50 Year Evangelism
Here’s a great and encouraging video of John MacArthur describing his recent opportunity to see his football coach from 50 years ago come to Christ. What do you think about MacArthur’s approach? John MacArthur – Study Video from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo. HT: Together for the... read more
The Gospel Old and New
I just finished reading Kevin DeYoung’s latest blog-post, “The Gospel Old and New.” Excellent. Well said. It fueled my heart’s passion for the heart of the gospel in light of the emerging competitors. Here’s the opening: Have you heard the New Gospel? It”™s not been codified. It”™s not owned by any one person or movement. But it is increasingly common. The New Gospel generally has four parts to it. It usually starts with an apology: “I”™m sorry for my fellow Christians. I understand why you hate Christianity. It”™s like that thing Ghandi said, “˜why can”™t the Christians be more like their Christ?”™ Christians are hypocritical, judgmental, and self-righteous. I know we screwed up with the Crusades, slavery, and the Witch Trials. All I can say is: I apologize. We”™ve not give you a reason to believe.” Then there is an appeal to God as love: “I know you”™ve seen the preachers with the sandwich boards and bullhorns saying “˜Repent or Die.”™ But I”™m here to tell you God is love. Look at Jesus. He hung out with prostitutes and tax collectors. He loved unconditionally. There is so much brokenness in the world, but the good news of the Bible is that God came to live right in the middle of our brokenness. He”™s a messy God and his mission is love. “˜I did not come into the world to condemn the world,”™ that”™s what Jesus said (John 3:17). He loved everyone, no matter who you were or what you had done. That”™s what got him killed.” Be sure to read the whole... read more
Church on the Wii
Doing church on your Wii. You had to see this coming. This is too funny and tragic for those who find it seriously appealing in the back of their minds. [YouTube... read more
Emi’s Day in Court
Today was a great day, celebrating God’s providential goodness in brining Emilia Ann Capranica into our home. It’s official, she’s a Capranica. When Emi came to us, it was just after losing Lizzy. We took her in, being told that it was highly likely she would only be with us a short time. She’s now family. What a joy. Once again, we packed out Commissioner Bradley Snell’s courtroom in Temecula and heard him tell us that under the law she is viewed as our natural born daughter with all the rights, duties, and responsibilities as parent and child. Here’s the video (the volume is bad, you’ll need to turn it up): Many family and friends could not come today – we missed you more than you can know. We’re so thrilled with those who could. Perhaps the video will give you a taste of our joyful day. Thanks to all who made it to the court, to all who have prayed and encouraged, and to all who stopped by to celebrate afterward. Here’s all of us singing “Happy B-day” to Emi (her birthday is next week – 2 years). Brie was just as excited as... read more
Bible Study Teachers’ Assignment
For some of you who read this blog, you’ll want to simply pass this post by. This post if for those attending our church’s “How to Teach the Bible” class. We are developing the skill of asking good questions in leading a dialogue teaching lesson in a small group. The assignment is to develop a series of questions (the types discussed in class) on Ephesians 2:1-10. If you are in the class, please list your questions in the comments section. Members of the class can feel free to interact with the questions, and I may give comment on them as well. Not to be mean, but on this post, I will not publish or will need to remove comments from those not in the class (we don’t yet have an alternate web-means to accomplish... read more
A New Addition
[YouTube Video] On Tuesday of this week we received a phone call regarding fostering a 2 day old little boy who happens to be Brie’s half brother. Gladly we picked up little David Andrew from the hospital and brought him home. Oh yeah, and it happened to be my 40th birthday. Pretty great gift. So, we begin the process again of fostering a little one who may actually become a part of the family. The Lord’s will be done for his glory. Until we know, we’re enjoying every... read more
Apps I Use – Part 3: Web Apps
