Who is in your final 4?

I have a very unexciting final 4. Two number 1 seeds, and #2 and #4. UNC, Memphis, Georgetown, and UCONN. With UNC and Memphis in the title game and UNC winning. Who do you have?

Happy 5th Birthday Jordan!

The Bald Brotherhood

A group from St. Matthew's went to hear Tony Campolo speak tonight. He was awesome as usual. Tony has been a great influence in my life and ministry and a great source for illustrations. Best line of the night, "you know your old when your wife asks you to come upstairs for sex and you say, 'honey, I can't do both."

The Hermeneutics Quiz

Before you take this quiz that was designed by Scot McKnight,
which of the following 3 categories do you think you view of the Bible will fit..

Conservative, Moderate, or Progressive?
After you take the quiz go here to see what it means and in the comments let me know what you thought you were, and what the quiz said you were and do you agree. Mine are in the comments.

donuts with dad 08

Yesterday was donuts with dad at Jordan and Karis's preschool.

Jesus Christ the Musical

Who thinks of this stuff?

Hope at General Conference?

Below is a portion of an article from the United Methodist News Service that actually excites me about our church. I will have a few comments afterwards.

A new agenda

Weary of decades of the church's top legislative meeting being consumed by debate over homosexuality and other hot-button issues, the Council of Bishops and other denominational leaders have shaped a new churchwide agenda with the overarching purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The agenda includes four areas of focus: developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world; creating "new places for new generations" by starting new churches and renewing existing ones; engaging in ministry with the poor; and fighting the killer diseases of poverty such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Church leaders believe this approach will help United Methodists unite to address the world's core needs, reclaim the church's Wesleyan heritage, start a movement and, as a bonus, reverse decades of declining membership trends.

It also is hoped that, when the nearly 1,000 delegates leave General Conference to return to their home districts and churches, they will know the four areas of focus by heart and, with a new clarity about "what my church is doing," spread that vision and sense of identity to the people in the pews.

Delegates at the briefing said it's time for Jesus Christ to "do a new thing with our church."

"I'm not hearing as much about the more controversial issues so far," said the Rev. Henry Frueh, a second-time delegate from the Troy Annual (regional) Conference in New York. "There's more talk about the church positioning itself to be more effective in the world. I think there's a sense that if we don't change the way we do church, we're going to lose the opportunity," he told United Methodist New Service.

The Rev. Tom Berlin, a delegate from Herndon, Va., said many people in his generation (ages 30 to 45) are disenchanted by past General Conferences that have focused on discordant social issues that "are so predictable in their outcome"--and not enough on substantive issues of need in the world. The result, he said, is that ordained and lay leaders are tempted to cocoon themselves in their local churches "because it's just not worth the emotional energy."

"Friends, we're going to have to lay down our arms on these other issues if we want to deal with the (new) ones," Berlin told one panel group.

My thoughts/ questions:

1. I love the 4 areas of focus that deal with the true mission statement of the UMC "make disciples of Jesus Christ": engaging in ministry with the poor, fighting the killer diseases, creating and building leaders, and starting and renewing churches for new generations. It would be like actually doing what Jesus called us to do. What a crazy thing to do? If the general conference was to get behind this agenda i believe the church could change course. I know it would chance my perception and attitude. Rev. Tom Berlin hit the nail on the head when he said "that ordained and lay leaders are tempted to cocoon themselves in their local churches because it's just not worth the emotional energy."

2. Can this happen? I think so. I've talked with a few others and they don't share my optimism. I am an eternal optimist so i think this can work. Will the very conservative and the very liberal be able to give up ground i think is the real question. Can we "lay down arms?" Are there enough people/delegates in the extreme center where i believe i am? I believe that is more and more the case and more and more people are getting frustrated with the current system. Say amen if you can.

3. Tom Berlin, is not only the skinniest pastor in America (I'm not mocking, I'm jealous) he is a great leader who is going to help the future of our church and i am pumped that he is co leading the VA conference delegation. This is what can happen when great church pastors/leaders and given the opportunity to work with the broader church. Of the 15 clergy
elected to general conference only 4 were serving churches at the time of election.

4. What do you think and what can we do to help make this vision/focus a reality?

2 years ago today....

Karis had her kidney removed. Hard to believe its been 2 years. i did not even realize it until Leigh Ann told me. Karis had something called nephroblastomatosis. I could be wrong but from what i understand/remember nephroblastomatosis is when the kidney continues in its embryonic state and continues to grow at a rapid rate. Her kidney should have been about 4 cm but hers was 14 so they had to remove it. Though it might sound strange this ended up being a blessing. Our urologist thought it was cancer after the first tests. We were also told to expect cemo after surgery even if it was not cancer. That did not happen either. Karis is a normal as normal can be and with the exception of playing football she should be able to anything she wants. Below is a picture of her a few days post surgery and one from Christmas

i'm in trouble.

i am thinking about using this for Easter? What do you think?



Hat tip to Reformissionary

Don't Blame Romo...only

First of all the Cowboys choked. The Giants won and I believe wanted it more. The better team won. The frustrating thing about the game was how poorly the Cowboys executed.

