Here is a TED talk from London. It is entitled “Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong” and is presented by Johann Hari. The implication for addictions are enormous. If this is true, I would also like you to think about the wisdom of God for putting us into a community we call the Church.

If you listen close and think about the implications this could possibly be the best 15 minutes you spend all week.

I sat in the stands watching my son’s first football game of his senior year. He started off well, but slowly I noticed he was slamming into people hard and not wrapping them up. In fact people from the stands started yelling “wrap them up” when a player broke through the line.

I figured it was first game jitters and prepared my “dad speech” for after the game. He came off the field after the loss and I gave him the usual hug. Then I told him that he needed to tackle better. He said, “It was hard to tackle when I can hardly feel my left arm.” He turned over his arm and it was obviously swollen and red from his wrist about half way up his arm. He told me that he had been stepped on early in the game and his arm was killing him.

In that moment I felt about an inch tall. I had rushed to judgement about my own son. I saw a boy who was not prepared enough and was not completely fulfilling his job. In reality, he was gutting out the pain and trying to do his best while wanting to quit. Quickly my perspective changed about him and the way he played the whole game.

I have been reflecting about this incident over the last few weeks. I have come to the simple understanding that most things we see in life are not as they initially appear. I believe this is especially true in a sound bite culture of social media. A person writes one thing and it gets taken the wrong way. A person can be seen doing something and it is perceived in a negative way. Someone from the outside shares their opinion on what they saw and the story gets repeated. Many times the truth is far from what everyone thinks they know.

One job of a Christian is to not rush to judgement. We are to give people the benefit of the doubt. We are to function under the assumption that there is more to the story that we will never know. A Christian believes the best in other people.

How many times have you wanted to shout out to a group of people, “This is not what it looks like!” Maybe you have wanted to write to the editor and say, “Here is what really happened.” Quite possibly you still bear the scars of being misunderstood by a group who only had half the story. We have those feelings and yet we rarely cut other people the slack we think we deserve.

So today, what if you believed the best in someone? What if you accepted the fact that you don’t know what really happened? What if you encouraged instead of criticized? What if allowed people the grace we all so desperately need?

I spend my life ministering to people in the name of Jesus. Much of what I do is producing programs to further the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ.

Lately I have had a couple of people stop by the Church and pitch their ministry ideas to me. Each one of these ideas the people thought were great and they should have my support because they were doing it … in the name of Jesus. Let me tell you a few things I have learned about these programs and ministries.

1. People can teach bad theology in the name of Jesus. One of the biggest threats to faith is false teaching. Just because someone quotes a Bible verse, calls their teaching Christian or says they are doing it in the name of Jesus does not make it true.

2. People can further their own agenda in the name of Jesus. Politicians get religious during an election year because it furthers their own agenda. I have even experienced people who divided a Church because they felt like they were serving in the name of Jesus.

3. People can get rich in the name of Jesus. This was true even in the beginning of the Church. Sadly, it is still true today. I am not just talking about televangelist. I am getting sick of organizations who want to help grow my faith or my Church for a fee.

4. There are some bad ideas even when they are done in the name of Jesus. I once had a friend who was told he should start a puppet ministry out of the back of his van. He didn’t, because it was a bad idea. Even if he put Jesus name on the side of his van it still would have been creepy.

5. I can do things God has not called me to do because it is done in the name of Jesus. I believe that each Christian needs challenged to do whatever the Lord needs us to do. But I also believe that each of us have gifts and talents God has given us at which we can excel. Sometimes we need to say, “No” to some ministry opportunities because they don’t match my giftedness. For example, I once had a lady approach me about hosting a daily Christian music radio show. She wanted me to give her 3 hours a day to play music on the local Christian radio program 5 days a week. I politely told her no. I believe God called me to preach and teach and I would lose 15 hours a week from using my giftedness to do something I do not believe God has called me to do.

I don’t get involved in every activity in which I am asked to participate. I do not allow the Church I lead to get involved in every activity that happens in my area. That sounds awful because they are being done in the name of Jesus. I do not believe that means you or I have to participate.

That type of thinking has set me free to say no to some things in order to use my time more wisely. Also, I no longer feel guilty for turning down some opportunities that present themselves to me. It’s okay to turn down some things done in the name of Jesus to have an even greater impact.

