Quote of the Day
May 31, 2006 Quotes
//MOOD: Good
//ITUNES: I Remember You by Skid Row
“I think there is no sense in forming an opinion where there is no evidence to form it on. If you build a person without any bones, he may look fair enough to the eye, but he won’t be able to stand up. I consider that evidence is the bones of an opinion.”
- Mark Twain (“Down The Rhone”)
Accordance
May 31, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Updated
//ITUNES: Johnny Cash - Boy Named Sue (u by Johnny Cash
Every once in awhile, someone will ask me what Bible Software I use on my Mac. Since I just updated it today, I thought I’d post about it. I use Accordance, which my friend Pavi got me stuck on a few years ago. It’s a great program that is way more powerful than I need it to be. Now, some of the things I have hated about it have been fixed and some things I didn’t even know I wanted have been added.
For instance, they have not had the New Living Translation Second Edition. This is my primary teaching translation, and it has been a pain to have to type it into my notes. I really don’t like the First Edition, because I feel like they take a few too many liberties with the text. Finally, Accordance has the new edition. Now if only Studylight and Bible Gateway will get on the stick, we will be golden.
This new version also supports contextual menus. Very cool.
One of the coolest features is a “compare texts” screen. This breaks down the differences between various translations. Here’s a screenshot from Galatians 5. Click on it for a bigger version:
For a list of some of the new features, click here.
I got to upgrade the software and download the new translation for a mere $35. Not too shabby.
Technorati Tags: accordance, bible, macsoftware
Inflation
May 31, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Inflated
//ITUNES: Circus Envy from the album “Monster” by R.E.M.
Here’s a really interesting article on Why it’s so hard to measure inflation. Here’s one of the sides:
A highly influential paper by Yale economist William Nordhaus made the point forcefully. He studied not commodities like bicycles or spoons but a service: light. By tracking lighting technology from campfires to oil lamps to today’s energy-saving light bulbs, he estimated that the real price of light had fallen 10,000-fold in 100 years. Partly because of Nordhaus’ work, many economists believe that the official statistics on wages underestimate how much richer we have become.
Technorati Tags: inflation
I Just Wanna Know
May 30, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Great
//ITUNES: I Just Wanna Know from the album “The Best We Could Find [+ 3 That Never Escaped]” by Steve Taylor
This morning, when my alarm went off, this song from Steve Taylor was running through my head. Then, each time I snoozed my alarm, it was still there. I found myself singing it during my shower, as well. So, I popped it on in the car and now it is lodged in my head. I figured I’d do the same to you guys.
I love the words to this song.
Here’s a link to the song (with Steve’s permission). And here are the lyrics:
I Just Wanna Know, Steve Taylor
Life’s too short for small talk
so don’t be talking trivia now
excess baggage fills this plane
there’s more than we should ever allow
there’s engines stalling and good men falling
but I ain’t crawling awaychorus:
I just wanna know–
am I pulling people closer?
I just wanna be pulling them to You
I just wanna stay angry at the evil
I just wanna be hungry for the trueFolks play follow the leader
but who’s the leader gonna obey?
will his head get big when the toes get tapping?
I just wanna know are they catching what I say?
I’m a little too young to introspect
and I surely haven’t paid all my dues
but there’s bear trap lying in those woods
most of ‘em already been used(chorus)
Search me, Father, and know my heart
try me and know my mind
and if there be any wicked way in me
pull me to the rock that is higher than I(chorus)
My Memorial Day
May 29, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Great Great Great
//NOISE: Kids talking
Ironically, today (Memorial Day), I was reading in Deuteronomy and I stumbled upon one of my favorite passages. This is a passage that has very specific meaning and significance for me. Here’s why.
On December 4, 2002 I was sitting on the floor in one of the classrooms at Riverview. I was praying for direction from God. Basically, I had wanted for years to plant a church, and I was trying to determine what God would have me do. As I talked with different people who knew me, they all seemed to agree that I was a Church Planter by nature. Ironically, whenever I would bring up a church plant, I wouldn’t get any big support. It was more grudging support.
I was getting antsy and didn’t know what to do. Things were going great at Riverview. We were running two services with around a thousand people coming every weekend. It seemed like the perfect time to begin transitioning out.
So I was praying and asking God for direction. Then, I picked up where I had left off in Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 30:11-20
“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform. It is not up in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go to heaven and bring it down so we can hear and obey it?’ It is not beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear and obey it?’ The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.
“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between prosperity and disaster, between life and death. I have commanded you today to love the LORD your God and to keep his commands, laws, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and become a great nation, and the LORD your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the LORD your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life. Then you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
This was one of those moments where God used his Word to smack me upside my face. Basically, I realized that my job was to be faithful to him. Not to worry about what the future may hold, but to let him take care of that. I remember “calling on heaven and earth” to witness the choice I made.
