Chargers Football - Training Warriors for Christ

As many of you know, our family has worked with the Chargers football program for a number of years. It has been a blessing to our family and I continue to be amazed at the work Jesus is doing in Derric's life in part because of his being a player for this team.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the program, The Lighthouse Christian Chargers football program offers the opportunity for both Christian-schooled and home-schooled young men to participate in Junior High, Junior Varsity and Varsity football.

In the proper context and rightly coached, organized team sports in general and football specifically offer unparalleled opportunities for the formation of Christian character.

It is a true statement, understood by those who have played or coached, that football is a metaphor for life. It is a controlled struggle, regulated chaos, and provides unmatched parallels to Christian life. God has given the Chargers an excellent coaching staff of dedicated, godly men who connect the struggles of football to the corresponding struggles of life.

It has been my privilege over the past number of years to watch not only my own son, but all of these young men grow in "wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man."

Perhaps the greatest truth revealed to me by our association with the Chargers is this:

So often when we think of sports or any competition, we tend to motivate ourselves and our teammates with hate. We draw up a from a well deep with in ourselves a wave of anger and hate. We plot pain for those who oppose us.

Jesus - working through the Chargers - revealed a better way to me. It is the love of Christ that enables the Christian Warrior to stand and fight ( Eph 6:10-18 ). It is the love of Jesus in us for our teammates that motivates us to give our all for the common goal. And most counter-intuitively, it is the love of Jesus in us for our opponents that motivates us to do our dead level best so that they must do their best. Iron does in fact sharpen iron ( Prov 27:17 ), and faithful are the wounds of a friend. ( Prov 27:6 ).

For the first time in the history of the program, the Chargers will be able to play Missouri public school teams. It cannot be overstated how huge a step this is for the program, and the responsibility placed upon the players, coaches and parents as Ambassadors of Christ ( 2 Cor 5:20 ) to our local area.

In order to compete at this level, our program must step up in all areas. As you can well imagine this comes with some financial challenges. The program has always modeled good stewardship what resources God has provided. Many of the players and their families work extra jobs to provide money for player fees. Other families donate countless hours and equipment to help make this program a success. Our coaches take on the equivalent of an un-paid full time job in addition to working to provide for their families.

Would you prayerfully consider financially supporting the mission and ministry of the Lighthouse Christian Chargers? There are a number of pressing equipment needs that would greatly benefit the program. If you are interested in being a part of what Jesus is doing in the lives of many young men, please contact me via a comment to this blog, facebook, twitter, e-mail, or phone.

Come out and support the Chargers this season. Check out www.springfieldchristianchargers.com for our game schedule.

Make plans to join us as we open our season this year at Hollister High School on August 21st.

Chargers Football - Training Warriors for Christ

The Cultural "Christianity" of Branson, Missouri

We live in a very "Christian" area. Unfortunately it is mostly "Christian" in name only.

When looking at Branson, I can see several groups of people. The first is somewhat rare (in our area), but It does exist and that is the un-churched. These are those who have never had any exposure or connection to Jesus. Some may just have never heard the Gospel and some may be openly hostile to it.

Secondly, are the de-churched. These are those who once attended a church, who once professed a faith in Jesus but the cares of the world, time, or any number of things caused them to "fall away". I think this represents a HUGE number of people in Branson - even at the High School level.

Thirdly is the under-churched. These folks are attending a church semi-regularly, who profess a faith in Jesus, but who have not gone all out for Him. To these folks Jesus is Savior, but not always Lord. I know this group well, because I spent the bulk of my life there. It is the default mode of most people in our area. Church is more of a hobby and Jesus is more like a genie in a bottle that they drag out when it is convenient for them.

Lastly is the pseudo-churched. Simply put, this group is sold out to a lie and not Jesus. Depending on what they believe about Jesus, most may not be Christian. This might well be the hardest group to reach because often huge support structures exist to support whatever lie they are peddling. Family ties also bind many to these false teachings. This group is HUGE in our area.

