Welcome to Nolan's World

An Inconvenient Truth, Part Two

"Everyday living is where spiritual development is worked out.  The program-driven church has created an artificial environment divorced from the rhythms and realities of normal life.  It's claims that participation in its consuming activities will result in spiritual growth is preposterous.  It cannot deliver on this promise, because the premise is false.  Loving God and loving our neighbors cannot be fulfilled at church.  Being salt and light cannot be experienced in a faith huddle.  Engaging the kingdom of darkness requires storming it, not habitually retreating into a refuge."--Reggie McNeal, Missional Renaissance

There's Power in Unplugging

That title may sound a little "oxymoronish" to some of you, but I think that true power comes though being unplugged.

Confession:  I am not good at slowing down.  I am a planner and when one project is done, I comfort myself by moving on to "the next big thing."  Honestly, I guess that is one of the things I miss most about "professional ministry:"  there is always a next project or sermon series to plan and execute.

Since I am not involved in a ministry position right now, I challenge myself to still read and sometimes blog like I am.  I think a big reason I like working on stuff is because it keeps my mind occupied.

We were on vacation for a full week and the first half of that week plugged out one plug--we had no internet access.  Wow, what a great thing that was for me.  I really rested and just enjoyed being with my family.  Yes, I still did some reading, but not so I could review it for a blog--I just read for personal enjoyment and reflection.

We had four days of "staycation" left at the end of the week.  We had internet, but I really tried to limit the time I spent online.  No blogging, facebook only once a day, very limited access for me.  I focused on intentionally resting and being present with my girls.

I love having a presence online, but unplugging was a very good and restful thing for me. 

Sometimes we get so busy moving for God that we miss the joy of the presence of God.  Take me for example, even though I currently have a job I can choose to leave at work, I often feel like worrying about what is going on will somehow help the situation.  How stupid is that?  

Did you just feel busted for doing the same thing (I called me stupid, by the way, not you)?

Mark Batterson recently said it this way--"Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for us."--there is a great deal of convicting truth in that sentence for me.

What do you need to unplug from?

An Inconvenient Truth

"North America is the largest English speaking mission field in the world.  We can no longer think and act like club members, we must think and act like missionaries."--Reggie McNeal, Missional Renaissance

Was the Sermon Good or Great Yesterday?

To Pastors--"All good sermons are well written.  But great sermons--they have been lived before they are preached, and while the writing is important, nothing will put passion in a sermon like having lived it first."--Calvin Miller, The Sermon Maker

To Christians--Good sermons have an impact on us.  Great sermons impact the world because of the way we live out the message of the sermon's truth in our world today.

Was yesterday's sermon good or great???

Ignore Your Critics--Seth Godin

Seth Godin absolutely knocked the ball out of the park with his most recent blog--here is an excerpt:

"If you find 100 comments on a blog post or 100 reviews of a new book or 100 tweets about you...and two of them are negative, while 98 are positive...which ones are you going to read first?

If you're a human being and you're telling the truth, the answer is pretty obvious: you want to know which misguided losers had nasty things to say and you want to know what they said. In fact, if we're being totally truthful, it's likely you're going to take what the critics had to say to heart.

That's a shame. The critics are never going to be happy with you, that's why they're critics. You might bore them by doing what they say... but that won't turn them into fans, it will merely encourage them to go criticize someone else."

Read the rest of the post here!

Don't waste your time trying to change the hearts of your critics...only God can do that!

One Down, Three to Go...

About a year ago, I shared a list of spiritual leaders and mentors that I wished would blog.

Well, that list has shrunk by one.

John Maxwell has entered the blogging world.

Enjoy his wisdom here.

Now, I'm just waiting on Erwin McManus, Bill Hybels, and Andy Stanley to round out my final four!

The Power of Presence

It took me about 20 minutes to figure out how to preach.

It's taken me about 20 years to figure out how to pastor.

I am not there yet, but I am trying.

I want to love people in the unconditional way that Jesus loves me.

I want to be there for them.  

I want to help them grow in their journeys.

I want to be around when they find their true purpose in life.

I want to help restore them when they fall.

I want to cheer them on when they triumph.

I want to bring them face to face with Jesus.

I'll keep on trying to figure it out, even if it takes me another 20 years.

Preaching comes easy to me in alot of ways.

