The Friday Five

1. Podcast: Keys To A Multi-Generational Worship Ministry. Thom Rainer & Jonathan Howe are providing consistent quality content through Dr. Rainer's podcast. In this episode, long time worship leader, Mike Harland joins them to start a great conversation about how to create an effective multi-generational worship ministry. Multi-generational ministry & discipleship is the norm in Scripture, yet so many times we go directly against biblical teaching & segment our congregations based on generations. Then we complain that there is a generation gap in our congregation. This is a great episode with some great points to consider when trying to bring the generations together in worship.
2. Music: 24 Nights By Eric Clapton. This is a classic live album that too many people don't know about. It was released 25 years ago & documents a 24 night run at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It's an eclectic album because some nights were blues nights, other nights featured a large band, others a small band, & still others featured Clapton's band with an orchestra. This has some of the best versions of some Clapton classics. Check it out.
3. Quote. "God doesn't need you to be his lawyer. He needs you to be His witness." Bryan Lorrits
   
4. Book: Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
   . This is an interesting little work from Tolkien taken from the letters that Santa (Tolkien) wrote to Tolkien's children every year. It includes those letters & the drawings that the iconic author included in those letters each year. It's a really cool look into the life of this incredibly creative man.
5. Nerd Corner: Elstree 1976 on Netflix. If you're into Star Wars, & I mean really into Star Wars, you should check out Elstree 1976. It focuses on some of the people who had bit parts in the original Star Wars to see what it was like to have a small role or to be an extra in the movie that changed movies & how it has affected their lives 40 years later. 

I'll be taking a break from the blog for the next few weeks as we get ready to move & get settled in back in Jackson. See you here in a few weeks.

The Bowman Family Is On The Move

Some of those closest to us already know, but we have some exciting news. 

The Bowman family will be moving back to our hometown of Jackson, TN! God has opened a door for us to return to Jackson for me to serve as the Senior Pastor at Poplar Heights Baptist Church. When Valerie & I moved away from Jackson 12 years ago, we had been married a little over a year & had no kids. Now we return with two little girls & a lot of memories & friends made along the way. I know there were times when Valerie thought we'd never make it back to Tennessee, but in His timing God has answered prayer. 

Be in prayer for our family as we go through everything necessary in order to make a 500 mile move. Julia & Audrey are already having to adjust. They don't quite know what to think of the fact that seemingly everyone in Jackson either knows our families or is our family! Also be in prayer for both churches involved in this transition as each will be dealing with big changes over the next few weeks.

We're excited about what's ahead, making new friends, & reconnecting with old friends. Plus, there will now always be a Los Portales within a short drive of wherever I am. Those of you from Jackson know what I'm talking about. 

The Friday Five

1. Blog Post: 9 Debatable Thoughts About Contemporary Evangelism by Chuck Lawless. This is a great little post to get you & your church thinking about evangelism & what's most effective in your setting. The bottom line is that as long as you're doing evangelism, it doesn't really matter what you're doing. However, it's always wise to evaluate what's effective in reaching our particular communities.
2. 

   Music: Bloom by Audio Adrenaline. This is a classic in contemporary Christian rock, & it's celebrating it's 20th anniversary. This was one of the 1st albums I heard from a Christian band that I actually wanted to listen to again. It's great from start to finish.
3. Quote. "Awake! The shadow is gone and all darkness is washed clean!" -J.R.R. Tolkien (Aragorn in Return of the King)
4. Book: What Do You Think Of Ted Williams Now? by Richard
   
   Ben Cramer. In honor of the Red Sox winning another division title, here's a great, brief read from Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ben Cramer on one of the larger than life characters in baseball history & one of my favorite players of all time. Ted Williams on one level was simple: he hit a baseball & caught fish. On the other hand, he was complicated, & Cramer gives us a look into the man that most of us only heard about through legendary stories.
   
5. Nerd Corner: Pablo Hidalgo Interview At StarWars.com. This is a great follow-up interview to the Dave Filoni interview I recommended last week. Pablo is a part of the story group at Lucasfilm. His job along with the rest of the story group is to work with everyone who is creating & telling stories within the Star Wars universe to ensure continuity across the board. In other words, Pablo knows pretty much everything about Star Wars. Yes, he knows the backstory of that Jawa in the cantina in A New Hope. In this interview, Pablo shares how he became an uber-fan & eventually one of the key folks at Lucasfilm.

The Friday Five

1. Blog Post: 10 Reasons Why Many Churches Aren't Evangelistic. I know, I know, that's not your church, even though no one has been baptized in years. Just for the sake of argument & self evaluation, I would encourage all church leaders & church attenders to read this post. You may not agree with everything Dr. Rainer talks about, or you may not think it applies to your church. However, how can taking a hard look in the mirror in this area be a bad thing? If it gets you thinking about how you & your congregation can be more effective in advancing the Gospel, then it's beneficial.
2. Music: A River With No End by Ghost Ship. This little EP is gem. It's got a very unique arrangement of the classic hymn "Just As I Am" & a great original called "The Revelation Of Jesus Christ." I'm a big fan of pretty much everything this band does & highly recommend it.
3. Quote. "Truth carries with it confrontation. Truth demands confrontation; loving confrontation, but confrontation nonetheless." Francis Schaeffer
4. Book: To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain by Matt Chandler. I recently started re-reading this one from Matt Chandler. It's a great, fairly quick, read that digs into the book of Philippians. This is a good one to have as a supplement to your in-depth study of Paul's letter to the church in Phillipi.
5. Nerd Corner: Dave Filoni Interview At StarWars.com. If you call yourself a Star Wars fan & are unaware of Dave Filoni, then you may need to question your fandom. Dave is the creative force behind the Star Wars animated shows, The Clone Wars & Rebels. If you're not a big fan of the Star Wars prequel movies, I would encourage you to watch Clone Wars. It does what the prequels failed to do: make you care about Anakin Skywalker. Dave is basically the creative heir to George Lucas. He worked directly under Lucas for years & is creating some of the best content since the original trilogy. This is a great interview where Dave talks about how he became such a big fan & eventually came to work at Lucasfilm.