How do you reach so many varied people? Focus on Jesus. Its what Paul did ( 1st Corinthians 15:1-58 ).

Now the question for us to answer is how best do we teach the Gospel firstly to ourselves and secondly to our area?

The Cultural "Christianity" of Branson, Missouri

Thank You God For Roger Moran

While I am included in the number of those troubled by the resolutions and motions offered by Roger Moran and his sympathizers in the Missouri Baptist Laymen's Association (www.mbla.org) at the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention. I am trying very hard to sanctify my actions and to behave a in way fitting the glorious Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

In doing some research, I found this article from a pastor in my own state of Missouri. Joe Voga has several posts on his blog that give a pretty clear story.

We in Missouri, and in fact we in the SBC, owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Moran and the war horses like him. Through their efforts, the theologically liberal tide has been stemmed and the Battle for The Bible (aka The Conservative Resurgence) has been largely won.

Lest you doubt the reality of that victory, I submit this article from a self described "ordained Baptist minster" - "What Does it Mean to Say All Scripture is Inspired by God?"
The above is nothing less than an attack on the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture.

I am thankful for Roger Moran, and many unamed others like him, for their past efforts to protect sound doctrine. I am thankful for these men for another reason as well - they serve as an example to us of how we must heed the words of my wise Grandpa Archie - "There is such a thing as being right and going about it the wrong way".

The Gospel of Jesus Christ compels us to the Great Commission. Paul reminds us in 1st Corinthians 9:24-27 that we must run our race to win, but also that we must run according to the principles laid out in His Word.

We must extend grace to those with which we disagree. We must keep the main thing the main thing.

We can be a great witness to the world in not only our unity in the essentials of doctrine, but also in the charity we show in brotherly discussions of secondary and tertiary issues.

The Great Commission Resurgence is not about stemming the decline in baptisms in the SBC. It is about aligning our focus - globally, nationally, regionally, locally, and personally - with Jesus's command to go and make disciples. Martin Luther began his 95 Theses (and the Protestant Reformation) with statement that the whole life of a disciple of Christ is marked by continuous repentance.

Therefore, The Great Commission Resurgence will be marked by the repentance of those new believers from every tongue and tribe who are confronted with the reality of their sin in the light Jesus on the Cross and His Gospel AND it will be marked by repentance by disciples, young and old, new and seasoned, confronted with our our false notions, personal preferences, political views, racism, bigotry, self righteous attitudes, indifference, laziness, and hardheartedness in the light of that same Gospel, Savior, and Cross.

The words of John the Baptist are as relevant as they were 2000 years ago. "Repent. The Kingdom of God is at hand!"

Thank You God For Roger Moran

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold

In reading today's bible reading ( 2 Corinthians 1-4) from LifePoint Church (twitter @lifepointozark) we find Paul's great power chapter on the Glory of the Gospel Ministry. As I find with most of Paul's writings, there is so much goodness in such a compact chapter.

In verse 10 of Chapter 3, Paul writes:

2 Corinthians 3:9-10 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10: Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it.

The ministry of righteousness (that is the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers - 1 Cor 15:3) is so much more glorious than the ministry of condemnation (the law). Paul's key reason given in 2 Cor 3:11 is that the ministry of righteousness is permanent whereas the ministry of condemnation was temporary and found its fulfillment in Christ (Matt 5:17-20).

Moreover, the Law was designed as our schoolmaster (Gal 3:24 KJV) to both restrain us from evil and point toward the need for a Savior. The Law teaches us that we cannot save ourselves.

To understand the statement in 2 Cor 3:12 - "Since we have such a hope, we are very bold" - we must first look at 2 Cor 3:4-6. Our competency and sufficiency - comes not from our own power but from God via the Cross of Christ and thru the work of the Spirit.

