Born-again Virgins

What do you think of this article?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23254178

I think we need to take it seriously.

More later.

Friend and Advice

One of my buddies around the neighborhood is a guy named Jackie Webb. I 1st met Jackie my 1st week in H-Town. Raised Muslim, he became a Christian while incarcerated. He is in his mid-30's, very ripped (aka--he gots some muscles), has a problem with anger, loves to fight, and he is passionate about life. There have been at least 2 incidents in the past 2 years when I thought I was about to get my face beaten in. One of them was with Jackie. He was greatly offended when I gave him lunch money and prayed that it would be used for the reason that it was given. He got up in my face ready to swing. He braced for the blow and prayed my pretty face to stay intact.
After that day, we lost touch for nearly a year. He resurfaced a few weeks ago and he came by the church this morning. All he wanted was a prayer. I laid my hand on his shoulder and prayed for the power of Jesus to go forth with him today. After I prayed, he prayed...and let me tell you...Jackie doesn't lack energy and excitement when he prays. He pours himself into his prayers.
It was a good morning.

-----------------------------------

I need some advice. Our neighbors have a dog that parks uncontrollably. I don't mind the barking from 8:30 am-10:00 pm, but they have started to let the dog out at all hours of the night. This morning, the dog got "bark-happy" at about 5:00am. It is like the bark-fairy has descended on this dog. I turned the fan on high, put earplugs in, and I could still hear the little nuisance. I dreamed murderous thoughts of killing this creature.
I'm tired of going to sleep praying for God to bless my neighbors dog with a good nights rest.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

Plagiarism

The debate last night was anticlimatic, but interesting.

One part stood out to me--and if you've been reading up on the race in the last week you knew it was coming--Clinton's campaign has accused Obama of plagiarism. He downplayed the alleged speech by saying that Deval Patrick, the person he lifted a line from, is one of the "head guys" in his campaign and that Patrick is the one who suggested that Obama use the phrase from his prior speech.

Do you consider this plagiarism?

Honestly, how many of our ideas are really our own ideas? I'm a preacher. Every Sunday I share ideas, principles, and theories. How many of these have been born from within myself? Umm...probably not many. Most ideas stem from somewhere--a book, a conversation, a commercial, an ad, an article in a magazine, a television show, etc.

Lil' Bro

A couple of months before I turned 3, I was blessed with a little brother. For the next 16 years, we would share a bedroom, a bathroom, and an atari-nintendo-sega-play station. For 16 years, we had moments when we were the best of friends, and there were moments when we would camp out on each other's nerves. When I turned 17, our relationship changed. We would still go at each other on basketball courts and football fields, but there grew a respect for each other that has only blossomed throughout the past decade.
Some of my fondest memories with my bro are:
-Going to sporting events
-Watching the Mavs
-Singing, rapping, and dancing to DC Talk in the living room
-Praying together late at night towards the end of high school
-And last but not least, any time I get to preach while he leads worship is a treat for me. He is one of the best worship leaders out there.

It has been an honor seeing my lil' bro grow into a man of deep faith, a loyal husband, a great father, and one heck of a worship leader.

Here is to my brother and one of my best friends. Love you Jonathan.

Teenagers--Part II

When I agree to speak at "some" youth events, at some point along the way I begin to regret it. Just the thought of sleeping in a 10'20 cabin with 15-20 high school boys makes me tired. Some youth groups can be tough crowds. You never know if they are listening or how they are listening. (All you parents out there--you know what I'm saying?)

But...then I stand in front of teens, and I begin to look into the faces of our future. They are our future leaders. They are the people that will take the message of Jesus into law firms, schools, banks, corporate offices, social services, non-profits, and restaurants. They are the future preachers and youth ministers. And...I am given hope.

Teenagers

My passion is preaching to people of all ages, but I still enjoy speaking at youth events. As I write this post, I am sitting at a Starbucks in Denton, TX. I flew into Dallas today, received my rent car, and I will soon be making my way up to Camp Pettijohn just across the Oklahoma border. I speak tonight at 10:00pm. That is a little late for me. At 10:00, I am usually hanging with my wife in the living room watching television, reading books, or just enjoying each other's company. Tomorrow, I will speak 3 times. Then, Sunday morning, hours before the sun has risen, I will be on a plane back to H-Town to preach. It will be Sunday afternoon or Monday before I'm able to sleep again. But that is okay.

Here's the question I've been pondering--what is the greatest challenge facing our teens today? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Feeling Alive!

I feel most alive when:

• I'm in the pulpit.
• I'm with my wife and son (doing anything)
• I'm holding a football in my hand
• I'm at the beach

What about you?

Fill in the blank--"I feel most alive_________"

---------------------------------

This is the 8th Valentine's I have celebrated with Kayci. The 1st one, we were dating. The 2nd, we were engaged. The last 6 have been as a married couple. I fall more in love with her every day.

She lives the gospel.

She is a phenomal mother.

She is my #1 fan.

She inspires me, and her love for Christ compels me.

So, tonight we are going to eat Italian.