The Friday Five

1. Podcast: Preaching & Preachers. Dr. Jason Allen at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary hosts a weekly podcasts tackling issues relevant to preaching & preachers. Sometimes he tackles theological issues like the importance of the doctrine of inerrancy. Other times he handles issues like the growing ministry of church revitalization. He & his guests always approach the issues thoughtfully & with a desire to encourage pastors & the church.
2. Music: Music For Two by Bela Fleck & Edgar Meyer. This album came out several years ago, but if you've never heard of it, it's worth checking out. I've been blessed to see a lot of great musicians play live in my life, but this album features two of the absolute best I've ever seen. This instrumental album defies categorizing. It's sort of jazz. It's sort of bluegrass. It's kind of classical. Simply put, it's great music performed by two world class musicians. It's hard to pick a favorite, but one of mine is "Solar", an old Miles Davis tune. Check it out today.
3. Quote. "Abounding sin is the terror of the world, but abounding grace is the hope of mankind." A. W. Tozer
4. Follow: Ray Ortlund on Instagram. Ray is the pastor at Immanuel Nashville. Ray is a great follow because while he's a deep thinker, he seems to be a pretty simple guy too. A quick look at his Instagram will show you he loves 3 things: Jesus, his family, & deer hunting.
5. Book: Here I Stand by Roland Bainton. With October 31st just around the corner, it's not just time for candy. It's also time to remember the Reformation. 499 years ago Martin Luther began the movement to reclaim the Gospel from the traditions of men. If you're into history, biographies, or theology, Here I Stand is for you. It's the gold standard of biographies on Luther. Luther is one of the most fascinating figures in all of history, not just church history. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: Designed To Lead

There's a new book out that EVERY church leader needs to read. Eric Geiger & Kevin Peck recently released Designed To Lead in the hopes of helping the local church fulfill the incredible potential it has for developing leaders. After all, no other group has a more urgent or permanent mission than the church, but let's face it most churches are not raising up leaders who impact the world for the sake of that incredible mission to make Jesus known.

In Designed To Lead we're reminded not only of the incredible mission we have as believers but also of the necessity to raise up leaders in order to further that mission not just in our church ministries but in our schools, homes, & businesses. The church should be developing & deploying gospel leaders who impact every facet of our world. Geiger & Peck do a great job of outlining what a church who consistently develops & deploys leaders looks like. The crux of the book revolves around the principles of Conviction, Culture, & Constructs. Without all three of these principles in place, a congregation will not develop & deploy leaders for God's glory in the church & in the community. At best leaders will arise accidentally, but the Church is called to be intentional in all that it does.

One final piece I'd like to highlight is for those who shrink back at the idea of the local church being a leadership development machine & feel that it sounds too much like business jargon. At the end of Designed To Lead there is an appendix that reminds us that Jesus' relationship with His disciples was built on Jesus' desire to develop them & deploy them for the advancing of the Gospel & for making disciples. Discipleship & leadership are inextricably linked. Jesus developed disciples/leaders who made more disciples/leaders who made it possible for people like us to hear the Gospel & be changed by it.

Designed To Lead is an essential tool for your church's or ministry's toolbox. Pastors, work through this book with your entire leadership team, both staff & volunteer. Work with your existing leaders to take the principles found in Designed To Lead in order to create a culture of gospel fueled leadership development in your church. Then work together to create a pipeline for identifying, developing, & deploying leaders in your church who will glorify Jesus, advance the Gospel, & make disciples in their homes, their communities, & their church.

The Friday Five

1. TV: American Odyssey. In the last week I started this new show on Netflix. I'm only a few episodes into it, but so far it has been really good. If you haven't seen it, here's a quick setup: an American strike force takes out a terrorist leader, but they stumble onto some evidence they shouldn't have found. They are then taken out, presumably by American forces in an attempt to cover up that evidence. However, there's one problem: our main character, Odelle Ballard, survives & has a copy of the evidence. If you like government drama/mystery. This one seems to be a good pick. Like I said, I'm only a few episodes in. It could go bad quick, but so far, I've really enjoyed American Odyssey.
2. Music: Live At Fillmore East by The Allman Bros. Band. Today I'm highlighting a classic, & I have to restrain myself because I love this album so much. Yes, it's a double album with only 7 songs, but that just means you get to hear the improvisational genius of Duane Allman & Dickey Betts. This is the best live album ever recorded. There will be people who disagree with that statement, but they're wrong. You ease into it with a couple of short tracks, & by short  I mean 4.5 to 5 minute songs, but by the end you get to hear the brothers in all their glory on Whipping Post which comes in at just over 23 minutes, but every second is perfection. If you're serious about good music, especially great guitar playing, & haven't purchased your copy of this one, you need to stop what you're doing right now & either purchase a hard copy or download it.
3. Quote. "Three categories: 1. Disobedience. 2. Angry obedience. 3. Loving obedience. The great divide is not between 1 and 2 but between 2 and 3." Ray Ortlund
4. Social Media: Joe Bonamossa on Instagram. Joe is one of the best guitar players around these days, & he's also a rabid guitar collector. His Instagram account is not only a treasure trove of cool guitars, but Joe regularly posts videos of his playing. Guitar nerds & blues lovers should give Joe a follow on Instagram.
5. Book: Designed To Lead. Eric Geiger & Kevin Peck have a new book coming out next week that focuses on developing leadership in a gospel context. The church has the potential to be the greatest leadership development organization on earth, but too often we squander our opportunities. I'm looking forward to this book big time. I've been fortunate enough to be a part of the publisher's book launch team which means I've gotten some early access to some stuff, & I'm excited about the copies I've got coming my way. Check out the Designed To Lead website for more info & some downloadable resources.