In this post I want to review a few applications every ordinary pastor (or person) can readily make excellent use of – and the best news is that all of them are free. While the web can be a major distraction for productivity, it can also be an amazing tool for getting things done. Here are tools from the web I use every week (some almost every hour): Safari Web Browser: I have been a Firefox fan for a long time. I loved the various plugins available that gave me greater connection to social media like Twitter. However, I’ve found that having constant connection to social media while working on high priority tasks on the web is too distracting, so I really use few plugins on Firefox any longer. The new Safari 4.0 I have found to be faster than Firefox. It certainly loads faster and is speeder in browsing the web. It also has a cleaner interface than Firefox. I have gone back and forth with Firefox and Safari, but tend to find Safari to handle my needs more simply and faster than Firefox. Email. I have all of my e-mail accounts dumping into my Gmail system. Our church uses Gmail with our own domain name. We can have access to one another’s calendars on the web or on our iPhones. Gmail via the web has been my mail client of choice for months. It loads very quickly and I have instant access to all my mail. I can quickly mark all of my mail read and star those I want to follow up on. I have a general rule that I respond to... read more
Apps I Use – Part 2: Finder vs Pathfinder
Finder vs Pathfinder. One of the newest apps I use all the time is Pathfinder. In Windows, the way to navigate through your computer’s inventory is through what they call Explorer. It is much improved in Vista/Windows 7 over XP. In the Mac world, the way to traverse through your computer is through what they call Finder. I’ve grown to enjoy Finder over Explorer because it is simply more simple than Explorer. However, Pathfinder takes the Mac Finder to a new level. To see its full functionality, see the Pathfinder screencast. But here are a few of my favorite and most used items (I’m honestly just learning to use the vast array of tools in Pathfinder). One click movement through files and folder (this is the same as Finder). Quick-link drop-down menus allow for faster navigation to your files and folders. Tabbed browsing allows for multiple file locations to be accessed easily and quickly. Multiple view capabilities – for example, I may want to use both the columns view with the cover flow view. Setting up two view panes in the same window allows for much easier drag and drop of files from one place to another. Fully customizable tool bar puts the items for one-click navigation within easy range. Finding recently used file, documents, and applications is very simple and can all be done right within Pathfinder. I also find myself using the app launcher through Pathfinder also. It is a very quick and easy way to find the app your ready to open. There are many more features, and the Pathfinder screencast will demonstrate most of them. This is... read more
Applications I Use Every Week – Part 1
This week I’ll be taking a look at my desktop and sharing with you the apps that find their way into my workweek. … I’m going to give a quick overview today and then throughout the week, I’ll screen cast some details on those that I find most helpful.
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Revitalizing Personal Prayer – Part 4
Intercession I normally need something to keep me focused and directed when it comes to interceding for people and issues. Here’s how I break it down: Daily Intercessions. I tend to pray through a concentric circle of relationships when interceding for others and issues. This would begin with my own heart and the schedule I have for the day. My Wife. I have a list of passages that speak directly to her roles as a Christian, wife and mother and I normally use one of these for the foundation of my time of intercession for her. I have a list of specific requests that I have written down and a place beside each one to record the answer to these requests. My Children. I have another list of passages to use in prepping my mind to pray for my children. I pray for their salvation and for specific issues in their life and for my own involvement in their life as a father and Kelly and my input into their lives as parents. Church Leadership. Again, I use a series of specific verses and a list of desires I have for our leadership team. I use the passages as a beginning point for praying for each of them and their family members. I have ongoing lists of specific requests for our leadership team. List of ongoing miscellaneous requests. I have requests that date back to when I was in Junior High. I have simple pages that break down into a column for requests and one for answers. Anything and everything gets put here. Yes, it bleeds over into other... read more
Revitalizing Personal Prayer – Part 3
