From the monthly archives:

July 2009

GiveThemAGoodStart.com

July 31, 2009

Please visit our new micro-site GiveThemAGoodStart.com to learn 3 ways you can make a difference today! When I learned recently that thousands of kids across the city of Atlanta show up to the first day of school with absolutely no school supplies, I have to admit that I was a bit shocked.  I honestly didn’t [...]

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10 Days to Make IT Happen!

July 28, 2009

I hope that you are doing really well!  On this past Sunday I taught about how important it is for us to actually DEMONSTRATE our love for people in the world.  Love should be in your mind and in your heart, but it needs to come out of those places and actually bless people! It’s [...]

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More Key Reasons Why I Believe the Bible

July 28, 2009

A few days ago I told that I actually agree with Bill Maher that the Bible is full of seemingly ridiculous ideas and stories.  Much of it I believe in faith, but I believe it nonetheless and want share with you why I believe it and don’t feel like I have to check my brain [...]

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Why I Choose to Believe the Bible (Reason #1)

July 27, 2009

Recently I wrote an article that was equal parts critique and sympathy for Bill Maher’s latest documentary – Religulous.  I think it’s worth watching and I actually sympathized with much of what Bill said was outrageous about contemporary Christianity.  However, because Bill was so hung up on how ridiculous so many of the stories and [...]

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The Bible is an Utterly Ridiculous Book

July 25, 2009

I like Bill Maher.  I’m a fan and have been for a long time.  So I was a bit surprised when watching Religulous last night at his fundamental misunderstanding of the Bible.  Bill is a pretty smart guy and the movie showed him making a lot of unintelligent people look dumb (which isn’t a feat [...]

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When I Was Thirsty…

July 24, 2009

Tonight our church is launching an initiative that we are calling “Choose Your Own Adventure” that we are basing on the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:25-40 in which we try to simply do what Jesus said we should do.  Here’s the passage, 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, [...]

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My Husband is Looking @ Porn.

July 23, 2009

A few times a day I get an email asking for advice on a pretty challenging situation someone is facing.  When I think sharing the situation would help the readers of this blog (as well as the person that originally asked the question) I ask permission to post some or all of the discussion.  This [...]

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How I Rate Skill, Passion, Integrity, Potential, Experience

July 23, 2009

I love being the pastor of Courageous Church.  I mean it when I say I am having the absolute time of my life as our young community grows and labors to Love God, Love People, and Prove It! It’s not easy though.  I’ve made a ton of mistakes and we’re just now crossing the 6 [...]

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Dr. Henry Louis Gates Arrested?! Say What?

July 21, 2009

UPDATE:: As of 2pm on Tuesday, July 21st – ALL CHARGES HAVE BEEN DROPPED against Dr. Gates and the City of Cambridge called the arrest “regrettable and unfortunate.” -via NY Times — Named by Time Magazine as one of the 25 Most Influential American’s, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, famed Harvard Professor, is one of the [...]

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A Few Secrets on How I Deal w/ Public Speaking Jitters

July 21, 2009

I still get nervous before speaking. Every time. Without fail. I have been speaking publicly around the world for about 15 years now and I thought I’d be over my nervousness at this point in the game, but it still shows up like clockwork.  I regularly get an upset stomach before speaking and literally have [...]

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Multi-Site, Multi-Cultural, Multi-Generational

July 20, 2009

Very amped to see my collaborative article in Neue Magazine entitled “A Multi- Conversation” about some new trends and developments in (and out of) the church. Check it out here and let me know your thoughts.

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You Need to Read These!

July 20, 2009

Steven Furtick talking about two spiritual disciplines that are sure to change your life. I agree with Mark Batterson about 52 sermons. This picture and story from my friend Eugene Cho make me want our country to avoid war at all costs. Michael Hyatt has 13 awesome cures for writers block (for bloggers) that I [...]

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Happy Birthday Baby!

July 15, 2009

Hey wifey.  I love you so much. Today you are 28 years old.  I taught you how to drive in an empty Lexington parking lot and now you are sticking your tongue out @ me because you can parallel park better than I can :-) In about another year, you will have been my woman [...]

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Most Popular Posts

July 14, 2009

I just wanted to take a second and give a special shout out to all of my Streaming Faith friends who clicked here today because of the Daily Devotional that was published this morning!  A few thousand of you all normally click over here and I just wanted to give you a quick list of [...]

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10 Thoughts about Building Community Online

July 13, 2009

Social media and online tools have been central to much of the success Courageous Church has had in our first months.  We get a ton of questions about what tools we use and how we do what we do and I got a chance to speak @ the BUG Conference @ Church of the Highlands [...]

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The Power of Knowing Who You Are(n’t)

July 11, 2009

Yesterday I received emails from two total strangers about our church. The first email was pretty harsh and proclaimed that I was “shortchanging the Gospel” by making church and Christianity “sound fun.”  The author ended her email by stating, “I am obviously not your target audience.” The second email was the polar opposite.  Here’s an [...]

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Riding the BEAST @ King’s Island

July 9, 2009

Just a few years ago I was changing her diapers.  Now she’s tall enough to ride the scary roller coasters with me.  Shocking!  If you have never been on the Beast, it’s amazing.  I rode it as a child now rode with my child.  Full-circle moments are amazing. Apparently it was against the rules to [...]

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Order Your Courageous Shirts Now!

July 4, 2009

Our Courageous Church t-shirts are finally available for order and will arrive in about 2 weeks! Place your orders today and email info@courageous.tv if you have any questions! Remember that all of the profits from these shirts go directly to our Global PlumpyNut Initiative! Sizes Small $15.00 Medium $15.00 Large $15.00 XL $15.00 XXL $15.00 [...]

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Saying No! One More Thing Hard Thing.

July 3, 2009

Just a few days ago I posted 10 things that are a whole bunch harder than I expected about starting and growing a church.  I forgot something big, that if not done (very) often, can undermine your leadership and overall effectiveness in a major way. Saying NO.  Whether you say it in Spanish or English (a [...]

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Fostering (Real) Diversity is Harder than I Thought

July 2, 2009

Earlier this week I created a list of 10 things about starting and growing a church that have been much harder than I expected.  Today I want to take a few minutes out to talk with you the item on the list that the most people requested we discuss…DIVERSITY! Diversity is beautiful. Diversity is honorable.  [...]

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