The Friday Five

1. TV: Stranger Things on Netflix. One of the best shows I've seen in a long time. Perfectly designed for Netflix binge watching. Excellent acting, incredible writing, & a heavy dose of 80s nostalgia make this a show you can't miss. I describe it as a show that feels like "if Stephen King wrote E.T." The thing that struck me was that the show didn't just take place in 1983; it actually felt like it was made in 1983. Yes, it's got some low-budget special effects you would expect from a TV show, but the story & acting are so good, you don't really think about it.
2. Music: Venus (Acoustic) by Joy Williams. I'm a huge Joy Williams fan, but I wasn't crazy about her 1st solo album post-The Civil Wars. The acoustic version, however, is another story. I don't know what it is, but her voice seems to be tailor made for sparse, acoustic accompaniment. If you enjoyed her work with The Civil Wars, check this one out. It has a similar feel.
3. Quote. "We cannot organize a revival, but we can agonize for one in prayer." Greg Laurie
4. Social Media: OurJacksonHome on Instagram. This is a great little account that helps me keep up with my hometown in west Tennessee. It's cool to see some of the things going on in this growing town between Memphis & Nashville.
5. Bible Study Resource: Exalting Jesus in 1st & 2nd Kings. I did a full review of this earlier in the week, so I won't rehash it here. Needless to say, it's worth looking into. If you want to read the review, click HERE.

Book Review: Exalting Jesus in 1st & 2nd Kings

As a pastor one of the things that I find most disturbing is how many people are so unfamiliar with their Bible. There are a lot of reasons for it, but one is that guys like me (pastors) haven't done a great job of teaching people how to read it. We fail to help people see how everything from Genesis to Revelation has one thing in common: Jesus. It's Jesus & His Gospel that's the lens through which we should read Scripture. Yes, a passage is to be interpreted in its immediate context, but we also have to keep in mind the broader purpose of Scripture: the revelation of God the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit. That means we need to keep the Gospel in mind even when we're not reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

B&H Publishing is currently producing The Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary Series. In this post I'll focus on Exalting Jesus in 1st & 2nd Kings. These aren't exactly the books we readily identify with Jesus. However, if nothing else the record of the kings of Israel & Judah show us the imperfection that will be replaced with perfection & the divided kingdom that will be replaced with the eternal kingdom when the prophet, priest, & king named Jesus of Nazareth shows up a few centuries later.

In this volume Tony Merida walks us through these two Old Testament books, helping the reader see how the Gospel is woven throughout Scripture & foreshadowed time & time again through the history of Israel. One of the strengths of this series of commentaries is that they don't really read like commentaries. In other words, they're not dry, boring, or academic. This book is the best kind of commentary: approachable & applicable. I would encourage anyone interested in serious Bible study to look into Exalting Jesus in 1st & 2nd Kings or any of the other available titles in this series.

Disclaimer: I received a promotional copy of this book from B&H Publishing for this review.

The Friday Five

1. Music: Take The World, But Give Me Jesus by Ascend The Hill. This is a great, relatively unknown album featuring contemporary arrangements of some classic hymns. The difficulty in updating classic hymns is that it's really easy to end up with a hymn that doesn't sound like itself. However, Ascend The Hill manages to create a really good album, even when they stretch the boundaries of what we would expect from hymns. I especially like that they took on some of the more doctrinally rich hymns from the 2000 years of history the church has to work with.
2. Book: Lords Of The Sith by Paul Kemp. Everybody knows I love Star Wars. However, I haven't been one to read the books over the years. However, it's a little more manageable now that Disney & Lucasfilm scrapped the old "expanded universe" in favor of creating a new canon with more continuity. Now to the real reason why this book is great & why I'd recommend it to even a fan who typically only watches the movies: Vader. The book is primarily about the relationship between Darth Vader & the Emperor. On top of that it feels like a Star Wars movie. It's action-packed while also being very character driven. I don't read a whole lot of stuff just for fun or entertainment, but this one was great. I finished it in a couple of sittings. Pro-tip: Read it while listening to the soundtrack of any of the Star Wars movies. It will bring it to life even more as you find your reading syncing up with John Williams' score.
3. Social Media: ParentCue On Instagram. ParentCue comes to you from the people at Orange, some of the leaders in family ministry content for churches. ParentCue, as you might expect, is directed at parents. Their Instagram account is one of my favorite's to follow.
4. Quote. "When I count other people's blessings, I tend to lose sight of mine." Andy Stanley
5. Bible Study Resource: Blue Letter Bible. This site is one of my go to study helps for both personal study & sermon prep. Blue Letter Bible has tons of translations, linguistic helps, & commentaries. It's user friendly, & you don't have to have a PhD to navigate it & find it useful, even the linguistic sections that focus on the Greek & Hebrew. If you're looking to go a little deeper with some of your studies, this is a resource I'd recommend to anyone.

The Friday Five

I'm back this week with a quick Friday Five after a busy few weeks. So here we go. Hope you enjoy.