I sat there, crying, giving my future to God and pledging to be faithful no matter what he wanted me to do with the rest of my life.
I was sure that would be planting a church.
The next day I was in Orlando. I was sitting in a Starbucks with my friend Jeff. At that time, he was the president of GCM (a mission’s agency we are affiliated with). I told him of my dreams to plant a church. I asked for his advice. He said:
“Noel, you could leave Riverview and plant a church now and you would be very successful at it. Or you can stay at Riverview and over the next couple decades, you could help send out thousands of church planters. I have never said this to someone before, but I think you are a Church Planter who should not go plant a church.”
My heart sank.
I didn’t tell anyone about this conversation for the next month, although I thought about it every day. But as I asked my co-pastors and other leaders in the church what they thought of me planting a church, they basically said the same thing as Jeff over and over.
In January 2003, all the Riverview pastors were in Orlando again with Jeff and he gave his advice to me again, but this time in front of the other guys. And so that day I committed to staying at Riverview until all my co-pastors felt comfortable with me leaving. And that led to making a commitment a few years ago to stay indefinitely.
It’s amazing how God speaks through his Word and the people you are in community with. It’s also amazing how your own desires can be diametrically opposed to this direction God gives.
Fast forward 3 years. I am just (over the last year or so) beginning to wrap my head around how to stay at Riverview and plant churches through other people.
And the weird thing is, I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Please pray that over the next couple decades, Riverview will send out thousands of church planters.
Oh, and that I would be faithful.
My PersonalDNA
May 27, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Freewheeling, Apparently
//NOISE: Coley Talking
I’ve taken a lot of these. This one is really good: PersonalDNA | Your True Self Revealed. Thanks to Matthew for the link. Hover over each colored square to see what they mean.
Here are my results:
Technorati Tags: mypersonaldna
NAHB housing affordability index
May 27, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Swell
//NOISE: Cartoons
Check this out. According to the NAHB housing affordability index:
Among all cities, including smaller ones, Lansing, Michigan ranked as the most affordable metro area surveyed. Some 92.7 percent of all homes sold there could be bought by families earning the median income in town.
They also reported that the Average home price (that sold in the first quarter) was $108,000 and that the median family income is $64,900.
A Passion for Purity Vs Passive Prayers
May 26, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Amazed
//NOISE: Birds Chirping
John Piper has an amazing article out for anyone who struggles with lust and other thought life issues. If that is you (and you know it is), read this amazing article. Here’s an excerpt:
When you are enticed sexually, do you fight with your mind to say no to the image and then mightily labor to fill your mind with counter-images that kill off the seductive image? “If you put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, you will live” (Romans 8:13). Too many people think they have struggled with temptation when they have prayed for deliverance, and hoped the desire would go away. That is too passive. Yes, God works in us to will and to do his good pleasure! But the effect is that we “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12-13). Gouging out your eye may be a metaphor, but it means something very violent. The brain is a “muscle” to be flexed for purity, and in the Christian it is supercharged with the Spirit of Christ.
What this means is that we must not give a sexual image or impulse more than five seconds before we mount a violent counterattack with the mind. I mean that! Five seconds. In the first two seconds we shout, “NO! Get out of my head!” In the next two seconds we cry out: “O God, in the name of Jesus, help me. Save me now. I am yours.”
Good beginning. But then the real battle begins. This is a mind war. The absolute necessity is to get the image and the impulse out of our mind. How? Get a counter-image into the mind. Fight. Push. Strike. Don’t ease up. It must be an image that is so powerful that the other image cannot survive. There are lust-destroying images and thoughts.
Tattoos and Piercings
May 26, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Pierced
//ITUNES: Zombie Eaters from the album “The Real Thing” by Faith No More
I just got this note via email and I thought I would share my reply here since I get this type of note every once in awhile.
Hi Noel,
I have been going to Riverview for about a year and a half now. One of my friends asked me a question I was hoping you could help me answer. I have a tattoo, and I know that you have your eyebrow pierced… what does the Bible say about tattoos and piercings? I have been told before that during those days they said not to mark your body because people were doing it as a sign of worship to other gods. Is this true? Is there any scripture you could give me on tatoos and piercings… and if we are or are not supposed to have them? I would appreciate it and I will have to introduce myself to you on of these Saturdays. Thanks Noel.
T
The verse that is most often quoted is from the book of Leviticus. This is the verse:
Leviticus 19:28 “Never cut your bodies in mourning for the dead or mark your skin with tattoos, for I am the LORD.
