It’s been a minute or two since I last blogged. The family and I have been on vacation and I’m just getting back into the groove.

I wanted to share something with you that I read before leaving for vacation. It’s called “A Jesus Manifesto” and it was written by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola. Not the most obvious pairing on the planet, but a great testament to the truth that they’ve agreed to in this document. Here’s a taste of what they have to say:

What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology. Christianity is not a philosophy. Christianity is the “good news” that Beauty, Truth and Goodness are found in a person. Biblical community is founded and found on the connection to that person. Conversion is more than a change in direction; it’s a change in connection. Jesus’ use of the ancient Hebrew word shubh, or its Aramaic equivalent, to call for “repentance” implies not viewing God from a distance, but entering into a relationship where God is command central of the human connection.

I challenge you to take a few minutes and visit their site. Read the manifesto and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart. If you’re like me (and let’s hope you aren’t , expect to be confirmed, convicted, challenged and motivated. My prayer is that we would all embrace Him and make it our mission to make Him known.

I shared this illustration with our congregation this past Sunday in worship and I thought it would be worth sharing here. We were finishing up our set with a little old school Tomlin; “We Fall Down”. As we sang the chorus in rehearsal (“We cry holy, holy, holy”) I began to reflect on the eternal nature of the song we were singing.

We hear the song being declared from eternity past in Isaiah 6. Isaiah describes seeing seraphs surrounding the throne of God singing continually “holy, holy, holy is the Lord almighty. The whole earth is filled with His glory.”

We see the song declared in the eternal future by these same creatures in Revelations 4. John describes them singing “holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. Who was and is and is to come”. This triggers a worship offering from the 24 elders that I can’t wait to see.

The point is that there is an eternal song happening right now. At this very minute those creatures are somewhere in their “holy, holy, holy” song. How powerful is it that at any moment of any day we can join their song and sing the eternal praises of our God?

I encourage you to think about that imagery the next time you hear those words in a song. Allow yourself to connect to that eternal song and appreciate the depth and wonder of an eternal song to our eternal King.

I had a thought over the weekend that kind of haunted me. Here it is:

What would I change about my life if it were being filmed 24/7?

Don’t worry; this isn’t going to be one of those “God is already watching your life 24/7 so change it anyway” kind of posts. It did challenge me to think of what I would do differently. I’d probably:

• Pray more & stress less
• Spend more time listening than talking
• Spend less time tweeting
• Play less Halo and play more board games with my kids
• Spend less time watching TV and more time reading
• Hug my wife more
• Never ignore my kids when they want to do something
• Spend less time on Facebook and have my “face in the book” more (that’s a Tony Sutherland special)

All these things are good, but as I thought them through I had an overwhelming response rise in my heart. On my journey to try and know God I’ve gotten to the place where relationship has replaced religion and it is a wondrous thing. I’m going to work on some of these things and change where I need to but I’m not going back to viewing God as a taskmaster keeping galactic tabs on my dos and don’ts.

I refuse to trade beauty for duty. How about you?

It’s that time of year again. Time for worship leaders to bring their best “thankfulness” set and for pastors to preach their best “thankful” sermons. Sometimes it can be boring to fall into the same old routine. Truth is; I love this time of year. Not because people focus more on being thankful, but because this season begins to focus us on the One that every good gift comes from. Because leaves fall and I’m reminded that this season, whatever it is, isn’t my end. That sometimes things have to die to become beautiful again. And that cold times are best spent with warm people.

I love that my family gets together. That friends get closer. Presents come more often and parties are the norm. I relish the hugs that others give that they might normally hold out on. I cherish seeing children marvel at the spectacle of it all. Most of all, I revel in Jesus who gives us a reason to celebrate and a season to treasure.

What do you love about this season?

Great stuff from ‘Los Whitaker over at his blog today. Check it out.

Dear Church Member,

Dear Church Member from Ragamuffin Soul