When I was in High school my home Church had a preacher named Ron DeLong come and preach one Sunday. I really know nothing about the rest of his story. I don’t know where he came from or any of his background. I don’t remember how many weeks he preached for our Church or why. I believe we were between ministers and he was a retired preacher. Honestly, I do not remember a word of any of his sermons.

But I remember him and what he said by way of introduction. He walked to the front of the Church pews and started talking from there. Every preacher I had ever seen preached from a big wooden pulpit up on the stage. He walked to the front of the Church and he opened his Bible where he had only one little note clipped inside of it to help him. As an introduction he told us his name and then he said something to the effect of, “I don’t like to preach up there at the pulpit. I like to preach down here among the people. This (he held up his Bible) is a word from God for his people.” From there he launched into his sermon.

I wish I could remember all that he said. I really wish I could remember any of it. What I remember was being held spellbound for 30 minutes by a guy who could preach without a pulpit and extended notes. In those moments a seed was born that made me the preacher I am today.

I type my sermon out in long form each week. I do that so that I have completely thought everything through and so I will have it for future reference. I then take those long form notes with me to a music stand just in case I need them. Last Sunday I needed them once. Then I preach down on the floor among the people because God’s word is for his people.

I tell you this story for several reasons:

1. I want you to know a little bit more about me.
2. You never know when God is going to touch your soul and affect your life.
3. Words and actions are intimately linked. Both hold the power of influence
4. Do you remember all the little moments your life was altered by God in some way?
5. What will people remember about you?

The sad truth is that even great sermons will be forgotten. But that point where God touches the life of another person through you will never be lost.

1. I had a wonderful weekend. I hope you did too.
-Blackhawks won on Friday. Both my boys on varsity caused a fumble that lead to a TD.
-My son Logan turned 16 and hopes to be driving by the end of the week. (I feel like I am going to lose more hair:-)

2. Sunday morning worship went well. We had a few obstacles to overcome but everything came together. Thanks for everyone’s kind words about the sermon. You can listen to all my old sermons at our website – www.adriancc.org

3. I love this article about praying for your pastor – 4 Weird and Wonderful Ways to Pray for Your Pastor

4. I give God all the glory for a sermon being a “home run.” Somehow he takes my words and connects them to the experiences and lessons people have had through the week. He takes people’s thoughts and ideas and touches them with my words. He takes His word and penetrates hearts and minds. I truly want to give him ALL the glory.

5. Lately I am inspired by the quote, “We overestimate what we can do in a week and underestimate what we can do in a year.” The same could be said for five or ten years.

6. On Sunday September 20th we will kick off our big fall series entitled “Finding Your Way Back to God.” First, plan on being a part of this series yourself. Second, plan on inviting a friend. Third, be in prayer for other people who will be attending and inviting their friends.

7. The series idea for “Finding your Way Back to God” is from THIS BOOK. I promise the sermons will be original but my source thinking will come from this book. You might want to check it out.

8. There will be a fellowship lunch/dinner on Sunday September 20th immediately following worship. Mark your calendar NOW. Plan on coming and bringing a friend. If possible bring a side dish or a dessert to share, or maybe even both.

9. As the parent of a teen and a youth group leader I cannot recommend more that you read THIS ARTICLE

10. This video is a must for all seniors in high school and freshmen in college – and their parents. Watch and learn. Very important content: How to Survive World Religions 101

11. RUSH – our youth ministry to Jr and Sr. High students kicks off this Wed. Sept. 2nd at 7:01 at the Church. We are going to have a cookout and an introduction to the year. We are going to be doing things a little differently this year. There will be more video lessons with an extended discussion time. Jr and Sr. high will be divided for this after their initial few minutes together. It looks to be a fun and educational year.

12. After lots of discussion and prayer the Church leadership has decided that there will be NO “All in the Family” this fall. There are a lot of reasons I can gladly explain to you personally. So youth do not need to show up until 6:45 at the earliest. In fact, we are keeping the building locked until then since we had some problems last year.

13. Thanks to everyone who volunteers in any and every way at ACC or at any Church for that matter.

14. Dr. Jack Cottrell has posted a series of articles entitled “Grace Distinctions” over at his blog. I haven’t read them all yet, but he is a deep theologian that I am sure has great things to say.

