From Crappy To Great

I decided Thursday that Saturday was going to be crappy.

On Saturday morning I ran into someone at the YMCA pool. I hadn't seen him in ages. He made the mistake of asking me how I was doing. I was bound and determined to invite him to my "pity party". I began my rant: "Well, it's gonna be one hell of a Saturday. I just left my group at church and right now my son is trying out to be a junior lifeguard. If he does well we'll need to drive all the way to the beach to sign him up for lifeguard camp and then I've got to take him to his "Annie" musical practice. I'll only get an hour break and then my wife and I are taking our son to his swim team banquet. The damn banquet is supposed to go on for 3 to 4 hours. Man, Monday is going to come and I'm going to wonder where in the hell my weekend went!"

The man I hadn't seen in ages stood in front of me and let me finish my "pity party" tirade. Then he looked at me and said, "Mike, the sun is shining, it's a beautiful day, you get to spend an entire day with your son and celebrate his accomplishments. You have a beautiful wife. Wow, you've got a lot to be thankful for. You are a very blessed man. It's good to see you Mike. Sounds like you've got a great day ahead of you. I've gotta go. See you soon. I can't wait to enjoy this glorious day!" He smiled, shook my hand and walked away.

God spoke to Moses from a burning bush. God spoke to me on Saturday morning through a man at the YMCA pool. Through him I heard God say to me loud and crystal clear, "Mike, be thankful for what you have and would you please surrender that negative attitude of yours to ME! I'll be glad to put it where the sun doesn't shine. That crappy attitude you're packing around is not benefiting you or anyone you love. One other thing. I love you."

On Thursday I decided that Saturday was going to be crappy. On Saturday I decided to surrender my crappy, negative attitude and give it to God. It's amazing. Something happened after I surrendered. Saturday wasn't even close to crappy. God showed me just how great Saturday and everyday can be if I simply take the time to remember all of the things that He has given to me.

See the photo below. That's my son after he received his award at the swim team banquet. That doesn't look crappy to me. It looks great!

I Must Be A Drunk Homeless Pagan Lesbian Crack Head

I used to blog every 3 minutes. Now I only blog when I am inspired or possibly a little *&^%$# off. I'm blogging now because I am a little bit $%^&*^ off.

I just came across a quote on Twitter. I've seen it before. I get *&^^%$ off every time I see it. This quote (usually tweeted on Twitter by MLM/Network Marketing types) makes me want to shake people in the name of Jesus: "You will become the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most!" If you believe this quote then I must be a drunk, homeless, pagan, lesbian crack head.

I hang out with Lesbians. I hug them. I've been to their homes. I go to church with them. I am not a Lesbian.

I hang out with drunk, stinky, urine soaked, homeless men and women. I do smell, especially after working out, but I am not homeless.

I hang out with alcoholics and crack heads. I've even been in a crack house or two. I am a recovering alcoholic (over six months sober) but I'm not a crack head.

I hang out with people who call themselves pagans. I have not made a pot of newt stew. I am not a witch.

"You will become the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most!" Why do I dislike this quote? Because I dislike anything that keeps us from hanging out with people who are not like us. My Twitter/Blogging buddy Paul Steinbrueck shared his thoughts in the comments section of this post:

"If I believe that quote, then I only hang with people I think are better than I am in the hopes it will make me better, and I shun people I think are lower on the food chain because I'm afraid they'll drag me down."

Pick up the Bible and you'll find a story of really cool dude by the name of Jesus. He spent most of his time hanging out with drunks, prostitutes, thieves, liars and traitors. Guess what? He didn't become like them even though he spent time with them. What does the Word of God say?

Hebrews 4: "We have a high priest who was tempted in every point like we are, yet without sin."

1 Peter: He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

I know what you're thinking: "Mike, I'm not Jesus." I'm not either but Jesus shows us by His example that we should be hanging out with ALL people who desperately need to be shown His love instead of our judgment.