We can be very bold, because ultimately, "IT" DOES NOT DEPEND ON US. "It" includes all aspects of life and ministry. Your salvation does not depend on you. It is a gift from God via Christ (Eph 2:1-10). You had no part in it. Your eternal soul is secure because it does not depend on you to keep your self saved (Romans 8:31-39). God chooses who He wants to save (Romans 9:10-18), and He made that choice before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4).

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold

Building Management Framework: Measurement

"If you can not measure it, you can not improve it." - Lord Kelvin

The present charge seems to be rallying under the battle cry of "Go Green." A mandate is being sent out to reduce energy consumption significantly.

However, before any reduction in usage can be accomplished, a baseline measurement of current current usage (pardon the pun) must be established. Further, a system of continued measurement must be in place such that any reductions in usage can be properly documented.

In regards to measuring usage at the electrical service entrance, there are several major limiting factors at play. Firstly, there is a large installed base of legacy equipment. Newer "smart panels" are sure to support the needed operations but at present are far to expensive to cost justify for anything other that new construction. While smart electric meters are now the norm, they represent a closed system controlled by the electrical service provider.

There seems to be a perfect market space for a wireless, multi-input, clamp on current data logger. Such a device would provide the needed measurement functions. Adding in a temperature sensor would also provide a method of monitoring dangerously high temperatures within the electrical panel. Multiple inputs would allow for monitoring individual branch circuits. The clamp on style reduces installation labor and difficulty, as does the wireless capability. Using a mesh technology like Xbee allows for a large distrubution of devices with minimal cabling.

Building Management Framework: Measurement

How to Measure Chruch "Growth"

In my reading today I came across this article when doing research on the biblical teaching on "self".

I reading that article and the associated Scriptures, I came across this passage. Quite familiar to most of us, but today the Holy Spirit revealed a bit more of the meaning.

Ephesians 4:10-16 ESV
10: He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11: And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12: to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13: until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
14: so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15: Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
16: from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The whole passage is chock full of goodness, but right now, notice verse 13 - "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

See the word "measure"?. Jesus Christ is our measuring stick both as individual believers and corporately as the church. We are are to compare ourselves - to measure ourselves against - the stature of no one or nothing less than Jesus.

Given this truth, I will make this statement :

The church should be measured by how well it reflects the image of Christ - not by the number of butts in seats, numbers "dunked", the who's who of members on the church roll or the dollars given and spent.

We will not attain the full measure of Christ's stature this side of Heaven. Our sole task until that day is be to about the business of conforming ourselves, our families, our churches, our cities, our regions, our nations and our world to the image of Christ using the Gospel methods ordained by Him and enabled, equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8)

How to Measure Chruch "Growth"

Never be bothered by prayer again

I ran across a site today that proves that just because something is technologically possible, it does not make it right.

At InformationAgePrayer.com you can avoid wasting all of that time you spend daily in prayer by subscribing to their automated service for as low as $1.95 per month.

As if that were not enough, you can actually sign up under someone else's name and have prayers offered on their behalf.

I feel such pity for the poor, clueless people who will fall for this scam. Prayer is not a duty forced upon us by a hateful God who wishes to hear us beg. Prayer is a gracious privilege offered to us by a loving God who so desires a relationship with us that He sent His only Son as way to bridge the gap of our sin.

Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, laid down His life and died on the Cross in our place for our sins, was buried, on the third day, rose bodily from the grave, and after 40 days ascended to the right hand of the Father to both make intercession for us and to prepare a place for us to reside with Him in glory forever. ( 1st Corinthians 15 )

Jesus did all of this, so that those who call upon and trust Him as their Lord and Savior might be able to through Him enter into fellowship with God. God desires our heart-felt prayers and sends the Holy Spirit to aid us (Romans 8:26-27).

Perhaps this analogy would help better - I can, with minimal programing - write a program to send an e-mail to my wife every morning at 8:00 AM telling her "I Love you, you are beautiful, have a good day." What is my marriage going to look like if that is the only communication I have with her all day?

Never be bothered by prayer again