15. Last week I watched a 3 hour webinar about worship in the local Church. It had good information but struggled due to numerous technical difficulties. Attendees online were somewhat gracious but also very direct as this was put on my a company selling worship development tools for a great weekly production. It was like watching a train wreck – I couldn’t watch but I couldn’t look away.

*Finally, I am ready for some Professional Football. First game on Sept. 10 and everything else on the 13th. Yipppeee

Last week I reentered the world of Facebook. I was on Facebook from 2006 to 2008 and ended up wasting a lot of time. As I ended my ministry in Iowa I didn’t have much extra free time and decided to end my Facebook account. Well, lately I have wanted to chat with some people from Alaska, Iowa and Indiana where I have held ministries. That fact coupled with the fact that we have had almost no rain in Adrian for the last couple months and the ground is so hard I can’t metal detect has led me back onto Facebook.

I started an account last week and last Saturday I had time to fill in a lot of information and upload a background. Then I set out in the adventure of adding friends and seeing what they had on their sites. It has truly been an enlightening experience.

So here is what I have seen on people’s Facebook accounts in my fist week.

1. What people really value – Most people have filled their pages with pictures of family and friends. But they also promote their sports teams, their hobbies, their political views and even their faith. I have run across people who love to party and people who “like” almost anything connected to Jesus. You may say you love or enjoy something, but apparently if you do, it will be on Facebook.

2. What people do with their time – It is one thing to talk to people on Sunday morning and have them tell you they are busy. It is quite another thing to see the pictures of what they were actually doing. Work, sports, hobbies, family, and a dozen other things fill our time – we show it all in pictures.

3. Where people’s resources go – Inspired by some of the adventures I saw families taking on Facebook I came up with my own dreams. Then last night I started to price out some of those fun trips. Wow. Nothing is cheap. So I started taking a closer look at people’s photos and began to see where their money goes. It is interesting that Jesus says your heart will be where you money goes.

My trek back into Social Media has been a very eye-opening trip. I learned a lot about the people I lead and even a little about myself.

I wonder, what does Social Media reveal about you?

I have been in a two month long project of cleaning out the sheds at our church facility. Through the years moisture and weather have taken their toll on numerous items that have been stored there. As a result I have been slowly throwing away ruined cardboard, rusty metal, and old books. The biggest problem has been the mice. They have left their dropping everywhere, chewed through any soft material and built fluffy homes from carpet and insulation.

I have launched a counter attack on their invasion of the Church property. There are now bags and containers of d-con placed in all of the corners for the mice to feast upon. If you are not familiar with d-con it is a poison that is designed to kill mice after eating. Apparently they love it since I have gone through 5 bags and 8 containers of the stuff. I have also found 5 dead mice so I know it is working too.

Here is the thing about this way of killing the little rodents. It says right on the package that it contains 99.99% other ingredients. It only contains only 0.01% of actual poison. The amount of deadly material is less than 1 percent. Upon reading that on the label I thought about this question, “How much deadly material does it take to kill a human?” I don’t mean literally kill someone (by no means!). I mean how much poison does it take to kill your soul? How many bad thoughts does your brain need to think before it affects your spirit? How much junk do you need to go through your brain before you feel spiritually sick?

My answer: Much less than you think.

I have found that you can find a reason to justify almost any action. I am not talking about sin, although people find a reason for that too. No, I am talking about finding a reason to do some action, any action.

Do you want to be mad at your spouse or do you want to love them? You can find a reason.

Do you hate your job or love it? You can find a reason.

Do you think your children are the best in the world or possibly the opposite? You can find a reason.

Do you want to leave your Church or would you rather stay? You can find a reason.

Do you love the preacher or do you hate him? You can find a reason.

Do you want to go to worship or stay home? You can find a reason.

Do you want to praise God for your life or be angry and bitter? You can find a reason.

The list could go on and on and on and on and …

The tendency of each one of us to focus only on the facts that agree with what we already feel. We hear the facts that support our views and ignore all information to the contrary. It is extremely hard to be objective about the world no matter how hard you try.

So what are you looking for today? You will find what you are looking for.