Hear No Evil, See No Evil...That's STUPID TALK

I'm going to rant.

I'm so sick of Christians avoiding "evil" as if it's what Jesus did. By the way many Christians act you'd think that if Jesus were walking the earth today he'd be attending five youth groups, hang with Christian friends 24/7, watch Christian television, and listen to Christian music ALL WHILE avoiding the darkness that this world is in.

Jesus didn't hop from one Christian enviornment to the next...he brought LIGHT INTO DARK PLACES...but so many Christians are busy with Christian pop culture, they don't have time to bring JesusJustice to the world around them.

We need to HEAR evil.
We need to SEE evil.
(but go ahead and don't SPEAK evil).

If we're blind to the darkness, the evil, the injustice...if we don't hear the cries of the lost and broken...we'll live ignorant Christian lives and do nothing but satisfy our churchy itch by staying in our blinded Christian subculture.

Go LOOK at it
Go LISTEN to it.
GET UNCOMFORTABLE
Surround yourself in the darkness

AND THEN BRING THE LIGHT OF GOD TO IT!

ok...I'm done...till next time.

SWITCH TWEET PEEPS

We don't apologize to be advocates for Twitter in our youth ministry. It's such a great way to stay connected throughout the week and establish a sense of unity. Here are tweet peeps you can follow:

text "follow (name in bold)" to 40404

Me: brianbecker
Jenn: Jennbecker
Chanell Magee: ChanellMagee
Aly Applegate: AlyApplegate
Sam Bickel: Sambickel3637
Denis Fureyster: Denis8
Vlad Fureyster: VladF1
Jessica Strang: Jessicastrang
Ryan Earls: RyanEarls
Kristen Bickel: jonasfan2526
Jeremy Bennett: jeremyrbennett
Makayla Flowers: Makayla2
Cameron Whitman: CamWhitman
Zach Whitman: Cablinasian
Kristi Stricker: KRISTI36
Mateo Strang: Mattstrang
Donny Bickel: BonnyBickel
Nick Robinson: NickRobinson2
Jonathan Robinson: Jonathan104
Dusty Lomeland: DLomelandLimp
Jason McAnally: jmacswitch
Chrissy Christenson: ChrissyRoseC
Katie Stewart: KTStew
Samantha Howe: samanthahowe
Anna Konstantinova: annacaptivates

To understand how Twitter works, you can go to their website, or you can watch this fun youtube video. Bottom line - GET CONNECTED!

Do You See What I See?

¹⁶He said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." ¹⁷Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, "Please strike this people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. (2 Kings 6:16-18)
Do you see what I see? Depends on your faith. While some people see insurmountable odds, I see an opportunity for God to prove His glory and power. While some people are critical with their assessment, I am hopeful with grace. While some people ditch when the battle increases, I dig in and shout out a war cry.

There comes a time when you must refuse to believe your eyes and choose to see with faith, which, afterall, is the evidence of things NOT SEEN.

Back in the day we stole a line from Pete Greig who wrote the book Awakening Cry: "UCBONES, ICANARMY" (you see bones, I see an army)...and I want to ask you - what kind of believer are you going to be - one that can only see the bones, or the one that can see the army.

God is attracted to faith, and when we combine our faith with movement, we become an unstoppbable force. Giddy up. It's war time!

B.

Facebook is the new Myspace, but TWITTER is the new Facebook!

It's Twitter Time! Most people are leaving myspace for facebook (as shown in the graph above), but what is really the big deal right now is TWITTER. Market research company Nielsen Online says Twitter grew by 1,689% from February 2008 to February 2009.

That means there are now more than 1.78 million people signed on.

This time last year the social networking site only had 100,000 members.

Most of the growth on Twitter has happened within just the last 3 months.

The big question is why? Why is Twitter growing so rapidly? Here are a few theories I have:

• Twitter is easier to scan. Less is more. People gravitate to shorter messages.
• Twitter is more social. It’s easier to engage the crowd around a brief shot of wisdom or a story or a question.
• Twitter is more viral. It’s easy to grab an insight and share it with friends.
• Twitter is more intuitive. To follow someone, I just click “follow.” Blogs still require a bit of an understanding of RSS feeds.

Bottom line: Twitter allows you to send out a simple message to one number (40404) from your cell phone and everyone following you, is instantly updated. You can also do this from your computer, as well as attach images, links, etc.

Read more: "Twitter vs. Blogging | TonyMorganLive.com" - http://tonymorganlive.com/2009/03/18/twitter-vs-blogging/#ixzz0AmdGBTOj

Me and my Study Partner/Baby

Just wanted everyone to know how much I'm enjoying my Friday, as I prep to speak tonight at our annual Men's Retreat. The source of my smile doesn't come from the study, but from my baby girl who is chillin' next to me as she sleeps. She's 19 days old, and we had to wait over 8 years for her arrival, but boy was she worth the wait!

As for the prep - talking about the call of a leader - once David was anointed with oil and "called" to be King, it says in 1 Samuel 16:
¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.

"From that day on". David went back to the sheep fields after that and stayed there for years before becoming King...but once he was called I believe he saw sheep differently, he saw lions, and bears differently, he saw isolation differently...why? Because he was now "called."

