Be a person of significance--Links from last Sunday's message

From 4RB on Flickr

A couple of links as a follow-up from this past Sunday's message:

• From Relevant Magazine by Stephanie S. Smith, article, "Attention Hungry Faith: We all want to be influential—but why? The tension between building a platform & building a Kingdom:, discussing significance in the digital world. I agree with her statement, "We need people who are able to articulate life-giving truth with elegance and clarity." We don't need buzz makers and blog stat multipliers.
• From Tim Elmore's blog he presents a Chick-Fill-A leaders cast, a video discussing influence with John Maxwell, Dave Ramsey, and Suzy Welch (28 min video on Vimeo). Many take-aways here.
• From Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford University, cited in sermon.  YouTube video (15 min) Find transcript here.

Lead with your life. Lead by example. You influence those around you. Influence all to become more fully devoted followers of Christ.

Easter Sunday Challenge: U invite 1

I just read Jay Hardwick's blogpost on inviting people to church on Easter--"Somebody invite somebody". I concur with his challenge to step out of your comfort zone and ask one person to come with you to an Easter service. This applies to your church too!

At Wooster Grace, I pray that God will be glorified as we see many people attend our services this weekend. We have five opportunities for you to invite someone to join you.

SAT Apr 23

• 6pm Contemporary Service (Childcare through age 5)

SUN Apr 24

• 8am & 10am Traditional Service in Worship Center (Childcare through Grade 4)
• 9am & 11am Contemporary Service in Family Life Center (Childcare through Grade 4)

The top three suggestions from Jay's list to use for inviting people to your church are (you can access his complete list from his blogpost):

1. Pray. Start praying for people by name asking God to bring them. Take a prayerwalk in your neighborhood pleading with God to give you courage to invite families to church on Easter Sunday. 
2. Use invite cards.  Display invite cards on your desk, workstation, or transaction counter. Keep a few in your wallet or purse to hand out when you get the Holy Spirit prompting you to invite someone.
3. Talk about Easter on Twitter, Facebook, and in conversations. "Aim for at least one status update per day that would include an invite to Easter" services. Jay hits this one out of the park!

So there you go. Now it's up to you.

I wonder if you'll commit to all three things and invite people to church on Easter Sunday. Please share your experiences. I'd love to hear what you discover. And give a shout out or leave a comment on Jay Hardwick's blog too. 

Leading myself away from temptation

photo by designatednaphour

Pastor Bob challenged us this past Sunday to remain pure in our sexuality. As a man I need this challenge often in my life. I desire to follow God. I desire to reflect God's purity. But the culture today is sexually charged. It is saturated with sex.

In Pastor Bob's outline, the first guideline was to calculate the consequences. I was reminded of the song by DC Talk, "What if I stumble." In the lyrics of the first verse I see how challenging it is to fight sexual temptation and to win. I don't want to have only negative motivation--"don't do it because you'll get it," "What if I stumble, what if I fall? What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all? Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl? What if I stumble, and what if I fall?" But I desire to have a positive motivation--do stay pure because it's best!" "I hear you whispering my name [you say] My love for you will never change [never change]."

So, I will fight for sexual purity rather than fight with guilt after I succumb to temptation.

I especially found profound Pastor Bob's remark that "one of the most effective lies of Satan is that our sin will not cost us anything." You can not only hear the sermon, but also you can read a transcript.

You can find resources in the battle to comprehend God's standards like Stonegate. Their mission is to point people away from sexual sin to restored intimacy with God and others. He is speaking at a purity seminar in February 2009 in Grand Rapids, MI.

On the response card I added my response, "Please pray for me. I will continue to overcome temptations by choosing God's path to stand up under the temptations that assail me." May God grant me success over sexual temptations all my days.

Leave a legacy like Tim Russert

photo from celebrity.elle.com

Pastor Bob shared on Father's Day in his sermon how father's need to be reminded that your children are watching your decisions you make in life. My decision as a father affects the destiny of my children. Whoa! What a responsibility.

His message has its application in the life of Tim Russert. Russert exemplified a heart for faith and family. As a father whose faith mattered and whose family mattered as well, I find his example where our children will still remember the kind of father we were. Luke Russert shares his reflections upon his father's life--his father, Tim Russert, died from a massive heart attack on Friday, June 13. His memorial service is going to be shown today at 4:30 on MSNBC. You can view other recollections of a man who impacted those around him regarding his choice to value his faith and his family.

I trust that you will see the disonance in your life and choose to apply the message that Pastor Bob shared about five major decisions every father faces. May you decide to be a difference-maker in the lives of those around you--Tim Russert did, a father who passionately embraced faith and who passionately loved his family. Russert exemplified that leadership shows strength over laziness. I want to show leadership in my family, not laziness.

I went to the park near the Nick Amster/Ida Sue schools last night to "walk" with my family and mother-in-law, Margie Buriff. As I strolled around the loop, I ate a quick sandwich, apple, and drink. Then the boys wanted me to play soccer with them. After a full day, a full stomach, and a full lap, I thought of saying not this time; but I recall the challenge from the Bible that Pastor Bob shared--leadership or laziness; presents or presence; consistency or convenient. It would be lazy for me to give an excuse. It would have been more convenient to offer a reason for not playing. But praise God I won that battle and chose leadership and consistency so that I can remain present in my family's life. I am still on the journey for learning how to be a great father. The battle is daily. So I choose to unsheath my sword to battle to make decisions that will lead my family in a God-honoring way.