Here are some examples:

Patrick Crayton 1. Two dropped passes, one on a third down where he would have had a huge huge gain.

Poor Tackling. The Giants first score was the result of 3 miss tackles.

Special Teams. After the Cowboys go up 17-14 The G Men return the kickoff to the Cowboys 49. The Giants do not score. End of 3rd quarter, Cowboys punt, Giants return it 30 yards to the Cowboys 33. Missed tackles galore. This time the Giants score and go up for good 21-17.

Penalties- After Dallas went up 14-7 with 28 seconds left a face mask moves the Giants for the 45 to the 23. Two 3rd downs the Giants failed to convert but the drive was continued because of off side penalties. Both of these results in scores. 3rd and 7 from the Giants 11 Flowcale Adams gets one of his 2 offside penalties thus making it a 3 and 12.

Offensive Line. The Giants either figured out something or everybody got tired on the O line. In the fourth quarter Romo was hit on just about every play with the exception of the time he threw it away for no good reason.

Patrick Crayton 1 A 3rd and 14, Romo runs around a pass a perfect pass that would have procuded huge yardage, only problem is Crayon drops it.

Anthony Fasano- First drive of the second half, on a 2nd and 7 from the Giants 11 Floano is hit in the chest and drops it in the end zone.

Andre Gurode,- Had a horrible time snapping the ball. They would just kind of float in the air for a long time. This has led to an offside penalty with 31 seconds left in the game.

Time Outs- Cowboys wasted 2 timeouts in the 2nd half. One on a punt return and the other to keep from getting a delay of game. This would have really helped the Cowboys on their last drive.

Crayton part 2. This is the killer, - 21 seconds left Crayton stops on his route. Had his guy beat and the throw was there. Crayton could be the hero .


Tony Romo- On a 1st and 10 from the Giants 47 Romo takes a huge sack to brings up a 2nd and 24. Same drive, 1st and 10 threw it away for no reason and takes a intentional grounding bring up a 2nd and 20.
Under threw Owens twice in the 4th quarter.
He was frustrated like I’ve never seen him before. He was yelling at everyone and he is usually cool as can be.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Joe Gibbs and Evangelism

This article by John "Jr." Feinstein was in Monday's Washington Post, a day or so before Gibbs retired. Though i am a cowboy fan and therefore don't think much of the redskins i've always admired Gibbs for his coaching and also for the way he lives his faith. This article talks about Gibbs faith in a not so positive light. What are your thoughts?

New Christmas Worship Song

My friend Brian wrote a Christmas song called Glory Hallelujah. Below is an acoustic version (and the version i like better). If you click here you will get cord charts as well as an MP3 version of it. let me know what you think.

The Worst Food in America

also happens to be one of my favorites. According to the December issue of Men's Health.. Outback's Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing is the worst food in America (from a health prospective). Check out the stats. 2,900 calories 182 g fat, 240 g carbs. Other than that it is ok.

The article says, "even if you split these "starters" with three friends, you'll have downed a dinner's worth of calories before your entrée arrives."

The sad news is that this will not stop me from getting them the next time I'm there.

It's not your birthday

I was asked by the Washington Post to write a Christmas meditaion. Just kidding, it was the Goochland Courier that asked me. Here is what i have written below. Let me know what you think.


It’s Not Your Birthday.
It’s not your birthday that we will celebrate on December 25. It’s Jesus’ birthday that we celebrate. What would happen if on one of my daughters birthdays’ I got myself some presents, my wife some presents, and my other daughters got presents, but the daughter whose birthday it is got nothing? There would not be peace on earth or good will toward men. Everybody would think we were horrible parents. The truth is that is what often happens with Christmas, we forget whose birthday it is, we forget the reason for the season. Jesus!

One of the ways we can celebrate Jesus’ birthday is by giving to the poor. As Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, “whatever you did for one of the least of these (the hungry, the thirsty, the immigrants, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the lonely) brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” What Jesus says in this passage is that he identifies with the poor. If we serve the poor, it is the same as serving Jesus, and when we don’t serve the poor it is the same as not serving Jesus.

Jesus not only identifies with the poor, he was poor. Jesus was born in a stable. When Joseph and Mary went to present Jesus at the temple and have Jesus circumcised their sacrifice was the sacrifice of the poor, a pair of doves or two young pigeons (Luke 3:24, Leviticus 12:8). You could make the case that when Jesus started his ministry he was homeless. Jesus was always eating and staying at someone else’s house. At one point Jesus says, “foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head.” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he entered on a borrowed donkey. When Jesus and his disciples had the last supper they met in a borrowed room. After Jesus died they placed his body not in his tomb, but a borrowed tomb. Jesus identified with the poor and was poor.

My challenge to you during this Christmas season is to remember whose birthday it is and give half of your planned Christmas spending to the poor. If you normally spend $500 on Christmas this year spend $250 on Christmas and give the rest to the poor. How much of what we get or give on Christmas is really needed? There are people that have legit needs some in our own country. There are over 6 billion people in the world and half of them live on less than $2 a day. 30,000 people die a day from starvation. That is one person every 3 seconds. In the time it has taken you to read this article (3 minutes) 60 people have died. Let that sink in. This is not the way things have to be. This Christmas season, remember whose birthday it is and strive to live a simple Christmas so others might simply live.

