I have loved this song from Christina Perri ever since Michelle turned me on to it. But as I was listening to it recently I heard a double meaning in the lyrics. Now I’m next to positive this wasn’t her original intent, but listen to the song and imagine that she is singing it to Satan. It takes on an interesting twist.
“You’re going to catch a cold from the ice inside your soul…”
“The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.” T. S. Eliot
This quote haunts me. I hate it because it forces a mirror into the dark areas of my soul where brokenness hides and self-delusions are born.
But I love it because it forces me to accept truth and to seek God in my weakness. Even when I’m quick to praise myself for doing the right thing I must always return to the motivations of my heart and my dependence on the goodness of Christ alone.
A few of the leadership on the ministry team that I’m a part of recently read through the book Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne. This book is pretty specific to the dynamics of a church staff but if that applies to you then I’d strongly recommend it. He walks through hiring and firing as well as how to have a healthy staff and elder board. Made for some great conversations with our leadership team. There were two areas that stood out to me in the book: unity and philosophy of ministry.
Unity is tough in every church setting I’ve ever seen. That’s why Jesus and the New Testament writers tackled it head on. Here are some of the things from the book where Osborne addressed it.
Mark Batterson was one of our speakers at Central’s prayer conference and I was able to spend some time with him this evening. He’s the author of a book I’ve previously reviewed called In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. He’s a very down-to-earth guy that God is using in incredible ways in the DC area (and soon Germany) as the lead pastor of National Community Church. He also has a hilarious way of laughing at his own jokes and making everyone around him laugh as well.
A few of us on staff had dinner with him before the conference and he talked about Ephesians 1:23 in a way that I hadn’t thought of it before. The last phrase of the verse is loaded with a powerful image of how God works among us: “the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” He spoke of God’s desire to fill everything in every way. Whether that’s broken areas of our lives or filling up church gatherings. As he told the story of his church he continually referred to this passage. I love looking at God in that way.
3 sizes are represented here
Here is a picture I took while having a breakfast meeting at Wildflower in Mesa. The first time I went there I asked for a small drink and was given the cup on the right. The next week I ordered a medium drink and received the cup on the right. I was confused. Today I ordered a large drink and received the cup on the left. Does that make sense to anyone else?
This afternoon I got back from speaking at Central’s 2011 High School Winter Camp. It was a blast. Every time I do something like this I realize how quickly I feel out of touch with high school students. Luckily, this was a terrific group and I ended up really enjoying my time with them. The culmination of the weekend for me was seeing more than half of them come forward to make a decision for Christ on Saturday night! I’m looking forward to seeing how God continues to develop these students.
One of the really entertaining parts of the weekend was a glow party dance fest that happened Saturday night. Everyone came prepared to stand out in the night. Yours truly even made an appearance…
Yep, that's me giving the camera a double point with a blue steel look. At least my silhouette looks cool.
