Today in Blogworld 9.10.12

Mike Leake

The Trouble with Focusing on Your Marriage

David Mathis, quoting from This Momentary Marriage, explains why focusing on your marriage may be quite troublesome. 

When God Pulls the Rug Out

I found this really encouraging this morning.  “God is not playing games when he pulls the rug out from under you. He is up to something, but it is probably not what you think it is.”

How Do You Explain the Trinity to Children?

It’s hard enough to explain the Trinity to adults that have been believers for years.  What do you do when your children need an explanation of the Trinity?  Russell Moore provides an answer….sort of.

You Don’t HAVE to Sin

Wise and helpful words here from Mark Altrogge.  It might feel like we HAVE to sin, but if the power of sin has been broken in our lives by the powerful Christ we no longer are enslaved.

What is at the heart of sinful anger?

One Reason I’m Not a Huge Fan of Watchblogging

Mike Leake 7 Comments

If you are blogging about your totally rad waterproof Swiss Army watch please take no offense at this post.  I’m not against people that spend their time blogging about watches, although I may question your sanity.  The “watchblogging” that I am referring to is the “discernment ministries”.  These are blogs that focus on sharing the bad news within Christianity.  According to many of these sights their intention is to inform believers, keep them from danger, encourage them to pray, etc., etc. 

I do believe there is some good that does come from these “discernment” ministries.  I personally know of people that were delivered out of really unhealthy teaching simply because they stumbled upon something questioning the beliefs of one of their favorite teachers.  Often those caught within the web of false teachers are there simply because it sounds “gospely” and they’ve never even thought to question it.  For such people it can be good to become aware that there is an alternative view. 

Yet, for all of its worth I avoid watchblogging and discernment ministries and encourage others to do the same.  Here is one of the bigger reasons why:

A man of crooked heart does not discover good. Proverbs 17:20

I have a bent towards negativity as it is.  Following watchblogs does something to my soul that is not helpful.  They tend to focus on the negative at the expense of that which is good.  Proverbs 17:20 seems to be saying that good is something that needs to be sought out and discovered. 

It doesn’t take really sharp wit and investigative reporting to discover all that is jacked up in our world (and sadly even the problems that are present within the church).  You don’t need to bust out your Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass to discover the bad.  But the bent of those of a crooked heart is to see that which is right before our face; namely, the ugliness of evil and suffering.  It takes the magnifying glasses of faith and hope to discover good in the midst of turmoil. 

Therefore, watchblogs do very little to strengthen my soul.  They excel at pointing out error but in my experience it does nothing to make my heart leap for joy.  This is why even though I will at times write articles that might fall in the category of discernment ministries, for the most part I want to revel in that which is good, true, and praiseworthy and give less of an audience to that which is detestable. 

7 Questions with Lee Eclov, Author of Pastoral Grace (Part 2 of 2)

Mike Leake

Yesterday I posted the first four questions to my interview with Pastor Lee Eclov, author of Pastoral Graces.  Today I hope you enjoy his final 3 questions.  Notice his non-answer to the Mike Ditka question.  I think we might be on to something.  Da Bears!

5. Perhaps my favorite concept from the book is that there are “the people grace has invited to church”. I love that. Can you tell us a little more about that statement? Where did it come from? How does seeing people that way influence how you do things as a church?

I’m glad you liked it. It was simply an observation. When you hear the stories of how people end up in church it is obvious. The effect on ministry, I think, is the assumption that no one is here by accident. (And the corollary: the measure of our church is not who or how many show up.) We don’t have to ‘win’ these people to our church. God brought them, and he can keep them with us. We need to be the church on a Sunday morning—in the authenticity of what we do, in the love we show, in exalting the Lord, in preaching the Word—and we’ll be just what each attendee needs, at least on that day.

6. What is the coolest thing that God is doing in your church right now?

Actually, I suspect that the coolest thing is something we haven’t really heard yet because most cool stories are happening in personal lives and it takes awhile before they come to light. I usually get more jazzed about those personal stories than things happening churchwide. Like Mae who came to see me last week to catch me up on things in her life. Out of the blue, she says, “On July 21 I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior!” It happened in a Chinese-language Bible study when a visiting speaker she’d never met spoke specifically to her personal need.

7. I notice that the church you serve is close to Chicago. I also notice that you have a wonderful Mike Ditka mustache. Is that a prerequisite for ministering in Chicago? Do people ever refer to you as Pastor Ditka? Ever thought of wearing a Bears sweater and a whistle?

Really?! Really?!?

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Give the guy a cigar, a whistle, a frown, and a Ditka cut, and I think we’re on to something here.  So, if you’ve ever wanted a book on pastoral ministry written by one of the greatest coaches in history then you’ll certainly want to check out Pastoral Graces by Coach Ditka Lee Eclov. 

Thanks again to Lee for agreeing to do this interview and enduring my really horrible sense of humor. 

An Idiot’s Guide to Week 1 NFL Predictions

Mike Leake

Giants over Cowboys…

Yeah, I know the game is already over but I’m a huge fan of upsets. 

Actually, I had picked the Cowboys over the Giants.  (So +1 on the season, so far).  Here are my slightly less certain predictions for week 1 of the NFL.

Bears over Colts
Chiefs over Falcons
Eagles over Browns (but low scoring, something like 17-6)
Saints over Redskins
Lions over Rams (Rams actually keep up in this shootout)
Titans over Patriots (upset of the week)
Vikings over Jaguars
Bills over Jets
Texans over Dolphins
Seahawks over Cardinals
Packers over 49ers (in a blowout)
Panthers over Bucs
Steelers over Broncos (Big Ben wins by a neck)
Ravens over Bengals (but barely)
Raiders over Chargers (McFadden puts up over 150)

Fantasy Stud of the Week: Kevin Ogletree.  Just got a feeling.
Serious Fantasy Stud of the Week: Matthew Stafford
Fantasy Sleeper of the Week: Greg Olsen

Other crazy picks:

Kamerion Wimbley 3 sacks vs. the Pats
Robert Turbin 100 + yards on the ground
Michael Vick only plays one half due to injury
Jason Witten plays with a missing spleen
Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams combine for about 56 yards rushing
The Jets have 1 passing touchdown
Replacement refs do just as good as the regulars but look much less self-assured