1. Music: Poets & Saints by All Sons & Daughters. All Sons & Daughters has a new album coming out in September that you can pre-order now & receive a couple of tracks now. I was able to get a free download of one of those songs, "I Surrender," about a month ago. This is going to be a great album. I'm a huge fan of everything I've ever heard from All Sons & Daughters, & I'd encourage you to go ahead & make plans to check this one out.
2. Book: Exalting Jesus In 1st & 2nd Kings. This book is part of the Christ-Centered Exposition series led by David Platt, Danny Akin, & Tony Merida. Too often when we read through Scripture, especially the Old Testament, we're not reading it through the lens of Jesus or the lens of the Gospel. As a result, we develop a Christ-less interpretation. It's an inadvertent mistake, but it's a real one & an easy one to make. These books may sound scholarly but the team does a great job of making these works easy to ready & accessible for just about anybody.
3. Blog Post: 7 Things Church Guests Are Telling Us. This is a great little post from Thom Rainer that those of us in church leadership or who are actively involved in a local church need to read. Too often we let things slide because we take them for granted & forget to see through the eyes of a newcomer or first time guest. As a result, we create an uncertain or uncomfortable environment for our guests, & I don't know about you, but I tend to avoid uncertain & uncomfortable environments. The same is true of our guests. 
4. Quote. "We want to be known as men & women who love Jesus more than we love our freedoms." -Matt Chandler
5. Nerd Corner: Star Wars Celebration 2016 on YouTube. This weekend the center of the Star Wars universe is London. The folks over at Disney & Lucasfilm host their own huge conference every year to promote upcoming properties like the new Rogue One film or the upcoming season of Star Wars: Rebels. It's also a place where fans get to meet some of the actors & creators of the Star Wars universe. This weekend you can take a look at some of the panel conversations from Celebration through Star Wars YouTube Channel. They're airing the Rogue One panel, the Rebels panel, & panels featuring some of the big stars of Star Wars like Mark Hamill & Carrie Fisher. Not only can you watch these panels live, but they're going to keep these panels up on their YouTube page to view later. This is a great opportunity for uber-Star Wars nerds to hear about the upcoming films, shows, & books without having to spend thousands of dollars to spend the weekend in London.

The Friday Five

This week's Friday Five focuses on bluegrass icon Ralph Stanley who passed away yesterday at 89. Here are 5 songs/performances that you should check out.

1. Pretty Polly. As great a singer as Ralph has always been, I actually preferred his voice as he got older. There was just something about a little age that made his tenor voice even more powerful. This performance with Patty Loveless from several years back is an instant classic.
2. White Dove. This one dates back to Ralph's days with his brother Carter in the Stanley Brothers. The Stanley Brothers are in my opinion the embodiment of the "high lonesome sound" in bluegrass, & nobody does death songs better than the Stanley Brothers. White Dove is one of their classics & features Ralph's legendary high harmonies
3. Dickson County Breakdown. Ralph wasn't just an incredible singer. He was also a banjo pioneer. Although overshadowed by Earl Scruggs, Ralph was no slouch. Ralph had a tone that was distinctly his, & Dickson County Breakdown is a great tune featuring his playing.
4. Glory Land: The Stanley Brothers were also known doing great Gospel songs, many times a capella. Glory Land is one of many great tunes. This version is from a show in 1983 & starts around 30:40.
5. Little Maggie. Even though it may be a little predictable, you can't have a list of Ralph Stanley greatness without Little Maggie. When I hear the name Ralph Stanley, this is usually the first song I think of. If you're unfamiliar with Ralph Stanley or the Stanley Brothers in general, this song needs to be your introduction.

BONUS: Sweetheart of Mine Can't You Hear Me Calling with Bill Monroe. Here's a clip with arguably the two most important vocalists in the history of bluegrass.

The Friday Five

This week's Friday Five focuses on great documentaries that music lovers have to check out. Most of these are available online either through Netflix or another provider.

1. Muscle Shoals. Some of the best music ever produced was recorded in a sleepy north Alabama
   town on the Tennessee River. This documentary tells the story of the musicians who played & the giant genius that is Rick Hall, founder of Fame Recording Studio. You'll be shocked at how much incredible stuff came out of this little town.
2. Winding Stream. I literally found this one on Netflix yesterday. It recounts the story & impact of the Carter Family on American music. If you don't know who the Carter Family is, you should be ashamed of yourself, & you need to educate yourself immediately.
3. The Wrecking Crew. While great hits were being recorded in Muscle Shoals, there was another hit factory on the west coast. There a group of musicians were creating some of the biggest pop classics of all time. This is the story of those musicians. Again, you'll be amazed at how much great music was made by a relatively small group of musicians.
   
4. History Of The Eagles: Bottom line: This is one of the best music documentaries ever. But you better set aside some time. It's around 3 hours long, but it's the good, bad, & ugly behind one of the most iconic bands in American music.
5. Carol King: Natural Woman. Great documentary focusing in on the life & music of one of the most important songwriters of all time. Yes, you get a lot of focus on Tapestry, but you also find out that she wrote seemingly every hit you ever heard, while also seeing what was going on in her life during those years. Great stuff from PBS>

Feast or Famine?

“The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His Presence.” -A.W. Tower

This weekend we continued our series "I Am" as one of our deacons shared a message from John 6 as Jesus says, "I am the bread of life..." As we examined the passage & its implications, I thought of this quote. The world is dying in its sin and too many have never heard the message of the Gospel from the Church. At the same time, too many congregations are dying and closing their doors because they've forgotten the message & ministry of the Gospel.