Seems pretty clear. Until you check out the context. This verse refers to the custom among some pagan nations to pierce themselves or tattoo themselves when a member of their family died. This was to appease the Idols they worshiped and to get them to accept their dead grandpa. God says, that is stupid. It’s idolatry.
There are verses where piercing is actually commanded:
Deuteronomy 15:16-17 But suppose your servant says, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your family, and he is well off with you. In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life. “You must do the same for your female servants.
Now, just for fun, let’s look at the verse before the one that prohibits piercings and tattoos:
Leviticus 19:27 “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or clip the edges of your beards.
This is the verse that explains why some Jews look like Matisyahu.
In the same chapter, there are verses that say:
Leviticus 19:9 “When you harvest your crops, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground.”
As well as
Leviticus 19:19 “Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of fabric.”
And
Leviticus 19:32 “Show your fear of God by standing up in the presence of elderly people and showing respect for the aged. I am the LORD.”
Bottom line? When people quote this verse to ban piercings and tattoos, they are proof-texting. Have them check their shirt to see if it is made from two different kinds of fabric. Check their beard and hair length and make sure it is long enough. Double check their fields to make sure they are leaving the edges of the fields unharvested. Then, if there is anyone as old as Steve Sommerlot present, make sure they are standing up out of respect for his extremely old age.
The Old Testament Law was given to the Old Testament Jews, not to us. We are not under the Old Testament Law. If you read the book of Galatians, you will what Paul had to say to those that wanted to apply one particular law (circumcision) to Christians:
Galatians 5:1,12-13 So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law…I only wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. (literally…”emasculate themselves”). For you have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.
So what are we to say as Christians, who are not under the law?
We are free. Free from the extremes of the law and sin. We don’t have to keep the law and we don’t have to sin.
So enjoy your tattoo. I’ll enjoy my piercings. And, who knows, I may go get a tattoo for good measure.
Technorati Tags: christianity, piercings, tattoos
Rock of Africa
May 26, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Excited
//ITUNES: The Heartbreak Thing from the album “Laughter” by The Mighty Lemon Drops
Today I had lunch with Trish and Nicole. They are teachers who go to Riverview. This summer they are giving up part of their vacation to go to Zimbabwe to train teachers and bring teaching supplies to schools in need. It’s amazing to hear their passion and to dream of what God is going to do through them.
Please pray for their trip. Also, if you want to know more about what they are doing or you want to support them, click here. The link will take you to a presentation on the AIDS epidemic in Sub Saharan Africa. It’s heart-breaking, yet at the same time I am excited because people like Trish and Nicole are giving of their time and money to go.
Also, if you want to, they are looking for some basic supplies to take with them. They need crayons, pencils, beads, string, kid’s scissors, etc. If you want to help with those kinds of things, just email Trish directly at tlopucki AT edzone DOT net.
Technorati Tags: africa, AIDS, rockofafrica
Da Vinci Code Quote of the Day
May 25, 2006 Quotes
//MOOD: Hot
//NOISE: Snap Chirp
I am working on a message on The DaVinci Code right now, in case you wondered why I blog about it a lot. We are doing a summer series called “Choose Your Own Adventure” right now. We basically asked the church what they wanted us to teach on. Then, a bunch of us went through the popular themes and divvied them up. And when the dust settled, I get to teach on The DaVinci Code. And I get one week to do so. Hope everyone is ready for a 2 hour teaching… Ahem.
BTW, if you think you have the artistic ability to create a cool backwall image for that message (the weekend of the 10/11th of June), surf over to Riverview’s site and submit your work. Not only are the people at Riverview picking the topics, they are doing the artwork, as well. Kinda cool. The details are on the site.
With all of that said, here is a very interesting take on the book/ movie by Dana Stevens:
The Da Vinci Code is at heart deeply religious, and monotheistic at that: It wants us to believe that there is one secret truth that can change history, that that truth is knowable, and that only through Tom Hanks can we know it.
Technorati Tags: davincicode, riverview
Asians
May 25, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Married
//PODCAST: Coverville by Brian Ibbott
From djchuang.com:
“Asian Americans populate America’s elite colleges more than ever—and campus ministries even more than that…As a group they are hard-working—driven, some say—and morally conservative. Many come from ethnic churches—Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean, particularly—but culturally they are transitioning between their Asian roots and their American home. … some cultural challenges remain.”
Just checking to see if anyone is paying attention.
Get it?
Hicks Wins, Hasselhoff Weeps
May 25, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Honored
//ITUNES: No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley
Looks like Best Week Ever noticed the same thing as me…
It takes a lot to make David Hasselhoff cry. And by a lot we mean, a gray-haired white guy winning American Idol. Check out the grand finale of last night’s show. Taylor Hicks takes the title, but the Hoff steals the spotlight.
