Taking a little time away from the blog. But-I’ll be back.

If you want to get a hold of me shoot me an email at jsalamun (at) gmail (dot) com

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Thanks to Jonathan Herron for sharing this great quote below. He discovered it while studying for a message this weekend addressing where God was during the Virgina Tech tragedy. That’s a real deal question that takes a real deal pastor to tackle.

Jonathan is doing exactly what pastors should- answer the tough questions that many people are asking right now. I was in student ministry during September 11 and like most people in ministry I changed plans and tackled the difficult questions my students (and I) were asking. Kudos to him for doing the same.

Here’s the quote. Read it and let it sink in.

“If God were less than omnipotent, or if He allowed evil to develop and multiply itself in His own domain of creation without His prior decree and permission, and purpose, then He is not God, and cannot be God. If evil there must be, let us be in the hands of God and not of chance, for if evil comes from outside the divine decree, otherwise than by the will of God, then there must be another god beside God.”

- Charles Alexander

Let us not forget that God is BIG and God is SOVEREIGN!

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Awesome thoughts from Mark Batterson on the Church and cultural relevance.  Here are some great nuggets from the piece. Read it in its entirety here.

• There was a day, in the not too distant past, when church was the center of culture. Church was the place to go. Church was the thing to do.
• Don’t get me wrong: the message is sacred. But methods are not. And the moment we anoint our methods as sacred, we stop creating the future and start repeating the past. We stop doing ministry out of imagination and start doing ministry out of memory.
•  As I see it, the church has four options when it comes to engaging culture: 1) ignore it, 2) imitate it, 3) condemn it, or 4) create it. And each option leads in polar opposite directions.
• At the end of the day, the culture will treat the church the way the church treats the culture. And we’re not called to condemn. We’re called to redeem.
• Quoting Scripture gives me credibility with Christians. Quoting non-Biblical sources gives me credibility with non-Christians.
• Our culture is shaped, even more than we realize, by the movies we watch and the music we listen to. And we have a choice. We can ignore them. We can condemn them. Or we can dialogue about them.
• We need to redeem cultural metaphors to communicate the gospel.

AMEN!

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Musician Chris Sligh is blogging. It’s interesting to read about the adventure his life is taking him since American Idol.  He keeps it real.

Link

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Fellow blogger, pastor, and good guy, Chris Elrod is getting some buzz these days regarding his views on men in church.  Apparently its controversial to think that churches should connect with men as he’s received both threats and praise for his stance.  Here’s a snippet of what he has said:

“Musically (men) want AC/DC and we give them Celine Dion. Lyrically (men) want Tom Clancy and we give them Danielle Steel. Spiritually (men) want ‘Braveheart’ and we give them ‘Sleepless In Seattle.’”

Now he’s turned up on FOX News in a story about the “Church for Men.”  Check it out

Watch out Chris! Elrod-fever might sweep the nation. Great job!

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One of my favorite bloggers, Scott Hodge, wrote an excellent post about his time management, productivity, and rhythm. Scott says:

Lately, part of that growth has had to do with the rhythm of my schedule and time management.  In fact, recently I came to the realization that I was unintentionally sabotaging myself and our team by giving the BEST PART of my day for things that didn’t necessarily require my best - which also meant that I was giving the WORST PART of my day for some of the things that DID deserve my best.  And when this happens, EVERYONE loses.

I can relate.  Perhaps you will too.  Check it out the entire post.

Scott takes an alter call at the end of the article.  Classic!

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“32 kills and 5 strokes.” That’s what a guy told me last night after I preached at a local rescue mission. The man is homeless but is as tough as they come. He is a Native American man in his sixties and was an Army Ranger. He fought and served the USA in several conflicts including the Vietnam War. He told me that he had 32 kills during his service and he still had dreams about them to this day. He told me that he had five strokes but was still alive and walking.  He told me he had seen and done a lot. And he told me that he had never heard of Jesus described as a Warrior and a King.

These guys (and a few gals) at the mission are weathered, tough, and skeptical. They’ve heard it all before. Clever pop culture references don’t connect with them- but you know what? Jesus does. Especially the full picture of Jesus. Yes, he lived a perfect, sinless life. Yes, he was crucified on a cross and died in our place. Yes, he rose from the dead. And today he reigns as King and promises to return like a Warrior. This is the Jesus I talked about. And that’s what this man connected with.

The crazy thing is- I wrestled and prayed over what I would give this message on. How could I connect with these folks? What did God want to say to them? And then this popped in my head- preach Jesus. He is sufficient. That’s exactly what I did and it was awesome to see this man and others respond to the meat and potatoes that is Jesus. He is always good enough.

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ESPN Classic has been replaying old episodes of American Gladiators. My wife and I got sucked into it a little bit. We both dug the show growing up so it was fun to check out these early tapings of the show.

What caught our eye was one of the characters- Malibu. This dude is a trip! He only lasted one season but he was clearly the standout character from Season 1. Check out this classic video clip off of YouTube.

Hilarious! GO MALIBU!

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I still get choked up when I see this. Here’s the video:

The clip shows Navy officer Bill Hawes returning home from a seven-month tour in Iraq and he surprises his six-year-old son in his school classroom. His son jumps up, crying, and runs into his father’s arms.

When you watched the video, look at the boy’s eyes as he runs to his dad. That’s love!

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