We led contemplative worship at our recent Youth Dynamics staff conference. One exercise was to think about what was holding you back from trusting the Lord more in your ministry. We wrote them down on post it notes and stuck them on the window of the conference hall we were in.The we had an area to symbolically wash our hands of these things and enter into a new season wholly invested in following the Lord in ministry.

For me, “control” and “expectations” hold me back from giving everything up in my life and ministry to the Lord. I worry too much about measuring up and feel like everything is on my shoulders. It’s funny, it’s all the Lord’s to begin with and it continues to be His. I just fool myself to think otherwise. It’s all His. It’s all the Lord’s.

You have any to confess and walk away from?

We’re being talked about. Yes, I mean we. This blog is being talked about by youth guy Jonathan McKee on his blog - more specifically the post “Picking a Fight: SYAP is Stupid.” I say we because this post has 40+ comments and most of them are yours. Thank you for making this conversation come alive.

While he doesn’t agree with my level of honesty in approaching SYAP, he does agrees with my point about the event. Jonathan has some good points about See You At the Pole as well.

Check it out here…

Talk about hittin’ the flippin’ nail on the head.

Say what you will about Brian McLaren, but I like him. I’ve read several of his books and I don’t agree with everything he says, but he certianly challenges me to think.

In his new book Finding Our Way Again he recounts an interview he conducted at a pastors conference with Dr. Peter Senge. It went something like this:

Dr. Senge was saying that in any given bookstore, the best selling books are first, “how to get rich” and second, books on Buddhism.

“Why are books on Buddhism so popular, and not books on Christianity,” McLaren asked.

Senge replied, “I think it’s because Buddhism presents itself as a way of life, Christianity presents itself as a system of belief. I would want to get Christian ministers thinking about how to rediscover their own faith as a way of life, because that’s what people are searching for today. That’s what they need most.”

“Awake, you sleepers,

from your slumber…

examine your deeds,

return in repentance,

and remember your Creator.”

-Maimonides (ancient Jewish Rabbi)

Today is Rosh Hashana and the next nine days following are referred to as the “Days of Awe” in Jewish culture.

The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur. More here on Jew FAQ

So rarely do we look inward and reflecting upon what the Lord has done in our lives. The next 10 days are a time for reflection and introspection before the Jewish New Year. It’s never a bad thing to pause and reflect in our busy lives. So often time passes and we just keep on going. Let these next 10 days be ones of prayer, remembrance, introspection and repentance.

To hear more about it The Days of Awe from a  Jewish perspective, listen to this podcast (the first 10 - 15 min are the most succinct and interesting;, the rest is fairly superfluous)

Speaking of Faith: “Days of Awe” podcast

I don’t know about you, but I found Friday’s presidential debate dreadfully boring. I didn’t finish it. It just felt like a series of talking points and not anything near a debate. There’s nothing exciting about this race anymore, just politics as usual.

So you like me? Want a good rousing debate? Here ya go. Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne debating Christian views about homosexuality, politics and voting.

Homosexuality

Politics

Voting

[Thanks to Rethinking Youth Ministry for posting this]