Technorati Tags: americanidol, davidhasselhoff, bestweekever
Remnant Dangers
May 25, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Inclusive
//ITUNES: Boot Stamping On A Human Face Forever from the album “The Empire Strikes First” by Bad Religion
There’s a great post over at Carnivorous Caribou about remnants of faith. I like what he has to say about the fact that remnants can exist, but there is a danger as soon as they realize they are one.
Here’s his thought, followed by mine:
If a remnant focusses on being a remnant, they then cease to look to God and no longer remain a remnant. Yet, if a person continues to submit himself/herself to the Word of God, they will find himself/herself in a minority. But the pride can not be in their minority standing, the pride and boasting must be in God. In Scripture, we see that God preserves the remnant. We also see that God desires to use the remnant as a change agent. They alone do not create the change, but God creates the change, using them. Therefore, the remnant must acknowledge the work of God in their lives, then must understand the work God desires to use them for in other lives. A remnant kept to itself is worthless, but a remnant focussed on itself is destructive…
A non-influencing remnant is pointless.
An arrogant remnant is sinful.
This makes tons of sense to me. It’s kinda like the pride / humility thing. As soon as you start to realize you are a humble person, you run the danger of becoming prideful.
I read so much online from different groups that claim to have some special corner on truth. Is that bad?
Well, when our proclamation of truth is on Jesus, as revealed in the Bible, that is a good thing. But what I see happen all the time is that the “remnant thinking” or “corner of truth thinking” often isn’t about Jesus at all. Instead, it’s about the “how” of following Jesus. Gray areas, practices based on principles, and other extra-biblical concepts are what separates us. And that is sinful and humanistic.
Technorati Tags: christianity, church
American Idol
May 25, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Sad…so sad
//ITUNES: Lightness from the album “Transatlanticism” by Death Cab For Cutie
OK. I confess that I watched the first and last episode of American Idol this year. And I’m sure I am not the only to have noticed the most earth shattering moment.
David Hasselhoff was in the audience and almost cried when Taylor won.
Technorati Tags: americanidol, davidhasselhoff
Team
May 24, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Good
//ITUNES: Fast as You Can by Fiona Apple
Reposted from: Kairos | Equipper Blogs.
This past weekend, the pastors at Riverview and a handful of other leaders went on a planning retreat. The whole time we were there, I kept thinking about these verses:
1Corinthians 12:12-21 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? Suppose the whole body were an eye–then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?
But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it. What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
Our team is pretty diverse, and each part is so necessary. I think in our culture, it’s too easy to value one body part or another as more valuable. Even our church structures do this, to a degree.
That’s why I appreciate being on a team of pastors. It keeps us from building the church on one person’s personality or gift. But that doesn’t make it easy. In fact, I think a team approach to leadership is one of the most difficult ways to structure the church.
Our team is…
…Outstanding.
…Frustrating.
…Encouraging.
…Strong.
…Dysfunctional.
…Gifted.
…Diverse.
…Discouraging.
…Forward-thinking.
…Stuck.
…Fun.
…Family.
Over the last few days, we…
…Laughed.
…Planned.
…Argued.
…Ate too much.
…Prayed.
…Argued some more.
…Worked. (In all senses of the word.)
That’s what a team is all about.
(BTW, a great artist on our team painted the image I used. You can download it as a background here.)
Apple Dei
May 24, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Cultic
//PODCAST: “Coverville” by Brian Ibbott
Brilliant. Freakin’ Brilliant. DaVinci Code meets Apple: iCryptex.com - Welcome to the Cult of Apple
Technorati Tags: apple, davincicode
Turn Your Mac Into A Jedi Weapon
May 24, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: You wish I would tell you
//PODCAST: “Coverville” by Brian Ibbott
Thanks to Blair for this: MacSaber: Turn Your Mac Into A Jedi Weapon
Jack Bauer Torture Report
May 23, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Great
//NOISE: Kids getting ready for bed
It’s over…but is it?
Elder Retreat
May 21, 2006 Uncategorized
//MOOD: Hopeful
//NOISE: Printer Printing
Please pray for the Riverview elders (plus a few others). We are going to be gone until tomorrow night. Our goal is to pray and plan. Please take a minute (right now so you don’t forget) and pray for the following:
- That we would be unified as a team
- That we would hear from God as to the direction of the church
- That God would grant us wisdom in leading the church and planning for the future
- That we would cover a remarkable amount of ground in our time together
Thanks much. I will have blogging silence until Tuesday, as we don’t have internet access where we are going.
Oh, it would be super cool if you would post a comment here if you are taking time out to pray. It’s always cool to know who is praying and when during times like this.