I'm overweight, selfish, not a good listener, a recovering alcoholic, not a great husband or father and battle depression. Hang out with me. I'm kind of weird but I'll bet you don't become like me.

Are We Too Blind To See?

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
-- James 2:15-17

The crappiest season of American Idol actually got my brain working as I listened to Big Mike sing "In The Ghetto". (See YouTube clip of his performance below. You'll find the original version from Elvis Presley and the lyrics at the bottom of this post.)



You've seen it as you drive out of the church parking lot. The sign that says, "You're entering your mission field." Instead how about a sign that says, "You've just left your mission field. Did you do anything about it?" Let me be more specific. Shame on you and me when we know that someone from our church is going through a struggle and we do absolutely nothing about it.

A single mom and son living in a car. A man getting ready to walk out on his wife and family. A family losing their home. Someone who hasn't been to your small group or church for several weeks. A young boy without a father. A woman who fell off the wagon. The hungry homeless man sitting in the back row. The wife of a man who was arrested for child abuse. The pregnant teenage girl. The woman who gave up her baby for adoption. The couple that lost their son in a motorcycle accident. The man that served coffee every Sunday morning that lost his wife to cancer. The young boy crying in the lobby because he misses his dad. The man battling severe depression and may end his life later that day. The wife getting ready to have an affair. The husband who doesn't care.

I pray that you and I do something. Stop and hold their hand. Make a phone call. Invite them to lunch. Hold them. Pray with them. Listen. Anything is better than turning our heads and looking the other way.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
-- Edmund Burke

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result”
-- Mahatma Gandhi

"My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt”
-- Anna Sewell

"If we worry too much about ourselves, we won't have time for others."
-- Mother Teresa



As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
'cause if there's one thing that she don't need
it's another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto

People, don't you understand
the child needs a helping hand
or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
are we too blind to see,
do we simply turn our heads
and look the other way

Well the world turns
and a hungry little boy with a runny nose
plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto

And his hunger burns
so he starts to roam the streets at night
and he learns how to steal
and he learns how to fight
In the ghetto

Then one night in desperation
a young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
tries to run, but he don't get far
And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto

As her young man dies,
on a cold and gray Chicago mornin',
another little baby child is born
In the ghetto

92% of Jesus’ conversations

Darrell Davis points out how many conversations that Jesus had.

"Out of 132 contacts that Jesus had with people recorded in the New Testament, 6 were in the temple, 4 were in the synagogue, and 122 were out in the mainstream of life."

As evangelists, we need to make sure that we are regularly engaging people outside of the church.

Most of us freely admit that after being a Christian for a few years, we find our social circles have changed to mostly Christians.

In fact, Jeffrey Johnson Got Style?: Personality-Based Evangelism shows research that confirms that most do so within two years of becoming a Christian. He cites a 1998 study by Charles Arn that shows that most Christians may only have on average, friendships with less than 4 people outside the church.

What can we do to fix that this week?


Found this post at my new favorite blog: Evangelism Coach International

What I Can't Live Without

I speak to you as a Christian. Jesus Christ is my Lord and God and Savior and Song day and night. I can live without food, without drink, without sleep, without air, but I cannot live without Jesus. Without him I would have perished long ago. Without him and his church reconciling men to God, the world would have perished long ago. I live in and on the Bible for long hours every day. The Bible is the source of every good thought and impulse I have. In the Bible God himself, the Creator of everything from nothing, speaks to me and to the world directly, about himself, about ourselves, and about his will for the course of events and for the consummation of history. And believe me, not a day passes without my crying from the bottom of my heart, ‘Come, Lord Jesus.’

Charles Malik (1906-1987), Lebanon's ambassador to the USA (1945-55), President of the UN General Assembly (1958-59), professor of philosophy at the American University of Beirut (1962-76).

Thanks to Desiring God Blog

Pastors: Men Don't Like To Hold Hands

Why Are You Keeping It A Secret?

“God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

– Matthew 5:14-16, The Message

The Newsboys "God Is Not A Secret"