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Hearing God’s Voice

Originally Posted: Thursday, December 08, 2005
Mood:  quizzical
Now Reading: Clowning in Rome
Topic: the character of God

Currently Listening
Lay It Down
By Jennifer Knapp
7. You Remain
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I knew it. Why am I listening this? I know that it tears me apart every time I hear it. Tears. I love Jesus, but sometimes the lies and feelings that we have seem so real. Real enough that even sometimes the lies seem strong enough to win against the truth that I must acknowledge. Continue reading “Hearing God’s Voice”

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Check Yourself – Part 1

When we talk about mission, specifically related to church, there seems to always be this running tension between offering grace and seeing effectiveness. Usually people don’t want to have those harder conversations regarding someone’s effectiveness at what they’re doing. Whether that thing be leading a small group, leading worship, inviting others to follow Jesus, or even pastoring a church. Part of the reason for this lack is that as leader’s we don’t have the “Check Yourself” mentality for our own lives, much less for the lives of those we lead. The average median church size in the US is roughly 75 people. 90% of all church’s in the US run 400 or less. Now 400 is a good size, but when you take population growth into account, what this really means is that we aren’t keeping up. Continue reading “Check Yourself – Part 1”

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Night and Day

Originally Posted:Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Reading: Clowning in Rome
Topic: Living in the Epic Story


Currently Listening
Gladiator: Music from the Motion Picture
By Original Soundtrack
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Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I think I can start posting more now. I think that I can break the silence.

I guess I should start with what God is doing in my life. The only way to do this adequately is to draw back. About two weeks ago I wrote this. For those who don’t know, I got away. I went and stayed in the middle of the woods, alone, for two nights. I needed adventure and could sense it. I needed to get away and wrestle with God on some stuff, and that seemed the remedy for it. That seemed where I could meet Him. It was good. Continue reading “Night and Day”

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Organizational Health Is Big

I’ve been thinking through organizational health lately. Patrick Lencioni has a book out entitled The Advantage that speaks to this specific area. It seems that organizational health is big. The big idea is that you need a healthy culture before you can have a growing thriving organization. All the other things, knowing your burn rate, staying fiscally solvent, balancing budget, systems, structures, are important. They’re important, in that they’re permission to play, permission to get in the game. They won’t keep you there though. Continue reading “Organizational Health Is Big”

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WordPress – Exclude Categories From Main Page

At Conversatio Morum, we love WordPress. It’s the tool used for everything web related. So giving you a way to do neat things in WordPress sounds like a great idea.

This past week I preached at my church. It’ll be up on our podcast site soon. You can find it here. While preparing I had an idea. A lot of people ask for my notes after I teach in different settings. How cool would it be to have a place where people could just go and get my notes? So I created a separate ‘hidden’ part of my blog called notes. Continue reading “WordPress – Exclude Categories From Main Page”

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Antioch Belton – Beatitudes – Matthew 5:5-8

See My Powerpoint Notes For This Talk Here

  1. The big idea of this passage is that Jesus inverts our world. He pushes against everything else we would trust in so that we will trust in Him. Are you trusting Jesus? How are you trusting Jesus? This leads to your greatest joy, your greatest happiness.
  2. Matthew 5:5-8
  3. Matthew 5:5
    1. Meekness Defined
      1. The biblical greek word for meek is different from the common English. When we think of meek, we think of those who are timid. That’s not a good picture. The better picture is that of a bridled horse, or a commanding military officer sparing a prisoner. Power under control. Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God’s strength under His control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness.
      2. http://biblesuite.com/greek/4239.htm
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    2. Psalm 37:7-13
      1. Our Inheritance Comes From Him
    3. Romans 4:13
      1. Trust Him
    4. Luke 1:46-55
      1. Mary Sang a Song of Trust
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  4. Matthew 5:6
    1. Hunger
      1. This same word for hungry is used in Matthew 4:2 after Jesus was done fasting. He knew what this meant.
    2. 1 Peter 2:2-3
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  5. Matthew 5:7
    1. Mercy
    2. If we’re not merciful:
      1. at best, it speaks to a lack of revelation
      2. at worst, it speaks to a lack of relationship with God
        1. Matthew 6:14-15
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  6. Matthew 5:8
    1. New Heart
      1. Ezekiel 36:24-26
    2. A Gift for You
      1. Ephesians 1:13-14
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    3. You’re a New Creation
      1. 2 Corinthians 5:14-20
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    4. All God’s Wrath Was Poured Out
      1. Romans 8:1-4
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Inner Workings

Originally Posted: Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Mood: not sure
Now Playing: Jars of Clary: Redemption Songs
Topic: Living in the Epic Story


Currently Reading
Ragman – reissue : And Other Cries of Faith (Wangerin, Walter)
By Walter Wangerin
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Hmmm…so it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Little over a month. How do I do it? Awkward moments have happened. Mainly, I had a man randomly walk up to me while in Walmart and speak Klingon while trying to let me know that Krystals’ mini hamburgers are good. Also, I have convinced a friend that she is awkward but in a good way. I like you, internal dialogs at Starbucks are funny and weird. Continue reading “Inner Workings”