Using the Word Where does the Bible fit into your concentrated time of prayer? For me it must be integral if my prayer life is to remain fresh. Connect the word to your prayer time. While my “quiet time” might appear to be segmented (if I listed what I do) into sections of Bible reading and then intercession, it really isn’t the case. My time in the Word (I currently use the Discipleship Journal plan, reading through 4 sections a day), is the platform for and springboard to all I pray about and for. I generally write down a verse or two into my journal from my reading, and spend a few minutes meditating and praying through it. I often write what I’m praying, which keeps me concrete in my thoughts (and often awake). I may glance over all the verses I have written down and think through how the totality of them tend to address my heart and life and write a response. This is usually a time for confession of sin and pleading for greater insight and application. When it comes to my times of intercession (which I will write about tomorrow), I generally have a few passages assigned to the topics I have arranged around my intercessions (again, more tomorrow). I will read one of these sections and use it as the basis for my time of intercession. D. A. Carson’s book on the prayers of Paul is a real help here and a huge stimulus in my thinking on prayer. Connect what you heard from sermons to your prayer time. I take my sermon notes in... read more
Revitalizing Personal Prayer – Part 2
So, what do you do when you actually get to the point when it’s time to pray? What do you say? How do you stay focused without being so rigid that your prayer life feels little more than sitting on Santa’s knee telling him what you want for Christmas? Worship. By worship I don’t necessarily mean singing or listening to “worship music” (however that gets defined). I do mean spending a healthy amount of time seriously considering, rehearsing, and enjoying who God is. Thinking again about Christ and why He died and rose from the dead. Considering what are the very powerful implications of the Son of God dying in my place. I need to linger longer in worship. In fact, one of the greatest men of prayer I have ever known, caught my attention when he said in a lecture on prayer, that later in his life he found himself spending more time worshiping than asking. For him that did not mean sitting cross-legged and humming choruses from the 1970s. It was not some form of Christianized yoga. It meant reminding himself (primarily by means of reading the Scripture) of who God was and how His character was being expressed in his life. This shouldn’t be rocket science. Jesus informed the disciples that the opening elements of how they should pray should be comprised fundamentally of worship – hallowing the name of “God our Father.” Perhaps this was Job’s greatest challenge as well as He begged God for an answer to the reason behind his life-wrenching trials. By the end of the book, Job’s hand is over his... read more
Revitalizing Personal Prayer – Part 1
I want my prayer life to grow and be more and more significant. Here are a few steps and thoughts I’m pursuing to deepen my pursuit of the Lord in prayer. Commitment. I’m assuming a time set aside for significant prayer. Some don’t go along with this. However, I think there is enough example from the life of Jesus (who withdrew often for concentrated times of prayer), or Paul who called us to devote ourselves to prayer (Ephesians 6; Colossians 4:3). The psalmists and their very intricate prayers suggest that they lingered long and often in significant times of supplication. Thus there should be a heart-driven commitment to regular times of personal concentrated prayer. So how can we learn to develop a more significant time of concentrated prayer. Disable Distractions. The internet. Umm, if you’re reading this, you’re using it. I find that this has become one of the single greatest distractions to good use of time in general and significant prayer specifically. I can literally Twitter my time away in the morning and lose time for significant prayer. I love to read the news and my iPhone makes it and e-mail continually accessible. Going off-line – putting my very portable laptop and handheld out of reach keeps the internet from being a prayer killer. Other reading material. The place where I pray is also the place where I do most of my significant reading. I am attracted to good books and I can quickly spend an hour reading through one of the myriads of books stacked around me and my place of prayer. It is a discipline to keep only... read more
Thoughts From the Kennedy Funeral: The Gospel Redefined