Intuitive leadership 1

Started reading Tim Keel's book today, Intuitive Leadership and thought i would try and blog through it. I am 0 for 1 in doing this so wish me better luck this time!
Keel is pastor of Jacob's Well, a church in Kansas City Missouri. I heard Keel speak at an Emergent Conference many years ago in Nashville and also some where else, can't remember where but he left a good impression.
The back cover says, "churches need to dicover new ways of leading that embrace intuition, creativity, narrative, and the chaos and tension of our time."

Chapter 1 is about rediscovering the power of story. Keel is big into narrative and believes that churches don't focus enough on the narrative of scripture.
Keel writes on p 36, "The Bible as encyclopedia of topical religious information? Check. The Bible as blueprint hor how ti make life work? Check. The Bible as a book of answers, especially for refuting those with whom we disagree? Check. The Bible as supporting material for systematic theology? Check. The Bible as the story about the confusing presence of personal deity engaging bizarrely unpredictable people in astounding and mundane ways over long period of time? can i Get back to you on that?"

This was convicting to me. I rotate in and out of preaching on narrative but lately i have not done much of that. Keel also makes a great point about how the words "remember! Don't forget" and found again and again in the Old testament. One of the great gifts I've been given is the fact that i was taught the stories of the Bible as a child, and i have not forgotten them.

Bringing this to the my church, what is our churches story. What are the stories we should not forget in our 150 year history? Who are the characters? What are my stories that i should not forget?
Keel says "we are called to story. To remember. To live. To tell."

Jesus and Football

My friend Tom Houck has written a book about 2 of my favorite things, football and Jesus. It is titled Between the Tackles and you can get it here for only $13. I am proud to announce that we are having our first give away so the first 3 people to send me an email (pastorgkp@hotmail.com) will receive a free copy of the book.
UPDATE- The books are gone, Austin, Serena and Ryan Congratulations.

worship with the unchurched in mind

We devoted part of our service to “All Saints Day” on Sunday. We had a candle lighting in memory of all those that were part of our church community that passed away in the last year. What we did differently this year is that we used the screen to project pictures of the ones that pasted away and had family members light a candle as we showed the picture. This worked beautifully and was very meaningful not only to the families but also to the whole church.
Of the 5 people that passed away none of their families have been active in our church in quite a while and this service was an opportunity to show the families that we care and that we wanted to honor their relative and also give an opportunity for them to come back to church.
It would be safe to say that for 2 of the families they had little to no experience in worship. The sat up front, I don’t think they knew how the hymnal worked, and during communion seemed uncertain. And they really did not have anybody to help them (partly because they sat up front). One of the men gave me the attendance pad to me before the service because he thought somebody from the previous service had forgotten it, (I played along). Another gentlemen when he came up for communion starting talking with me, so we had a conversation while everyone else was kneeling around him, which is something I have never done before. For the other 3 families everything was comfortable and familiar. We say we want to reach people who don’t know the good news of Jesus, but would we be willing to change what we do to make that happen. This was a real eye opening experience for me because some of the changes I’ve made to the traditional services have been made I thought with the unchurched in mind. I guess they were not enough so. And is the contemporary service any different?

Reading C. S. Lewis today....

"That is why the real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind. We can only do it for moments at first . But from those moments the new sort of life will be spreading through our system: because now we are letting Him work at the right part of us." Mere Christianity, Chapter titled "Is Christianity hard or Easy? "

I know this and believe it, but it is still a hard thing for me to do every day. Makes no sense. I have a cure to my problem but i don't always take the medicine.

Good Post about what kingdom means

From one the best blogs out there, Jesus Creed

As Iron sharpens Iron...

so one person sharpens another." This verse from Proverbs has been on my mind all week. After church on Sunday I left for West Virginia to participate in a prayer retreat with 7 other pastors. I would say it was 3 days of iron sharpening as we prayed, worshiped, studied, ate, laughed, complained, sweated, dreamed, and shared gas (like being in college again) together. It was great for my soul. As God would have it, i just happen to be preaching about the importance of community this week. My scripture reading is from Luke 5 where a group of friends lower one of their own through the ceiling so that Jesus can heal him. While i am new to this particular group it became evident that through their years together they have all taken turns at lowing each other through that roof to get to Jesus for healing. Christian Community is a beautiful thing when it works like it is suppose to, and is one of the most overlooked characteristic of a life following and so many people miss this.
While i have not experienced that kind of community with this group (yet) i have in other groups. When Karis had her surgery to remove her kidney our small group came to be with us at the hospital. We were soaked with God's presence. A member of our groups father died and we took the church bus to attend the service. A lady in my wife's group said that this group "saved her life."
If you want to experience the transformational power of Jesus in your life, Christian community where i believe it is most likely to happen.
As iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another.