Craig Finnestad

Uncomfortable

2009-06-23T18:55:00.002-05:00

I ran early this morning to escape the heat. It didn't work. Laura and I took off at 5:45. By 5:50 my gray t-shirt was soaked. The dew point was 77 degrees which is about as high as it gets. The air was super-saturated with water. It was getting hot and the sun was already beating down. The trail around the lake was crowded. All of us runners form some kind of strange solidarity on days like this. We all kind of gave each other a laughing glance at the absurdity of the conditions.

Meanwhile, a pastor and a dentist, made their trek around the lake. We talked about marathons and life. We stopped for water at each of the 3 fountains along the 7.5 mile journey.

After the run I was thinking that I am thankful that most days aren't like this. I was also grateful to be able to beat the elements and not let the elements beat me. Finally, even though it was a tough run, it was a great way to start the day!

Favorite Quotes

2009-06-22T18:38:00.000-05:00

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out. -John Wesley

To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself. -Soren Kierkegaard

The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. -Juma Ikangaa

The greatest advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science and literature, in industry or agriculture, have never come from centralized government. -Milton Friedman

Humor is not the opposite of seriousness; humor is the opposite of despair. -Conrad HyersYou sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas. -Stanley Kubrick

The difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals. -Hal Higdon

Father's Day

2009-06-21T17:43:00.000-05:00

You can listen to this morning's sermon here.

Thanks to Benjamin and David. One of my biggest joys is being your dad!

Benjamin, Craig, and David
Father's Day, 2009

Invite

2009-06-20T18:19:00.001-05:00

Here is tomorrow's column:

Earlier this week I was talking with a young family who started coming to The Water’s Edge about a year ago. They shared with me about all the changes in their life. They feel more closely connected to each other. They have met new friends. They are being more intentional in their relationship with God. They feel better equipped as parents. They reported there life isn’t perfect yet, but it is much different and much better.

One of the questions I asked them was how they started coming. They replied that a friend invited them. They politely declined. They said they thought church was for good people and they weren’t quite there yet. A few months later another friend invited them. After a little resistance on her part and a lot a resistance on his part, they decided to come.

I’ll stop the conversation there. Think about that. Lives have been changed because of two invitations. One invitation was declined, but it planted an important seed. The second invitation was accepted. The family came and report one year later that they are so grateful for the invitations.

As I look back on my life it was an invitation from an ordinary person that started my journey with Jesus. She simply invited me to a small group she was in with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I experienced community and grace. She graduated from college and I lost track of her. That was seventeen or eighteen years ago. Sometimes I wonder if she knows what I am doing today. Of all the people I am thankful for in life, she is near the top of the list.

These are illustrations of how ordinary people doing a simple task can make a huge difference through an extraordinary God. A simple invitation can make a world of difference.

Jesus was always walking around making invitations. “Come and listen.” “Come and follow me.” “Come to me all of you who are weary and heavy leaden and I will give you rest.” “Go and make disciples.”

I want to encourage you and challenge you. Think about who you can invite to worship. Or maybe think about somebody you can invite to your small group. Sometimes you will get a big “no.” Know that you are planting a seed in their life. Sometimes you will get a “yes”. Do your best to bring them or meet them at worship. Introduce them to a few other people. I would love to meet your guest as well. I’m going to do my best to invite a few people by the end of the summer. I hope that you will join me.

I hope for all of us that we can partner with God and with each others in doing God’s work in the world. I also pray that we, as pretty ordinary people, can be part of somebody else’s testimony about an extraordinary God.

In Christ,

Craig

Set-Up and Tear-Down

2009-06-19T18:28:00.000-05:00

Here is an article from this week's bulletin about the set-up and tear down crew. I thought it would be interesting to share this with you. Thanks for all you do guys!

Most of us come to worship on Sunday mornings between 10:25 and 10:35. Some come a little earlier. A few come a lot earlier. Most of us leave within 10 or 15 minutes of whenever Craig decides he is done talking for the morning. The same people who came a lot earlier also stay a lot later.

Each week a group of 6 to 10 people come around 9:00 and don’t leave until 12:30. They set up the chairs, the stage, the kid’s area, the tables, the sound and media, and do other things as well. After the worship experience, they take down and load up what they previously unloaded and set up.

Some of the volunteers on this team commit to serving one weekend a month. Others volunteers serve on this team almost every week. All are appreciated. If you are a volunteer on this team: THANK YOU! You make worship possible for us on Sunday mornings. If you see a person with the black set-up and tear-down team shirt, thank them for their hard work. If you would like to volunteer in this area once a month, please register on the registration cards that are distributed during the connection’s time. This is a great way for fathers and sons to serve together. It is also a great way to get to know others, to serve God, and get in a good workout!

