Rick Nier...Woo!

I'm leading my college ministry group through a fantastic book right now. It's called Think, Act, Be Like Jesus by Randy Frazee. He connects what we think to how we act and the outcome is a lifelong virtue. Here's the latest section our group covered. Who am I? Can you describe yourself in 5 words? Perhaps you've been asked that question before. If you're like me, your answers have varied, depending on whom you were with, how you were feeling about your life, or what you had for lunch that day. Slightly different question: which description of whom we are in Christ means the most to you? (a child, a temple, a new creation, a member of the body of Christ, a citizen in Heaven, etc.) How does this description change how you approach each day? I believe how we see ourselves impacts everything else; how we live our lives, how we treat one another. If we live fully in God’s grace, we’ll be the most willing to pass that grace around. If we try to accomplish things on our o...

This is the book my wife will never read. She would prefer to remain blissfully unaware. This Is What You Just Put In Your Mouth? is a book about what's really inside everyday products. As I read it, it doesn't sound like Patrick Di Justo has an agenda or a vendetta for anyone. He just wanted to know. A curious mind. But the moment I told my wife that A-1 steak sauce was one of the products listed, she said emphatically, 'Don't ruin A-1 for me.' So we'll keep her out of this. But each chapter has a list of the ingredients and what they do, offer or cause. Then there's the back story on each investigative search. This was the part of each chapter I most looked forward to, because this was where the fun was. When companies embraced what they were, or tried to hide what they used. Ahh, you have to love investigative journalism. Sometime the better stry isn't what you learned, but how you learned it. In the end, I don't know that it will chan...

I can't tell you how many times I have been in front of my youth group and said, 'Yes, I'm talking about sex!' It's not that I always plan to talk about sex. But I'm not one to shy away from the topic either. And every time ( really ) they look at me as if I've just said something naughty. Oh, wait...they do think I've said something naughty. And it's probably because the Church, in general, has often treated sex as a taboo topic. We, the Church in general, could choose to go on like this, stuttering and stammering any time the topic is brought up. Or we could fulfill the subtitle of Jonathan McKee's new book; More Than Just The Talk; Becoming Your Kid's Go-To Person About Sex . Soooo, parents and youth workers, say it with me....seeeeexxxxxx. Now that we've said it, let's talk about McKee's new book. He lays down a solid foundation, explaining very explicitly that sex was God's idea and sex was God's gift. ( Ca...

I fancy myself to be just like Batman...without the money, the cave, the vendetta, the car and the cool belt. Other than that, we're pretty much the same guy. Does it help my case that I have a boy wonder? It's my son, but I'd take him over a dude in green tights any day. I've also imagined myself to be similar to Superman...you know, but without the super strength, speed, or that thing he can do with his eyes. Oh, and I'm also not from another planet. But he was a reporter and I like to write, though that hasn't been proven much by my blog. At least, not compared to what I used to write. The first time I write this post, it sounded like an apology. But that's not really the message I want to convey. Yes, I wish I were posting more. I also wish I had super strength or a cool utility belt, but those things aren't happening right now either. Maybe some day . The truth is I have been keeping busy. I'm not sitting back, sipping lemonade. I've never c...

In my youth ministry, we're discussing the last week of Jesus. We started last night by discussing Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem. Unlike other times when Jesus came into the holy city, this time He was announcing His kingdom. He proclaimed Himself King. And, of course, he did this with much pomp and circumstance by riding in on a....baby donkey? Um....yeah. As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” (By the way, I had my group take parts and act out this scene. Few things are funnier than seeing one teen on the back of another as they play the parts of Jesus and the donkey. I'd like to see a senior pastor try this in Big Church.) Jesus was unexpected when He came to Earth. ...

I knew I liked his style of writing. I just didn't recall that I had read anything from him before. Oh, but I had. The book in question is Divine Applause by Jeff Anderson. The previous book was Plastic Donuts , which you can see my review on here. I don't know how you read books, but I normally do so with a pencil nearby. I like to underline sections that grab my attention. But since I'm not going to spend the time flipping through a book to look for pencil marks, I also fold over a corner of the page. As you can see by the image below, I underlined quite a bit, as I thoroughly enjoyed this book. To say I enjoyed might need some clarification. It challenged me and caused me to stir about the choices I make. So, for as much as anyone enjoys being challenged, I would recommend Divine Applause. Jeff Anderson has taken Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and reflected on what turns out to be pretty straightforward talk from Jesus. In that sermon, Jesus told us to pra...

I know my writing and posting has been haphazard (at best) in 2015. I'm not promising any changes. I'll post here and there and you can let me know your thoughts. Here's a little study I used with my college group recently that I thought you might like. We're going through a Randy Frazee book that I would highly recommend.  In the book Randy Frazee takes subjects Christians should be thinking about, discusses the corresponding right action that should go with those right thoughts, then talks about the virtue we should all be living based on those thoughts and actions. Name one movie you think everyone should see and everyone should love. Name one song you think everyone should hate. If you're with any group larger than 1, I'm guessing you will have difficulty agreeing on the list. Christians argue about a lot of things. What are the absolute basic things you think we should all agree on? Think – Salvation One might think that salvation should be on the lis...

This is a portion of something I shared with my teens a couple of weeks ago. Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? ~Galatians 1:10 Let me tell you what I see going on. There are a lot of conversations that end with people responding “Oh, that’s cool.” I know you like sports, but I think grown men being paid millions to throw or catch a ball is stupid. “Oh, that’s cool.” I know what most people think, but I think Nickelback had some good music. “Oh, that’s cool.” I am a grown man and I like watching My Little Ponies. “Oh, that’s cool.” I was offended by something a pastor said to me, so I don’t go to church anymore. “Oh, that’s cool.” I think we should all worship goats. “Oh, that’s cool.” Okay, I could keep going. You could tell me things you've heard and we could do this all day. And in our societal attempt to not offend anyone, we might keep responding with “Oh, that’s cool.” But some things aren't cool. There are people out there who want u...