If we understand that God has called us to something greater than the mundane, it will change the way we view life and prepare us for the days ahead.

You are called.

U2 Christianity/Spirituality and White As Snow Lyrics

Today the new U2 album "No Line On The Horizon" was released. U2 is the icon for us 20-30 somethings when it comes to cutting edge, mainstream, music with spiritual elements. I've always struggled with the "Christianity" of U2 because even though Bono regularly talks about Jesus and the journey he is on, there seems to be a lack of unabashed commitment to following Christ.

My prayer is that in seeking out Truth, the guys of U2 will "finally find what they've been looking for". In the meantime, I can fully appreciate the depth of their lyrics such as "White As Snow" which I have posted below.

So, what's the view from where you stand? Should U2 be applauded for asking the rest of the world to wrestle with their spirituality? Should U2 be chided for making social issues a bigger concern than declaring the preeminence of Christ as the One and only Savior? Should we not be so investigative and just enjoy the music when it's good, and turn it off when it's not?

If you don't consider yourself a Christ follower- what's your take on the message of U2? Do they even have a message, or are they just another band to you?

If you do believe that Christ is your Savior and consider yourself saved by grace, through faith - how do you value their music?

Chime in!

WHITE AS SNOW
Where I came from there were no hills at all
The land was flat, the highways straight and wide
My brother and I would drive for hours
Like years instead of days
Our faces as pale as the dirty snow

Once I knew there was a love divine
Then came a time I thought it knew me not
Who can forgive forgiveness where forgiveness is not
Only the lamb as white as snow

And the water, it was icy
As it washed over me
And the moon shone above me
Now this dry ground it bears no fruit at all
Only poppies laugh under the crescent moon
The road refuses strangers
The land the seeds we sow
Where might we find the lamb as white as snow

As boys we would go hunting in the woods
To sleep the night shooting out the stars
Now the wolves are every passing stranger
Every face we cannot know
If only a heart could be as white as snow
If only a heart could be as white as snow

Lent Anyone?

Tomorrow Lent begins! Ok, so you probably don't know what Lent is. Even though Lent is not found in the Bible, there is historical significance and good reason for it. I've never known what Lent is, much less participated in it until my decision to do so this year. Like anything else - it can be very deep and personal or just a religious tradition - it's up to you and your heart. Maybe you are a Catholic by heritage, or consider yourself religious, but don't truly know what it means to have a relationship with Jesus - wow, this could be a great time for you to search the Scriptures and find out who this Jesus really is!

Maybe you consider yourself the most UN-RELIGIOUS person on the planet - don't you owe it to yourself to at least find out for yourself who Jesus is and what He taught? Lent could be a great time to do a 40 day study of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - found in the Bible)!

The local church I'm a part of doesn't do fancy liturgy, we don't have stained glass windows, and most of us wear jeans rather than suits or priestly robes...we tend to prefer the electric guitar over the organ, and we're more likely to be laughing and smiling than somber and quiet...but there is a still a very real, and very deep passion to know Jesus and to live our lives for the Savior of the world! Lent is a good way to get on the right track!

Lent is a 40-day fasting season that begins on Ash Wednesday (tomorrow) and concludes at the Easter. Sundays are not included in the 40-day count because every Sunday is a joyful celebration of Jesus' resurrection. Though not found in the Bible, Lent has long been a tradition in the Christian Church, and it is thought that the tradition of the 40 days recalls the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). Lent is considered a time of repentance and discipline.

One of my current favorite authors, Mark Batterson says this concerning Lent:
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I have a goal-oriented personality. Without goals I'm no good. So I try to leverage things like birthdays and New Years and Lent and Pentecost to set new spiritual goals or reestablish some God habits. A few years ago I started observing Lent and it's made Easter so much more meaningful. Can't wait for Ash Wednesday.

Here's an equation: -++=x.

Translation: subtraction plus addition equals multiplication.

What do you need to subtract from you life?

It might be a bad habit or waste of time or something that is permissible but not beneficial. Last year I gave up television for forty days. This year I'm giving up soda and candy. I know that doesn't sound super spiritual, but if you knew how much I love vanilla coke and gummy bears...

What do you need to add to your life?

You can't just subtract something. You've got to add something to your spiritual routine. I'm going to add an hour to my day. How? I'm setting my alarm clock an hour earlier than I normally do. I want to give God more of my most precious resource: time.

I'm believing that subtraction and addition will result in multiplication. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been filled with more holy anticipation about what God is doing in my life and the life of National Community Church. But I'm believing Him for greater things! I want Him to multiply what He is already doing!

Question: what are you subtracting or adding for Lent?

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So...who's in? Reply to this email and tell us what you are planning on adding and subtracting.

Subtraction: I'm going to not eat after 8:00pm and refrain from all Desserts including the deadly "C's": Cookies, Crackers, Chips, and Cake

Addition: I'm going to actually read through Beth Moore's 40 Day Bible Study on Jesus, spend an hour in prayer before I shower, read, eat, or do anything else in the mornings, because my prayer time gets easily crowded out with "stuff" in the morning.

See you soon
Pastor Brian