As Jesus invited people to come and feed on the Bread of Life. He not only promised that this Bread would give them life, real spiritual life, but He also showed Himself to be the sustainer of that life. He is the Source & the Sustainer. The Gospel is what bring us to life in Christ, & it's the Gospel that transforms us to live as Christ. But somehow too many of us have forgotten this. So our salvation becomes an event rather than a way of life. The Gospel becomes something that happened to us at a particular moment rather than the very life blood of our existent. And along the way, in a very slow, subtle, unintentional way, we forget the Gospel. As Jesus said in Revelation 2, we forget our first love. As we forget our first love, we also forget to do what we did at first, namely pursue Jesus & pursue the lost. So in the end we not only neglect the Gospel, we end up neglecting the Great Commission.

As a result, the world begins to starve for the knowledge of God because the vehicle for that message of God's loving, gracious pursuit of sinners has been starving for God's presence. When we stop walking in the Gospel, it won't be long before we stop sharing the Gospel. 

"Consistently & Faithfully Following Jesus Means 

Continually & Faithfully Feasting On Jesus."

How are we supposed to feed on Jesus? Let me share a couple of verses to guide us. John 1:17 says that "the Word became flesh & dwelt among us." The eternal, preexistent Word of God, the very Word of creation, the very Word of revelation, put on flesh & lived among us, & His name was Jesus. So again, how do we feed on Jesus? We feed on Jesus by feeding on the Word because He is the Word. Then what? Well, let's consider what Ezekiel 3:1 says. In this verse God commands His prophet to eat the word & then speak the word. Sound familiar? It should. As believers we consume the Bread of Life, Jesus. He gives us life & salvation. As we experience the work of Christ, we're moved to advance that Good News of life, hope, & salvation in Christ. We consume the Word, then we speak the Word so that Jesus is magnified & lives are saved. If we want the world to have knowledge of God & therefore live, we must feast on Christ & His word so that we're moved by the Gospel to advance the Gospel. 

So let me ask you, are you in a season of feast or famine? If you're feasting, is it leading to action? Are you eating the word & speaking the word? If you're in a season of famine, come back to the table. Jesus has invited you to come & dine so that you will never have to hunger or thirst again.

The Friday Five

This week's Friday Five focuses exclusively on things that would be valuable for the Church. I've listed some music & other resources here to encourage & instruct church members & church leaders as they seek to know Christ & make Him known.

1. Music: Grace Alone by The Modern Post. This is a nice little EP from a Seattle based group led by Dustin Kensrue. The songs are great with deep, rich lyrics & a cool, modern sound. They do a great job reworking classic hymns while also offering great original content.
2. Blog: Vanderbloemen Search Group. Vanderbloemen is one of the premier ministry search firms in America. William & his team provide great resources for churches who are looking to fill a staff role as well as actually partnering with the church in the search process. June is Pastor Search Month at Vanderbloemen. The folks at their blog have already loaded the blog with some great posts about the dynamics of a search process. If your church is in a search process, it would be well worth the search team's time to check out the blog. If not, it would be wise to bookmark these posts because eventually, your church will be looking to fill a staff position & these resources & insight will be at your fingertips.
   
3. Book: Reclaiming Glory. This is a new book from John Mark Clifton. John Mark is a church replanting & revitalization specialist with the North American Mission Board. He is working with other church leaders to do something about the alarming rate of church decline & deaths. His new book forces us to wrestle with the question, "What about a dying church brings glory to God?" The answer is obvious: nothing. Therefore, what are we going to do about the thousands of churches at death's door? In the book he shares some great insights gleaned not only from his own, hands on experience, but form the stories of other leaders who are doing the work of replanting & revitalizing churches.
4. Quote: "Men's ideas of the wrath to come may be judged of by the earnestness with which they exhort others to fly from it." J.C. Ryle
5. Follow: NAMB_SBC on Instagram. This gives us a great glimpse into what the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is doing to further the Gospel through church planting, church revitalization, & equipping believers to live life on mission.

The Friday Five

1. Music: Real Time by Tim O'Brien & Darrell Scott. This album is 16 years old, but it's definitely not mainstream. This is a great sort of Americana/Folk album by two incredibly gifted musicians & songwriters. They play all the instruments on this album & wrote I think all but two of the songs. If you're into great playing, great songwriting, & great singing (which is sorely lacking in most popular music today), you should give this one a try. It's great.
2. Food: Coffee Rub Pork Chops. Here's a new addition to the Five. On Memorial Day I tried a new take on grilled pork chops. I modified the recipe I've got linked here & used it on the chops. I didn't have turmeric, coriander, or cayenne on hand. I substituted a little Cajun seasoning for the cayenne instead & just skipped the turmeric & coriander. They turned out great. Just be careful not to overcook because an overcooked pork chop is like eating shoe leather. Here's an extra tip: save some for breakfast the next day. Serve the leftover pork chop on biscuits with just a little bit of apple jelly or apple butter. It's slap yo momma good.
3. TV: Gotham. Season 2 of Gotham just wrapped up. If you're not aware of Gotham. It's basically the story of Gotham City, Jim Gordon, & Bruce Wayne beginning with the murder of Bruce's parents. If you're looking for Batman, he's nowhere around. The show begins with Bruce as a pre-teen dealing with the death of his parents. As he grows, the writers do a good job of giving you glimpses of who he will eventually become. The stars of the show are really a young Jim Gordon, who will one day become Commissioner Gordon & the villains. If you need to catch up from the beginning, you can catch season 1 of Gotham on Netflix.
4. Quote: "Self control is the ability to do the important thing rather than the urgent thing." Tim Keller
5. Nerd Corner: Follow Pablo Hidalgo On Twitter. As you might expect, this is Star Wars related nerdom. Pablo is one of the leaders of the Lucasfilm Story Group at Disney who gets to be a part of creating Star Wars. He literally gets to decide what becomes "canon" in the Star Wars universe. Pablo is a great representative to the fans as well. He's very active on Twitter. He's really interactive. Sometimes he'll answer questions, sometimes he won't. He also pokes fun at the insanity that is alway present in any sort of rabid fanbase. Pablo himself is worth a follow, but if you ever feel a little ashamed of how into Star Wars you are, following him also gives you access to people who are way more gone than you are. It helps you & your family realize that you could be a much bigger nerd than you already are.