YDHWIT to Control the Future

2009-06-18T10:47:00.001-05:00

Here are the notes and study guide from Sunday's sermon.

Objective: To stop trying to control our future and experience the peace that comes from trusting God.

1. Achieving greatness always requires that we leave

The life of faith is a life of leaving. God is always trying to get us to leave where we are to take us to where He wants us to be.

If God has an incredible future for His honor and for His glory, why don’t people leave where they are?

A. We live by faith and not by sight.

For we live by believing and not by seeing. -2 Corinthians 5:7

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. –Hebrews 11:8

B. People have a fear of failure.

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” -Genesis 3:1

C. People don’t trust God with their future.

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. –Matthew 6:25-34

2. When God says leave, He always gives, gives you a promise.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. -Genesis 12:1-4

We don’t leave for two reasons.

A. We are not aware of the promises of God
B. We have forgot the promises of God

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28

Questions and Reflections for individual and group study

Reflect:

What do the people around you seem to worry about the most concerning
their future?

How have you seen others try to control their future?

Describe a time when things felt out of control and God met your needs.

How does God meeting your needs in the past affect your view of the
future?

Describe issue(s) you are facing where Jesus is saying, “Don’t be afraid.
Just trust me.”

Pray:

Ask God to take control of any area where you are worried about the future. Ask Him to replace your worry with His peace.

Apply:

1. What is one fear that you can ask the Lord to help you face this week?
2. With what concrete action can you show your faith in the Lord this week?

YDHWIT To Handle Everything

2009-06-12T08:26:00.003-05:00

Here are the notes for this Sunday's sermon: You Don't Have What It Takes To Handle Everything.

Objective: To admit we can’t do it all alone and to experience freedom by giving our burdens to God.

Do, do you really think that God’s intention for us is to be consistently overwhelmed, over burdened, and stressed out? Something is wrong. What culture calls normal living today, God must call insane, unbiblical, dangerous, and wrong.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus was unquestionably busy, but He wasn’t hurried, and there is a huge difference. We can be busy and productive without being hurried, because busy-ness happens, but hurriedness is a sickness of the soul. God did not design you to handle it all.

1. Some burdens are meant to be shared

Many of us are good at giving help. It is a challenge for many of us to ask for and receive physical and / or emotional help.

“This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. -Exodus 18:17

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
-Galatians 6:2

2. Some things need to be stopped

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
-Luke 10:41

Fill in the blank. If I had more time I would _____________________. Now you have an assignment. Whatever is in your blank is what I want you to be doing more of. Starting today.

Be still (raphaw), and know that I am God! –Psalm 46:10

Raphaw – raw-faw’ – To slacken, to allow to sink, to let drop. Best translation: Drop it.

Action Step: Create a To-Don’t List. It’s just like a to-do list, but it only contains items of things you won’t do.

3. Everything needs to be surrendered

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.
-Psalm 62:1-2

Give (shalak) your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.
-Psalm 55:22

Shalak – Cast, hurl, throw.

Questions for individual and group study

What radical change do you need to make to grow closer to God and to live in closer community with others?

Describe a time when you needed help but didn’t ask for it or didn’t
accept it.

Why is it difficult for us to accept help from others?

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about what happens to you.” -1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

Why is it sometimes difficult for us to ask for or accept help from God?

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” -Matthew 11:28

What burdens are you carrying that are heavy and exhausting?

In what practical ways can you give these burdens to God?

“God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.” -Matthew 5:3 (NLT)

Prayer:

Lord I admit my need for you in every area of my life. Please help me to give my burdens completely to you and experience the freedom of leaving them in your hands. Amen.

Credit: Craig Groeschel

Living

2009-06-11T08:40:00.000-05:00

Here is my column for Sunday morning:

This past week I was at our denominational meeting for clergy. Hundreds of us gathered from all parts of Nebraska. We met for three and a half days. I did a wedding on Friday night and Saturday, so I only met with my colleagues for two and a half of those days.

On Wednesday afternoon we had the Memorial Worship Service for the clergy who died during the previous year. I think there were six or seven. Most of them were retired. One was active. The worship leader read the names of the deceased pastors, rang a little bell, and then there was a moment of silence. Later we watched a video that had pictures of the deceased pastors. The families of these men and women sat in a special section in the front and center of the room. I didn’t personally know any of the pastors or their families, but I know certain things about them and about their families simply because I share the same vocation in life. I felt a sense of loss as I sat through the hour long service.

As I was sitting at a table during the Memorial Service with a few friends, I realized something: one day it would be my name that is read, one day my picture would be on the screen, and one day my family: Amber, Benjamin, and David would be sitting on those chairs. The preacher continued to talk, but I wasn’t really listening. I’m sure that has happened to you before! I wasn’t thinking about death. I was thinking about life.

