Comments on: FAIL Month: Awesomeness Fail

By: w. priest

w. priest — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:00:07 +0000

P.S. I am so glad someone else sees what I was talking about!

By: w. priest

w. priest — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:57:24 +0000

There is a GREAT, awesome sermon by Paris Reidhead called Ten Shekels And A Shirt, and in it he talks about serving God for who God is, even if you never gain personally from it because you realize that the almighty God is indeed worthy of worship.

“Why should a sinner repent? because God deserves the obedience and love that he’s refused to give Him! Not so that he’ll go to heaven. If the only reason he repents is so that he’ll go to heaven, it’s nothing but trying to make a deal or a bargain with God.”

By: Matt @ The Church of No People

Matt @ The Church of No People — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:49:17 +0000

You had me going there for a second, Jason! I want the church to be as creative as it can, and that is hard. Maybe we should encourage the truly creative people to just create their hearts out for God, and whatever comes out of that, great. It’s really hard to be creative by committee.

By: JLJ

JLJ — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:58:52 +0000

Awesomeness is good. Jesus is the awesome

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Believe those words and surf on over to http://www.hybridhondas.com. Click on a link or two. It costs nothing but it sure will help a fellow brother out so he can continue helping others.

Spread the word to other brothers and sisters. Be blessed.

By: tandemingtroll

tandemingtroll — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:21:50 +0000

Good post, Matt. How many times have people’s lives been changed by salvation just by having a friend invite them to church and them actually going? Or by praying for someone for as long as it takes?

There is one area in which I marginally disagree with you, though I don’t think you are stating it as a fact, but merely as a way He is presented in the church: Jesus is NOT lame. Jesus is x-treme beyond words. But it is not in the flashy, adreneline-junkie worldly way. It is in the way of stretching our faith so much that we all look spiritually like Mr. Fantastic and Elastigirl. If church makes Jesus look lame, then shame on us and no wonder all of the lame, worldly, x-treme methods we use to try to lure people into church don’t work.

Thanks for letting me get on a soapbox. If you’ll excuse me, I probably have a plank somewhere in my eye.

By: David

David — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:17:59 +0000

Linda – so right on! I see it with my older kids 19 and 22. When the church has reached out to them (which is rare I am so sad to say), they have responded. We moved 4 years ago, and it’s been hell trying to get into meaningful relationships. The good news, an hour away, I met a pastor who is interested in my family, and our destiny. On the way we’ll drive by dozens of churches that are too busy to do what they market.

By: Linda B.

Linda B. — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:28:39 +0000

I spend most of my waking hours with people under 20. They are bombarded with media… they are texting, tweeting, listening to their ipods and instant messaging all the time. They have cable at home with a bizillion channels. My experience is that they are looking for people who will love and care for them and invest in their lives. They are looking for a God that is real and different and wants to be a part of their lives too. We can’t compete with the world’s media blitz. But we can learn to really love them. I am so non-cool, non-hip etc and I’m uber non cool. I’m a pudgy middle aged woman who looks just like my little icon… but the kids I work with know that I love them. They know that I’m passionate about seeing them grow. They know that I choose to be with them… and the love being over here. I think we’d all be better off to forget the marketing blitz and ask God how to love the people he’s put in our lives. That’s something the world can’t touch.

By: Linda B.

Linda B. — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:21:18 +0000

I think I’d like to scrap church marketing as a whole. I’m with you for permantly banning those words from any marketing that does happen.

By: Helen

Helen — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 06:02:03 +0000

You make a great point. We tend to focus on the *hugs* a father gives because he loves his children, and totally ignore that a father will also smack his kid if he is doing something destructive to himself. We treat Him like an impotent but cuddly teddy bear instead of an awesome and protective Father. Yes. My earthly father smacked me when I was playing with a knife as a very small child. There is no question about whether he loved me while smacking me. Had daddy not loved me, he could have let me cut myself and learn the hard way (or die trying).

By: w. priest

w. priest — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:09:48 +0000

My biggest frustration lately is the repackaging of “god” into this gentle, meek, lovey-dovey being who wants peace all the time. Ministries all over are teaching like we serve a gentle, compassionate god that is essentially reduced to love-mush.

That is not the God I serve. God is powerful and holy and just. He chooses to love us because of who He is, not because he has no choice or because of who we are. He has chosen to show us mercy, he is not obligated to. Jesus said he will divide, and set father against son, etc. That people will hate us because they first hated Him. When Jesus comes back, he will be coming with a sword

I know that I am personally much more grateful for the mercy and grace I’ve received from God knowing He is powerful and could justly squish me out of existence; Knowing that He has chosen to love me rather than expecting love from God because I think that is all he amounts to or that I deserve love.