Get The Church Outside The Church

This past Sunday our church did something way out of the norm. We didn't "have church." Instead, we were the church. We intentionally shut down our typical Sunday schedule & programs in order to host a Memorial Day Weekend Block Party. We promoted it throughout our community. We encouraged & equipped our people to invite friends, neighbors, or co-workers through social media & old fashioned invitations. Our goal was to build bridges with our community & sow Gospel seeds in the hearts of our neighbors.

Needless to say, this was probably very uncomfortable for some of our members & attenders. After all, Sunday is when we go to church & worship. However, what we wanted to remind everyone of is the fact that on this Sunday we were going to worship through serving & evangelizing our community. If we say we want to be known for loving our community & being #ForToccoa, shouldn't that be reflected in our schedule, even our Sunday schedule?

This outreach event allowed us to connect with people who wouldn't come to a worship service at 10:45am. In fact, we were able to connect to one young man who literally would have never crossed our path were it not for this event. This young man recently took ownership of a local convenience store. As he drove by our property, he saw everything that was going on at the block party. He grabbed some donuts from his store & came by to drop them off for us as a nice gesture from a new business owner. However, as God would have it, he dropped by just as we were sharing the Gospel. He stayed & listened intently. He then responded to the message by sharing with me that he was raised Hindu but that he really wanted to learn more about who Jesus is & that he thought he needed to come to church to find out. That's where we were able to share with him that our next message series is called "I Am" & it's Jesus talking about Himself, telling us who He is. 

This young man would have most likely never set foot on our property or had a conversation with the pastor were it not for the church's willingness to get outside the church's building. He would have possibly never heard the Gospel & had it stir something in his soul. Churches are often worried about what it will cost to do something really different. Churches should be worried about what it will cost if they don't do something different. Are our comforts, traditions, & conveniences really worth withholding the Gospel from our neighbors? Today is a different day. Many non-believers will no longer just show up in our sanctuaries on Sunday. That means we need to get out of the sanctuary & hit the battlefield. There are souls to save, lives to change, & seeds to sow. 

How can you & your church get outside the church in order to advance the Gospel?

Who Moved My Pulpit?

I wanted to give you a quick review of Thom Rainer's book, "Who Moved My Pulpit?". Dr. Rainer & B&H Publishing were gracious enough to get me some advance copies to review & distribute to ministry leaders. If you'd like to enter to win one of those copies, you've got three option. First, visit my Twitter page & follow the instruction in my #WhoMovedMyPulpit tweets. Or you can visit my Facebook page & follow the instructions in my "Who Moved My Pulpit?" updates. The last option is the easiest; you can simply leave a comment here on the blog. However, you need to hurry though because tomorrow I'll be selecting the winners & getting these advance copies out. If you miss out on one of the freebies, you'll be able to find it at bookstores on June 1st.

Dr. Rainer's focus in this book is on leading change effectively in the church. Some of the impetus for writing this book comes from the fact that 90% of churches are plateaued or in decline compared to their community. The overwhelming majority of churches need to change in order to survive & continue to be a viable part of the Great Commission.

In the book Dr. Rainer outlines a roadmap for leading change in the church that would serve as a solid baseline for any leader in any ministry context. In fact, I'm passing on copies of this book to our Church Leadership Team as we work through the process of revitalizing the ministry in our congregation. I'm also planning to get some copies to our local denominational leadership who will be working with churches seeking to revitalize.

If you serve on a church staff or as a ministry lay leader, you should invest in this little book. I finished it up in a couple of hours, so it's a quick but loaded read. If you'd like more information on "Who Moved My Pulpit?" visit the official website.

Membership Matters

It's become trendy in recent years to downplay the value of church membership. Some churches have all but done away with official membership while others have contributed to the negative connotation of membership by making it little more than filling out a card & getting your name on a list. Still other churches have tried to dodge some of the negativity by using different terminology that allows them to communicate the value of being meaningfully connected with a congregation & particularly a small group of believers while using a set of terms that don't carry quite so much baggage. There is even a movement in some churches to combat the apathy concerning church membership by raising the bar of expectation by requiring members to renew their membership every year & by actually holding members accountable for the biblical standards of what it means to be a part of a local congregation of Christ followers. The important thing for us to see here is that we shouldn't deal with the negative issues surrounding church membership by throwing the entire concept out, but instead we should lift up the biblical standard & call people to it. Membership matters. 

In fact, I would be so bold as to say you cannot fulfill New Testament instructions concerning following Christ together without it. When you read passages like Hebrews 10:19-25 or Colossians 3:12-14, you have to ask yourself, "How can I really do this apart from being meaningfully engaged with, devoted to, & invested in a community of believers who are following Christ together?" In other words, "How can I really do this without a church family that I'm responsible for & accountable to." The answer is you can't. The church needs you, & you need the church. Most of the conversations I've had over the years with people whose faith is drying up or who feel distant from God begin by recognizing that they drifted away from the people of God before they drifted away from God. As a result they've robbed themselves of other believers ministering to them, & they've robbed others of the encouragement that they might have to offer their brothers & sisters. Even more tragically, they rob the lost of the opportunity to hear the Gospel & see the Gospel at work. After all, I don't have a whole lot of interaction with people who are disconnected from their church family who are also leading a lot of people to faith in Christ. Being deeply invested in a congregation matters.