Pastoring is much harder for me, but the older I get, the more rewarding it is.

Movie Pastor Reflections

I consider Dave Anderson a very good friend and mentor, but I never met him in person until 10 days ago.  Dave's blog was one of the first that I read, and after following his journey, I was encouraged to jump into the blogging pool, and three years later, we're both still at it.  We've traded blog comments and emails and finally last week had the opportunity to meet.

Three words come to mind when I think of Dave and Dana Anderson: Real, Passionate, and Humble.  I have been wanting to visit Crosspoint since we moved back to the Memphis area almost two years ago.  Dave has ministered to me so much through his blog that I just had to see his church and watch him preach in person.  

Dave and Dana are the real deal.  I learned so much just sitting at lunch with Dave and Dana and hearing their personal ministry journey.  They shared the hard stuff and the "ugly" stuff and the good stuff as well.  They love Jesus and are passionate to reach North Alabama with the Gospel.  

Dave was kind enough to listen to part of our journey and offered many kind words of encouragement and affirmation for me and my family.  

Dave and Dana, we are so grateful for the opportunity to connect with you in person finally, and I am very excited to visit Decatur again soon so that our paths can cross again (PS, lunch is on us next time).

Church leaders, you would do well to make a trip to Decatur and spend some time with Dave and Dana.  You'll feel like to tried to take a sip of water out of a fire hose with all the wisdom you'll get in your time with them.  

Review of Billy

Billy: The Untold Story of a Young Billy Graham and the Test of Faith that Almost Changed Everything by William Paul McKay and Ken Abraham

What would have happened had Billy Graham been derailed from his pursuit of becoming America's best-known evangelist? 

Through the eyes of one of Billy's closest friends in his early ministry, Charles Templeton, we catch glimpses of Billy Graham's early adult life, his courtship of Ruth, and the foundation of Billy's crusade beginnings.

The reader is also exposed to a critical crossroad which takes Templeton out of ministry altogether and further cements Graham to become the greatest evangelist of the 20th century.  It's amazing to see how to great men can be exposed to the same circumstance and have completely different conclusions.

All in all, I enjoyed the fast-paced storytelling of Billy, yet, as with all 250 page books, there are gaps I wish would have been covered.  

There are many emotional notes in the book.  I was especially moved as Templeton lay bed-ridden and is asked by the documentary reporter you'll be introduced to in the book how he felt about Jesus: "I miss Him," was Templeton's reply.

If you are looking for a solid read that will give you a few new insights into the life of Billy Graham, Billy may be the book for you.

Crosspoint Reflections

Alison, Maddie and I had the opportunity to visit Crosspoint Church in Decatur, Alabama last Sunday morning.  I have never visited Decatur before last weekend, but have gotten to know Dave and Dana Anderson through Dave's blog and through email over the last three years. 

Here are some of my thoughts about our visit:

• Crosspoint does portable as well as, if not better than, any church I have seen.  They make the most of their space.
• Children's area was "off the hook" cool.  Security was very high (a very high positive in my book) and we had to have visitor's passes to even go check it out, but like I said, as a parent, I would feel like my child was very safe to stay in their children's environment and it would be well-worth the learning experience...looked very high-energy and interactive...very impressed. 
• Hospitality was great. There was no question as to whether you could take a drink into the worship space--you were encouraged to--and there was a great variety of sodas, southern sweet tea, and Starbucks coffee poured up at your pleasure by a well-staffed and friendly group of volunteers! 
• Crosspoint had an amazing set design and their use of the theater's projection screen was incredible.  They had three different images on the screen most of the time.  Tons of churches could learn alot about using video tools with excellence from Crosspoint.
• The music was great..."Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down was the lead-in to the message...really good stuff.  
• I loved Dave's preaching style.  Maddie was fully engaged by Dave's preaching (which as a dad and a preacher, I really thought was cool).  Dave is a great mix of funny, informative, and inspiring.  Very solid message about Gideon, "the zero who became a hero."   

I was so glad we were able to visit this wonderful church.  If you live in North Alabama, you need to go visit Crosspoint.  This church has a desire to reach the unchurched in North Alabama with the Gospel of Christ.  Based on what our family experienced last Sunday, I'd say they are well on their way to achieving their mission.

Check in tomorrow for my "Movie Pastor Reflections."