Obvious lessons can be learned from Senator Kennedy’s funeral; the description of the gospel is one of the most interesting. In my years of scattered interest in politics, Christianity and the gospel are not words that came to mind first and foremost when hearing Ted Kennedy’s name. His Irish Catholic heritage was obviously deep in his family and for him personally. Much has been made of Senator Kennedy’s recent confessional letter to the Pope. His Catholicism is concerning enough, but is not what I found most intriguing (though it is interesting to see how many call his Catholicism ‘faithful’ when he opposed so much of it publicly). I won’t comment on the funeral mass – that’s another issue. Instead, I found it fascinating to listen to the more liberal commentators stretch themselves to talk about how “Christian” Senator Kennedy was. Social work alone was the heart of Jesus’ message. Matthew 25 and its description of what was done for “the least of these” is the single defining mark of Christianity. The gospel is “working for the little guy.” Personal immorality is inconsequential when working for social justice. A denial of the exclusivity of the gospel of Jesus as the only way to the Father. Denial of genuine discipleship and loyalty to Christ as presented in the whole of the Bible. Very little was said of Jesus Christ outside of social justice terms. A division between the social ethic of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament. Only certain social issues are worth mentioning. Much was championed about his vocal call for an increase in the minimum wage, and little... read more
Thoughts from the Kennedy Funeral: What We Should Learn
Being on vacation, I spent a little time watching the funeral events surrounding the death of Senator Edward Kennedy. I realize that I know little about how things were in reality. However, here are a few thoughts on what I thought was helpful to learn from the Senator’s life: Forceful Convictions. No one would deny the conviction and fire behind the Senator’s political convictions. You don’t have to flatten your convictions in order to be effective; often the opposite is true. Personal Care. The stories of Senator Kennedy’s personal care for collegues, family, and constituents were ennumerable, from notes to calls and visits. He was often the first and sometimes unexpected person to contact someone who had personal tragedy. Personal Graciousness. While a lion in the Senate chamber, he was known as gracious in person and behind the scenes. Adversaries Can Still Be Patriots. Perhaps this is a discipline of generational difference. I have seen this to be a truth evident in a number of those in older generations, where political and even personal convictions can be forcefully delivered without being personally demeaning; but rather, still maintaining personal regard and respect. Adversaries Can Still Be Friends. While he publicly excoriated Republicans, he personally befriended many of them. There is a missing lesson to be learned here. Family Loyalty. The Kennedy’s are a storied family, but there seems to be a strong sense of loyalty and genuine affection among them to one another. Family Involvement. The Senator, as powerful as he was and as busy as he no doubt was, seemed to deeply involve himself in the life of his... read moreHow to Read 300% Faster in 20 Minutes
If I only had the time to work on this . . . Well, I may give this a careful, slow read. What do you think? Is speed reading really a beneficial tool when comprehension and retention are major goals? Scientific Speed Reading: How to Read 300% Faster in 20... read moreMan claims he found a rodent inside Diet Pepsi can – Yahoo! News
See, I knew there were other reasons why I hate Pepsi. Man claims he found a rodent inside Diet Pepsi can – Yahoo! News. read more
GCR Thoughts and Prayers
Much has been said and written about the recent Great Commission Resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention. Some of the key leaders of our denomination have prayed for, planned for, spoken to, written about, advocated, and lobbied for this present movement. I respect and trust many of the men who have so far provided GCR leadership. I have no doubt in my mind that without some significant changes in approaches and emphasis, the SBC is in for some difficult days ahead; some suggest extinction. I am no influential voice within the SBC. I am an ordinary SBC pastor. My church is not significant and we have many weak areas of ministry. My thoughts are limited. Obviously, I have not been in any back room discussions or present for any significant open discussions about the details of where the GCR plans to take us. But, like any and every Southern Baptist, I have a few thoughts. For the sake of my own conscience, to stimulate my own thinking a bit more, and to conduct this discussion within my own circles, I offer the following thoughts. What Concerns Me About the Future of the SBC. Character. I met Adrian Rodgers once. He was gracious to conduct an informal question and answer session while at The Master’s Seminary in the late 90’s. I had an opportunity to ask a question of the one who was the first president of the Conservative Resurgence and the first SBC president I sat under (1988). I asked Dr. Rodgers, “What do you see as the most pressing issue facing the future of the SBC?” He didn’t even pause to consider it. He quickly... read moreWorth Your Time