"Church Membership & Ministry Are Essential Because 

They Equip Us To Deny Self As We Submit To & Serve One Another."

Think about it. Our human nature is pretty self-centered. In addition to that, our culture reinforces that mentality. Meanwhile, Jesus tells us that to follow Him, we have to deny self. Since that goes against our own nature, it stands to reason that we might just need a training ground to help us grow in our willingness to put others ahead of ourselves. We need other disciples of Jesus who can encourage us & hold us accountable. We also need someone that we're investing in in the same way. We see this selfishness pop up when we listen to ourselves talk about why we leave churches.

"I wasn't being fed."

"I didn't like the music."

"The church didn't meet my needs."

If you'll notice most folks don't leave churches because they don't take the Gospel or the Great Commission seriously enough. They usually hop from one place to another because "their needs" aren't being met. Here's a newsflash: No church can meet your needs. Only Jesus does that. To expect a church to fill that void is to make it a false god. The church is where redeemed, imperfect people imperfectly follow Jesus together. You need it. I need it. Membership matters. Devote yourself to a local congregation. Get engaged with the people & the mission. Declare your devotion to that congregation, & invest your life in it.

The Friday Five

1. Book: Living By The Book by Dr. Howard Hendricks. This is possibly the most important book I ever bought in college or seminary. The great thing though is that it's not really a textbook. It's not overly academic in its approach. In classic Hendricks style, it's approachable for everybody. If you're wanting to grow your Bible study habit & dive deeper, I'd encourage you to check it out. I gave a copy away 15 years ago to a student, & I recently bought a new copy & am in the process of rereading it.
2. Follow: Taylor Guitars on Instagram. If you're a guitar geek like me, this is a must follow. I've been playing Taylor Guitars for a long time, & while there are a lot of great guitars out there, for me, this is the one.
3. TV: Daredevil on Netflix. Season 2 of Daredevil just wrapped up, & while as a whole, I didn't enjoy it as much as Season 1, it was still solid. Season 1 is incredible, & Season 2 has some great moments, & I think is going to set up next season really well. If you saw the old Ben Affleck film based on this character, you owe it to yourself to watch this show to wash that bad taste out of your mouth. It's really well done.
4. Quote: "Attending church is like exercise. If you only do it twice a year, it's gonna hurt." Sam Rainer
5. Music: Drive by Bela Fleck. This is a great, pure bluegrass, album from the master of the banjo. In addition to Bela's genius, it also features the likes of Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, & Mark O'Connor. It's some of the best playing that you'll ever hear, & the end of Sam Bush's mandolin break on "Whitewater" still makes my jaw drop, even though I've heard it hundreds of times.

Kingdom Minded Moms & Dads

We wrapped up our Family Matters message series over the last two weeks with messages focused on parenting. We began with a message for moms & looked at 1st Samuel 1. This chapter of God's redemption story begins with a woman who desperately wanted to become a mother. However, her desire for a child wasn't just about satisfying her maternal instincts. Her desire was that God would use that little life to glorify His name & further His Kingdom. In fact, in Hannah's prayer in 1st Samuel 1, we see that before she is even pregnant, she sets aside her son for God. She knows that being given a child is a gift from God, but she also understood something profound about motherhood:

"The Greatest Gift A Mother Can Give Her Child 

Is To Give Her Child To God."

Hannah surrendered her plans & hopes for her child to God's plans. She knew that, above all else, being used by God & serving His Kingdom should be her desire for her son. Sometimes as parents we let our protective instincts go off the tracks, & if we're not careful, we end up protecting our kids from God Himself. As a result, we inadvertently rob them of the only thing that matters in life. May we all pursue Hannah's example of surrender.

This past weekend we focused our message toward dads by looking at a season of King David's life that was a total train wreck. In 2nd Samuel 11 David has his scandalous fall with Bathsheba. The chapters that follow tell a tale of chaos & calamity in David's family. And it all started with David losing the battle in his heart. David should have been on the battlefield, but instead he was on the roof. The fallout from David's sin landed squarely on his family. In the end he loses three sons, & one of his daughter's has her life destroyed when her half-brother rapes her. All the while, David did nothing as his family fell apart. He had lost his moral authority & credibility on that rooftop. David's life can teach us something important as fathers:

"Our Biggest Battles Will Always Be In Our Heart & Our Home."

David probably though his slip up with Bathsheba was no big deal until it spiraled out of control...the way sin always does. The truth is that the battles we often think are big are insignificant, & the battles we think are insignificant are actually the big ones. Too many men are on the rooftop rather than on the battlefield. They're being distracted by the things of the world, & like David they're eyes are lingering a little too long. It's time for fathers to focus their attention on the battlefield for the sake of their families, for the sake of the next generation, but most importantly for the sake of the Gospel.

The Friday Five

1. Podcast: Fellowship Bible Church. Dr. Crawford Loritts is the Senior Pastor at Fellowship which is located in the Atlanta area. Crawford is a powerful preacher & teacher, & as the pastor of a multi-cultural congregation, he & his ministry team are a group to pay attention to as we seek gospel fueled reconciliation in our culture.
2. Follow: Jennie Allen on Twitter. Jennie is one of several in a new generation of women's ministry leaders who have surely been influenced by leaders like Beth Moore. Jennie leads the IF: Gathering which is a powerful resource for ladies. Jennie is one of my favorite podcast guests as well. If I see that she's going to be on a podcast, it moves to the top of my list. She is a solid teacher of Scripture & full of energy. 
   
