i have been doing quite a bit of reading lately though. i just finished a couple of books, both non-fiction, on incredibly different topics, with one tiny thread tying them together.

“Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer is a book about the disastrous 1996 everest expedition that led to 8 deaths on the summit. it’s an unbelievable story about the thin line between courage and hubris. krakauer, the writer of“Into the Wild,” was one of the survivors who lived to tell his account. could the guy not come up with another title? regardless, great book.

i then followed it up with another book about journeys. this one is entitled “Advanced Strategic Planning” by aubrey malphurs. this however, is the journey of a church. malphurs methodically breaks down the steps that churches need to take to move forward. i’ve learned an incredible deal from books like this. what got you were you are, won’t get you where you need to go. in order for our church to thrive we’re going to have to continue to look at new strategic ways to lead people in growing relationships with Jesus Christ.

by the way, i ran across a great website if your looking for a good book to read. it’s whatshouldireadnext.com. you enter the last book you read and based on that, it will give you a list of books that you might like. pretty cool

lastly, i have made a little progress on my mission statement. thank you to those who have kept me accountable to it.

i have found that the core of my purpose is to develop, inspire and amplify creativity in everyone around me.

If you’ve known me for very long, you know that I’m fascinated by astronomy. Here’s an article posted on Discovery News that intrigued me. I have never called myself a believer, but I also never dismissed the idea of extraterrestrials. To me, the bible is vague enough in this area for the possibility to remain (http://www.arn.org/docs/williams/pw_christianityspaceandaliens.htm).

But if they don’t exist, then that makes God’s creation all the more spectacular. Earth, this pale blue dot, in a enormous black sky is the only home to life. And we, His image bearers get to bask in the beauty of His creation. In some ways, knowing that we are the life in the universe, makes it seem so much bigger. Inasmuch it makes the glory of God seem so much bigger. And well, I guess that’s the point.

Here’s the article…

Is there anything here that offends you?

The movie is inspired by a true story about young man that’s disillusioned with society and his parent’s deceptive relationship. So after college, he cashes out his savings account, donates all the money to charity and takes off on an epic journey to discover himself without the pressures of greed, family, or career riding on his shoulders. His goal is to get to the Alaskan wilderness where he’ll discover his true self and attain the happiness he’s always wanted, only what he discovers is not what he expected.

The movie is slow at times, but its pace matches the main characters desire to get away from it all. The soundtrack by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder is incredible. I love the outdoors, especially hiking and backpacking, and everyone wrestles with the desire to leave it all behind. This movie packaged it all up for me.

There are some beautiful moments where Alexander (Emile Hirsch) and Ron (Hal Holbrook), an elderly widower, discuss God and forgiveness. There are some incredibly powerful moments in this flick. Don’t expect another upbeat episode of “Man vs. Wild,” it’s a pretty heavy film, but it’s worth the $5 rental. Check it out…

I love the irony of a show called “American Idol” closing with “Shout to the Lord.”

Apparently, there are a lot folks upset by the fact that they omitted Jesus’ name from the first verse and replaced it with “Shepherd” instead. I don’t really understand the big deal. I think Jesus likes the name “Shepherd” too. What’s more, the mp3 is available for download on iTunes and they leave “Jesus” in the first verse. One blogger said, “I guess Jesus wasn’t ready for prime time.” Christians are constantly critiquing and complaining about pop culture, but when pop culture finally gives them the platform on the biggest show on TV, it’s not enough. And instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, Christians are griping because one of the names of Jesus was changed. It drives me nuts. It’s never enough.

The confetti was a bit much, though… 

But here’s the problem: God always shows up. Instead, it’s us who don’t have time to encounter him.

Our perception of worship is very important. And yes, hitting the key change and having well-rehearsed vocals is crucial. Psalm 33:3 says to “Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” The emotion engendered by a timely key change or tight harmonies is a critical part of leading people in worship. We want them to have the hair on their neck stand up when we sing “You Never Let Go” or “Amazing Grace.” The problem, though, is too often we mistake those goosebumps with worshiping God in spirit.

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God, “penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.” The bible makes a distinction between our spirit and our souls. Our soul is our emotional center. This is what moves you when you see a newborn baby or a beautiful sunrise. Our spirit is what encounters God when we are truly worshiping him.

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being moved in your soul. In fact many times it’s those ‘soul’ moments like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time or holding a newborn baby that leads us to spirit worship. But sometimes we get satisfied with those kinds of moments.” We enjoy those unforgettable “worship experiences” that give us goosebumps. And we like them so much that we don’t want to do the work it takes to truly worship God in spirit. But in order for us to be the worshipers God desires, we’re going to have to delve a little deeper.

Our church’s worship has plateaued in some ways. Many people love the music that we play each Sunday. Their proud of their church band and they tell all their friends about it. And we, as a worship ministry, sometimes mistake that for a win. We’re flattered when people come up and tell us how good we sounded and because we like it so much, that ends up being our goal each week. We want to sound good. But you and I know there is so much more to our worship than sounding good. When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well in John 4, he didn’t say “God is a good musician, and his worshipers must worship him with a good band.” No, he said, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and truth.” So where do we go from here?

What happens when we worship in spirit? First, God is revealed to us and we glorify him. When this happens are lives are changed. Our realities are altered because the focus is no longer on ourselves but on our Creator King. Secondly, believers and non-believers alike are drawn to God. When we sing songs of praise and adoration we are reminded of who God is and what He does. As we see lives changed around us by that revelation, it inspires others. When one believer expresses his or her gratitude to God in worship, it encourages others who are struggling and they are lifted up and encouraged. True worship fuels edification and it’s irresistible.

What happens when we fail to worship in spirit? We live a life devoid of the power of God. We live a life that is self-centered and focused on our own ‘worship experiences.’ How sad it is that some people may never truly encounter God in this fashion.

As worshipers at CFCC, we’ve got to delve deeper. How much could we impact God’s kingdom if we led the congregation in true spirit worship? We must not be afraid of what others think about our worship. But we MUST be concerned with what God thinks of our worship.