rob bell

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When bad Christians happen to good people

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"To me a Christian is either a man who lives in Christ or a phony. You Christians do not appreciate that it is on this--the almost eternal testimony that you give of God--that we judge you. You ought to radiate Christ. Your faith ought to flow out to us like a river of life. You ought to infect us with a LOVE for him. It is then that God who was impossible becomes possible for the atheist and for those of us whose faith is wavering. We cannot help being struck, upset, and confused by a Christian who is truly Christlike. And we do not forgive him when he fails to be." - an atheist woman from Paris "Many who had already come close on the way to believing are frightened away by the bad lives of evil and false Christians. How many, my brothers, do you think there are who want to become Christians but are put off by the evil ways of Christians?" - St. Augustine

"It is symptomatic that, despite the church having been around for two thousand years, the mass of people still pass Christianity by. Why? Because the visible presence of Jesus Christ is rarely present in Christians as a whole." - Brennan Manning

"Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn't as bright as it could be." - Rob Bell

Catalyst Lab Day Highlights

Here are some of my highlights from the labs I attended on the first day of Catalyst (italicized the particularly strong statements I want to ruminate on) Scott McKnight - One.Life - To ignite a dream in a student is an incredible opportunity - Jesus traded in dreams --> and we need our dreams to be swamped by Jesus' dreams - "IMAGINE A WORLD LIKE THIS" could begin every kingdom parable Jesus told - "to be a writer, you have to like sentences" (a quote by Annie Dillard) - You have to do little things well and with faithfulness to plot the course for the DREAM God gives you - parable of the weeds and wheat --> let Jesus say what he says here...they are go grow together...the world is the field, the field is not the Church...but we like to rule people out, but Jesus says we are to co-exist together until the harvest - When Jesus says to love our enemies, we ask, "Who are our enemies?" --> Muslims, Homosexuals, Homeless --> we can tell they are our enemies because they are never in our homes

Rick McKinley – “A Kingdom Called Desire” - Matthew 13:44 à the one word that ruins me is “joy” à in his joy, he sold everything - Desire is that thing which makes us ask “Why WOULDN’T I do that?” - If I’m not honest with the places in me where I don't completely trust that Jesus is enough, then I can only fake it...you can fake it in church, but you cannot fake it in the kingdom - Jesus is intent on killing you and wrecking you SO THAT he can resurrect you anew - Most of us would trade our people for Pharisees any day of the week --> they do it right, they're easier to work with, they got the duty down...but THEY'RE PHARISEES - we're joining Jesus on mission, we're not creating mission...

Michael Hyatt - The Leadership Edge - Your heart is the key to influence as a leader - Your heart should be your #1 priority (Proverbs 4:23 says "above all else") - If you do not guard your heart, things will fail and fall around you - Your heart is the essence of your identity - Ask yourself the question frequently: "How is my heart?" (ask others the same) - Your heart is the most important leadership tool you possess....do you value it as such - closed heart:  you're distant and aloof...communication shuts down...you're more interested in finding out what people have done wrong...you're critical and demanding - open heart:  fully present, engaged in the conversation, communication is wide open, you are a resource to people, you're more focused on people than you are on yourself, NOT focused on finding what is wrong - people will emulate the leader whether he likes it or not...whether the leaders heart is open or closed

Anne Jackson - Permission to Speak Freely - The common denominator in the things people felt they could not talk about in the church was "brokenness" -Whatever is broken we tend to sweep under the rug - If we don't show the world that we are broken, how will they ever believe in a healer? -  "vulnerable" comes from a word that means "to be wounded"

David Platt - Radical - Luke 9:57-62 --> doesn't it seem like Jesus is trying to talk these men out of following him? - Which is so unlike us...we spend so much time and effort trying to draw as many people as we can...each time a large crowd came to Jesus he says something HUGE about what it means to follow him - Unfortunately, Jesus did not have the advanced evangelism methods we have today *sarcasm* --> people turn away from the call He places on them, and he SEEMS to be alright with that - "Come to Jesus and get ________." --> if we fill that blank with anything but "Jesus" we preach a false gospel - We have come up with so much stuff to get us excited about Jesus...the Holy Spirit is doing just fine without all the resources we surround ourselves with in our Churches - Budget Season is where we come face to face with how little we trust God's word - When you know God truly you love God deeply

My Most Favorite Podcasts

- Relevant Magazine Podcast The weekly podcast of Relevant Magazine - You will never get bored listening to this crew and their insights into entertainment, culture, and current events. This is my FAVORITE podcast. - The Moth People telling stories live and without notes. - This can be very inspirational if not just pure enjoyment. I find it helps bring more lively writing of sermons as it relates to the art of telling a story. - Indie Feed Performance Poetry Cutting Edge Performance Poetry - I have recently become addicted to this podcast. Three new poems a week, and it is just great great great poetry by artists doing it right now. - Neue Weekly conversations with ministers and thinkers shaping the future of the Church. - I have only recently begun listening to this podcast. I have been a subscriber to Neue for  quite a while, and I love the quarterly magazine's material. So I expect the same from the podcast.

- Various sermons (Rick McKinley, Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, Rob Bell, etc.) - It is important, as a teacher and pastor, to always be listening to new voices of ministry and teaching. When you are frequently teaching, it is detrimental not to be taught as well.