bob thoughts

Time

As I sit at marthas parents house I noticed something amazing. From where I sit I can see 11 different clocks. If you have that many clocks you can never be late.

I'm posting this from my trusty iPhone.

texas

Martha and I leave tonight for Texas. I'm not sure what kind of internet access I'll have so I don't know how much I'll will post but you can keep track of us on twitter.

Had a great day at LifePoint yesterday. We had all kinds of instruments on stage and it sounded great. We had two people playing all kinds of crazy percussion, a banjo, mandolin, and an accordion. The band did a great job!

We also had our first family to have their second baby dedication at LifePoint. They were also the first ever baby dedication at LifePoint. 

lessons from a rush concert - pt 4

Everyone that was at this Rush concert spent a good chunk of change to get a ticket. One of the things that really confuses me is that I can't understand why anyone would spend good money to go to a concert and then do all kinds of things that will cause them not to remember any of the concert they just paid good money to see.

I don't think very many people are getting wasted at church but many times they aren't remembering what happened at church. It's not always their fault - many times the church doesn't give them anything to remember.

Each and every week at LifePoint it's like the Super Bowl - there is so much on the line. I need your help to make sure we are doing the best that we can possibly do because there are at a minimum 65,000 people in our area that don't go to church and they deserve to hear about a God that loves. They deserve to hear about it in a way that they will never forget it!

lessons from a rush concert - pt 3

Everyone likes what they like. I am a people watcher and I'm always watching how people react and respond in certain situations. At the concert a certain song would start and a segment of people would go crazy. A different song would start and a different segment of people would go crazy.

Different people liked, were moved by, or related to different songs but yet they were united by one concert. Nobody got mad and left because the band played someone else's song and not the one they wanted to hear.

From time to time we do songs at LifePoint that I don't like and I'm sure we do songs that you don't like as well but we will remain united in that we are making the name of Jesus great. It's okay to have personal preferences but we can never let those preferences cause us to stray from Loving God and Loving People.

God wants to use us to change the world!

lessons from a rush concert - pt 2

The technology they used in the show was amazing and worth the price of admission all on it's own. They had three huge lcd screens on the back of the stage that ran both pre-recorded video and live video. Sometimes all three screens would be showing the same thing and sometimes they would have three seperate images. The image quality was the best that I have ever seen.

The light show was equally amazing. They had so many intelligent lights that it was impossible to count. At different times in the show they had five different pieces of truss that would drop down and highlight different things in the show. The lights that would drop down were some of the brightest and most vibrant lights that I have ever seen.

For me the technical stuff in the show was the best part of the show.

The message of Christ is so much better and greater than anything Rush could be singing about. If the message of Rush deserves that kind of effort and cutting edge technology then I think that the greater message of Christ deserves at least an equal effort and the use the greatest technology we can find.

The church needs to find ways to communicate the greatest story every told (and it's life-changing by the way) in a compelling way and do it in such a way that people can understand.

That's what I learned from Rush.

lessons from a rush concert - pt 1

A couple of weeks ago I went to a Rush concert with some friends. I love music and it was fun to hang out with some friends. What I didn't expect was how many things I would learn from going to this concert. Over the next couple of days I will post some of my learnings.

The Church is not the only place with hypocrites.

A couple of people who were sitting in front of us were mad at a guy several rows in front of them who was standing the whole time (well maybe he was standing and dancing.) They would yell at him, throw stuff at him and ultimately they ended up getting in a fight with him, which resulted in the standing up guy getting thrown out because he was the one that the cops saw throwing a punch.

30 minutes later those same people who had been yelling at the guy for standing up were now yelling at others around them for not standing up for one of their favorite songs.

I found this very entertaining.

christian radio sucks

If you listen to Christian radio and like it I'm okay with that, but I think it's pretty bad. I recently read a great article about Christian radio at collidemagazine.com and if you would like to read it you can click here.

I love all kinds of music as long as it's good music. The problem with almost every Christian radio station I have ever listened to is that the music is bad and the dj's are even worse. It's like the music is mediocre at best and the lyrics are cheesy and far from real life.

The whole Christian vs secular music debate is a little confusing to me. The better distinctions should simply be good vs. bad music.

So if you know  of any good music please let me know. I would love to find a Christian who is into making great music and consider their music their art and not just something hokey that might get played on Christian radio.

silence

We need silence to be alone with God, to speak to him, to listen to him, to ponder his words deep in our hearts. We need to be alone with God in silence to be renewed and to be transformed. Silence gives us a new outlook on life. In it we are filled with the grace of God himself, which makes us do all things with joy.

Mother Teresa

10-10-10 challenge

Today I want to issue a challenge! I would like for everyone to consider participating in the 10-10-10 plan. Here is the plan:
10 push-ups
10 sit-ups
10 minutes reading your Bible
EVERYDAY

So many times we have great intentions but we're not always good with follow through. We will say that we need to do better physically but then we never actually get around to doing anything or we do something for the first week after the new year starts and then we stop for some reason. We say we need to do better spiritually but we don't always execute those plans.

I have now given you a plan that is simple and attainable. Almost anyone can do the 10-10-10 plan. I know that there are some of you that will say you can do more than 10 push-ups or more than 10 sit-ups. If you are currently doing more than 10 everyday then keep doing what you are doing. If you are not doing 10 everyday then start today.

I know there are some of you that will say you can read your Bible more than 10 minutes a day. If you are currently ready your Bible more than 10 minutes everyday then keep doing what you are doing. If you are not doing 10 minutes everyday then start today.

Let me make you aware of a tool that I have started using. I spend so much time on the computer that it only makes since to use a on-line Bible reading tool. I suggest that you check out youversion.com because I think it's a tool that you will like and it can help you.

So who's in? Don't wimp out! If you are willing to take the 10-10-10 challenge please leave me a comment. I will check in on you and you can check in on me. Let's get in better physical and spiritual shape.

funny monday

It is amazing to me how Chuck Norris has become such a pop icon that spans generations. I wish I new how things like this happen. My kids tell Church Norris jokes all the time. Here are a few funny things involving Chuck Norris.

• If you have five dollars and Chuck Norris has five dollars, Chuck Norris has more money than you.
• There is no 'ctrl' button on Chuck Norris's computer. Chuck Norris is always in control.
• Apple pays Chuck Norris 99 cents every time he listens to a song.
• Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.
• Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.
• Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
• Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
• When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.

Have a Chuck Norris kind of day!