3. TV: Sherlock. I'm still shocked at how many people I meet who are still unaware of BBC's Sherlock. They know Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman, but they don't know the incredible TV show they've made. It's smart, funny, brilliantly written & shot, & manages to stay pretty faithful to the old Holmes stories while putting a 21st century twist on it. The only downside is that the seasons are only a few episodes & because of the schedules of Freeman & Cumberbatch, we have to wait a couple years between each season. This is a binge show. Once you get sucked in, you can't get out. One last thing: Andrew Scott is absolutely incredible & unhinged as Moriarty. Hands down, one of my favorite shows. Cannot get enough of it.
4. Quote: "You are not just raising kids to become adults. You are raising kids to advance the Kingdom." Dr. Tony Evans
5. Article/Post: Is Your Worship Service Upside Down by Jared Wilson. I'm a big fan of Jared Wilson who is the Managing Editor at For The Church. Before that, Jared pastored for several years. Jared is a great blend of satirical humor & deep theological understanding. In this post, Jared focused on how so many of us have turned our worship services upside down in order to appeal to more people. As a result, God is no longer the central focus of our worship. Jared provides us with a short list to diagnose who the focus of our worship service really is.

Friday Five

1. Music: Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. This is often referred to as "The Beano Album", & if you're into the blues & you don't have this album, you're not into the blues. This album is a definitive work for not only John Mayall but also for Eric Clapton. There's so much good music on this album, but the best tracks are "Hideaway" & "Ramblin On My Mind." If you're a blues fan or a Clapton fan, or if you just like good music, buy this today.
2. Follow: Dr. Anthony Bradley on Twitter. Dr. Bradley is the Chair of the Religious & Theological Studies Program at The King's College in New York City. Dr. Bradley always provides thought provoking content in the area of the Gospel & culture, especially the realms of race & socioeconomics. Dr. Bradley brings a balanced, nuanced view to complex issues in our society.
   
3. TV: Arrow. Arrow is the TV show based on the DC Comic hero The Green Arrow. Oliver Queen/The Arrow is 1 part Robin Hood, 1 part Bruce Wayne, with a little ninja thrown in for good measure. The series begins with Queen returning to his hometown after being presumed dead for 5 years. We soon learn that he's on a quest to save his city, & we get to see how the spoiled little brat who went missing became the resourceful hero through flashbacks sprinkled throughout each episode. This show came recommended to me by one of my former students, & thankfully now there are 3 seasons on Netflix for you to binge watch. This is a really well done show. 
4. Quote: "The danger to republics is that they will fall to demagogues. The vulnerability is greatest when a republic is in a state of moral decay." Dr. Robert P. George
5. Article/Post: 16 Really Strange & Funny Things Pastors Have Been Asked To Do by Thom Rainer. If you've ever wanted a peek behind the curtain of what it's like to be a pastor, Dr. Rainer gives you a glimpse at just some of the stuff ministers are asked, & often expected, to do. Trust me everybody I know in ministry has some of these kind of stories. This is just the tip of the iceberg, & it's a huge iceberg.

Your Plans Aren't Great Enough

In our current series, "Family Matters", we're heading into the last few messages that focus on parenting. To kick that group of messages off, we looked at the fact that pretty much every parent has hopes, dreams, & plans for their kids, & there's nothing wrong with that. 

However, if we're not careful we'll dream dreams & make plans without including God in the process. As a result, we're in danger of not setting the bar of expectation too high for our kids, but of setting the wrong bar for them altogether. The worst thing we can do for our kids is to teach them to be successful without teaching them to be faithful.

In 1st Samuel 16 we find God sending his prophet Samuel out on a mission to anoint the next king of Israel. Those of us who've spent a few weeks in Sunday School know this is going to be David, yet when Samuel gets to Jesse's house & begins to meet the family, none of the sons are God's man. So Samuel had to ask what had to feel like a weird question, "Do you have any other sons?" Jesse's response tells us a lot about the expectations that Jesse & that ancient culture had placed on David. Jesse's response was pretty much, "Oh yeah, I've got another son, but he's the youngest, & he's just a shepherd." Basically, everyone in David's family & in culture in general would have assumed that David wasn't worth inviting to the party. It turns out, however, that David was the guest of honor for the party. Everybody had plans for David: his dad, his brothers, his culture, but God had plans as well. As parents, we should take note of that. Even though culture had predetermined David's future, God had another plan.

"God's Plans May Not Match Your Plans

    But Are Always Greater Than Your Plans."

Do your plans, hopes, & dreams for your children take God's plans into account? Are your plans broad enough & great enough to include what God might want to do in & through the life of your child? We must teach children that being successful starts with being faithful. Otherwise, they'll pursue being successful at the expense of being faithful. It was that faithful heart of David that God wanted to do great things through. Cultivate that same kind of heart in your kids, & God's plans will dwarf even your greatest hopes & dreams for your child because He will take whatever they do & use it for eternal, kingdom significance.

Friday Five

This weekend I'm at a music festival in North Carolina. So this Friday Five will be brief & all about the music.

1. Bluegrass Album: "Cold on the Shoulder" by Tony Rice. Iconic album by iconic guitarist.
2. Rock Album: "Led Zeppelin IV/Zoso/Runes" by Led Zeppelin. Sure it's got "Stairway to Heaven" on it, but literally every song on this album still gets played on the radio. How many albums can make that claim?
3. Live Album: "At Fillmore East" by The Allman Brothers Band. Everything about it is amazing. The only problem is that it's not long enough!
4. Jazz Album: "Acoustics" by The Tony Rice Unit. That's right, Tony does bluegrass & jazz. The opening track, "Gasology" is my favorite. It's incredible musicianship.
5. Soundtrack: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. If having Vader's ominous "Imperial March" isn't enough, Empire features "Yoda's Theme", which by the way John Williams sneaks into his score of E.T., & "Han Solo & The Princess."