" thing...as Queen pointed out large bottom end makes the rocking world go 'round (paraphrase...gosh I hope I don't get in trouble). How do you solve this? Like you would for any speaker system...add a sub-woofer. That's right, some ear phones have as many as 3 speakers built into them for better sound. Another option for increasing "vibe" is that some ear-phone makers offer an "ambient" option so you can get a bit of the stage sound mixed into your IEM's. Pretty cool.

The other fix is to get a moulded ear piece. You can make an impression yourself or go to an audiologist to have one made for you. This means the ear bud will fit your ear exactly, never slipping, never coming out, and will sound better because the foamy bit never gets in the way.

Now, I've never really mentioned this much before because the technology has always been a bit expensive. But I've just found a company that does this for much cheaper than I previously thought possible. I'm providing links to two companys, the first is the less expensive option and the second is the industry standard with the ambient option (add $100 to any set of ear phones) but they're at least twice as much money as option 1. If you've got any questions about this drop me a line! (If anyone is reading this who cares)

http://www.freqonline.com/tourdefreq.htm

http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/products/custom/ue5pro_description.php

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Ever heard of TED?

It's a conference for really really popular, rich people. It stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. Seems all the really cool kids go. I saw this video used there about success this morning. I want so badly to be successful. Honestly I want to be successful in human terms pretty badly. BUT, praise God, I continue to want to be successful in His eyes more than mans. I think this video applies to successful Christians as well as those who have billions of dollars. Check out the video:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/richard_st_john_s_8_secrets_of_success.html

VIBE

So this past week I've read two blog posts that really got me thinking. The first was this one from ChurchRelevance.com:

http://churchrelevance.com/qa-top-reasons-for-church-attendance/

The second again from Seth's blog (the real post Andrew meants for me to read):

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/08/sing-it-please.html

So for those of you who won't bother to read those links the first is a series of stats about why people choose a church. The top two reasons: the preaching and the community/friendliness of people (worship style/music was WAY down the list!). The second post was a complaint about musicians playing things well but not being engaged...not creating a vibe.

This got me thinking about something I know already...people are way more concerned and attracted by the atmosphere of something than the inherent perfection or lack there of. When it comes to the church if everything isn't just so but there's a buzz in the place then people are attracted. When we worship, if the music isn't perfect but the worship leaders (read band) is into it and they're creating an atmosphere of worship then people can excuse little imperfections.

Now I still hold that we should be playing music well...as well as we can. I guess what I'm saying here is that good music isn't enough. When we lead worship or serve at our church in any capacity we're doing far more than filling a role. We're adding to the vibe. Positively or negatively we're adding to the vibe. What I really want to say here is that it's not enough to do your role well...you've got to play the right notes as it were AND do it in such a way that creates a vibe. To put it in a more biblical frame we must do things with the joy of the Lord bursting forth not just from our instruments (musical or otherwise) but from our souls and faces so that people will love what they see and hear and give glory to God for the joy he's put in this place.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Thanks Andrew...I'm going to write more

Andrew Vanderploeg sent me this link a couple of days ago and I think we church folk would do well to heed the advice.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/08/should-you-igno.html