I want to fast forward about two hours. While my colleagues were meeting in the big room, I took my Bible, got up from my seat, and left. I was asked to speak to the hundred or so high school students who were at the same conference, so I wandered around the Cornhusker Hotel until I found the correct room. A few minutes later I began speaking.

They were all at the Memorial Service as well. I told them about my little epiphany. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but it went like this:

Here’s the deal. We are all here for a limited time. I don’t think it is death we fear. I think what we are really afraid of is not living. I think what we are really afraid of is having our families sit in those chairs and have to look at those pictures and mourn the life that never was. We are all either dying or we are living. You have an incredible opportunity in front of you to live. I don’t know you, but I know something about you: you don’t want to go through the motions of life and just survive. You want a life that matters you, to others, and to God. You want to thrive. So do it and don’t look back.

I hope they found those words helpful and I hope you do too.

In Christ,

Craig

New Beginnings

2009-06-10T08:44:00.001-05:00

I ran this morning. It has been at least a week. I think I probably have run about six or seven times in three months. I don't know if the injury is gone, it feels pretty good, but I do know that I am out of shape.

Six miles. Very slow. Very difficult. Beautiful morning out though.

It's kind of like beginning (or rebeginning) life's journey with God. God accepts us where we are and loves us so much that God doesn't want to leave us where we are.

Today was tough. They were my first steps. But there will be better days to come. I fully believe I'll finish well in the Philadelphia Marathon in late November.

God has a better life for you. The future can be much better than today. With God's help, goals can be reached and dreams can be realized.

So whatever it is, start today, one step at a time.

Congratulations Angee!

2009-06-08T02:24:00.003-05:00

A friend and occasional running partner, Angee Henry, won the 800 meter run at the 2009 Music City Distance Carnival this past weekend. Her time of 2:04 qualifies her for the national meet in a few weeks in Eugene, Oregon. Congratulations Angee! Here is the video for your viewing pleasure:

You Can't Please Everyone

2009-06-07T23:32:00.001-05:00

People pleasers. You have heard of them before. Maybe you are even one of them. Most people pleasers are wonderful people who genuinely want what is best for others. The problem is that no matter how hard we try to please others; sometimes our best isn’t going to be good enough. I talked about what it means to live for God by choosing to find our validation and acceptance in Him rather than people.

Listen to this morning's sermon.

Read the notes and study guide.

People Pleasing

2009-06-04T14:35:00.002-05:00

Here are the notes for this Sunday's sermon and some study questions:

Objective: To live for God by choosing to find our validation and acceptance in Him rather than people.

Becoming obsessed with what people think about you is the fastest way to forget what God thinks about you.

I am not who you say I am. I am not even who I say I am. I am who God says I am: adopted, accepted, and forgiven. –Rick Warren

No matter how hard you try, you can never, ever please everyone. Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. –Galatians 1:10

Four Characteristics of People Pleasers

People pleasers tend to take most criticism personally.
People pleasers have an extraordinary fear of rejection.
People pleasers find it hard to express their true feelings.
People pleasers have a hard time saying no.

People pleasing is a form of idolatry.

Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God. –John 12:42-43

Fearing people is a dangerous trap (mowquesh), but trusting the Lord means safety. -Proverbs 29:25

Mowqesh – The Hebrew word that means a noose or a trap.

Three traps of people pleasing

I will compromise for you trap
I will over commit for you trap
I will let you limit my success trap

The fear of God is the best antidote for the fear of what people think.

Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. -Psalm 34:9

Fearing God: Other ways to translate the word are to revere, worship, respect, and honor.

A helpful way to think about fearing God is growing close to God and living for Him. God is BIG to you and is FIRST in your life.

The only antidote for the fear of what people think is for God to be bigger in your life. Seek Him. Surrender to Him. Know Him. Let Him become bigger and be set free from the opinions of people. It’s the only way you are ever going to please God.

Questions for Small Group Study or Personal Reflection

1. Name the people in your life you often feel pressured to please.

Our purpose is to please God, not people. He is the one
who examines the motives of our hearts. -1 Thessalonians 2:4

2. What motives do you have for trying to please people?

3. What do you fear would happen if you failed to please them?

He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. -Matthew 6:33

4. What needs you are expecting others to meet that can only be met by God?

5. What choices or changes do you need to make in order to have those needs met only by God?

Pray: God, help us to believe you will give us all we need from day to day. Help us choose to live only for you.

Credit: Craig Greoschel

The Bible and Humor

2009-06-03T11:22:00.004-05:00

Humor is found throughout the Bible in various forms. God wants people to experience delight (Ps 37:4), communicate effectively (Mt 18:15-17), and live abundantly (John 10:10). The following sections discuss how humor, as described above, is used in the Bible. God laughs, laughter exists in heaven, Jesus used humor, and humor is a vehicle used to help humanity grow closer to God and one another. The Bible is the truth (2 Tim. 3:16). Humor cannot exist without truth (Parrot 5) and is a reflection of the truth that makes the truth more accessible (Flynn 66-9).

Before any study of humor can be carried out, humorous discourse must be broken down into three groupings: universal humor, culture-based humor, and linguistic-based humor (Schmitz 89). Universal humor is the most basic form of humor and is not dependent on culture or language. An example of universal humor is: “Last week I went fishing and all I got was a sunburn, poison ivy, and mosquito bites” (Schmitz 96). No understanding of the original culture or language is required to appreciate this type of humor.

Culture-based humor is not universal because the listener must have an understanding of the culture to comprehend the humor. An example of cultural-based humor is: “This year for Father’s Day I got a special gift in the mail: the bill for Mother’s Day” (Fechtner 104). To understand this type of humor the listener must have an understanding of American culture. This joke would be lost in the cultures where these days are not celebrated, in cultures where credit is not extended, or in the cultures where Father’s Day does not directly follow Mother’s Day.

Linguistic-based humor is also not universal because the listener must have an understanding of the original language to comprehend to humor. An example of linguistic-based humor is: “How does a dog stop a VCR? He presses the paws button” (Schmitz 101). The non-English speaking listener would most likely have a difficult time understanding this humor. In no other language does the word for a dog’s foot sound similar to the button of a VCR that stops the tape. To further complicate things, in the future people will not know what a VCR is. A second example: “Americans won’t allow the importation of Canadian beef, and now some Canadians have a beef with Americans who import Canadian drugs” (Danbom 668). The word “beef” used in the above sentence is slang, something that is very difficult to translate for a non-English speaking person.

A short study of the above-mentioned groupings gives the modern-day Western reader a clue that extracting humor from the Bible based on the original contexts and languages can prove to be a difficult task. Humor can get lost in translation (Hall 3-4 and Bell 384). Communication between cultures, languages, and different time periods has a probability for misunderstanding (Norrick 389-90). The biblical interpreter will likely miss much of the humor in the Bible because of the linguistic and cultural differences—even if the interpreter is a student of biblical languages and biblical culture. It is also likely that the biblical interpreter will find something humorous in the Bible that was not meant to be humorous in its original context. Another caveat exists in that much of the Bible is from an oral tradition. The Bible is a written document. It is one thing to read Garrison Keillor’s humor in a book; it is a totally different experience to hear him on the radio. The following section of the dissertation seeks to examine humor in the Bible as faithfully as possible given the limitations of cultural and linguistic humor and given the difference between oral and written communication.

Spontaneous Humor

2009-06-02T16:32:00.002-05:00

Seventy-two percent of laughter deriving from spontaneous conversational humor (Martin 12). Spontaneous conversational humor, unlike jokes, is highly dependent on context. Spontaneous conversational humor can be broken down into eleven categories:

Irony – Irony is literary device, in which there is an incongruity or discordance between what one says or does and what one means or what is generally understood. For example, in a confusing situation the speaker says: “That is as clear as mud.”
Satire – Satire is a form of aggressive humor that pokes fun at social institutions and public policy.
Sarcasm – Sarcasm is a form of aggressive humor that aims at individuals as opposed to institutions. For example, a person sits at her desk and she notices that one of her co-workers is talking loudly on his phone. When the co-worker hangs up, she says, "I think you should talk a little bit louder next time—the entire office didn't hear it."
Overstatement and Understatement – Overstatement and understatement are forms of speech in which a greater expression or lesser expression is used than what would be expected. For example, a person has just finished the hardest workout of his entire life, he is a moment away fainting from exhaustion, and a friend comes by and sees him sweaty, huffing and puffing, and says, "Tired?" and he answers, "Just a little."
Self-deprecation – Self-deprecating humor is humor which depends on the observation of something negative about the person delivering the observation. Many speakers use self-deprecating humor to avoid seeming arrogant and to help the audience identify with them. For example, many modern day comics build much of their acts around their own perceived unattractiveness, weight, age, and lack of appeal to the opposite sex.
Teasing – Teasing is a humorous remark directed at the listener. Unlike sarcasm, the intention is not to seriously offend or insult.
Replies to rhetorical questions – Rhetorical questions are not meant to be answered. Answering a rhetorical question creates incongruity and a reversal of expectations. For example, one person says, “How high is the moon?” Expecting no response and a clear expectation that the person understands what has been communicated, the other person replies, “It varies between 356,000 and 407,000 kilometers in distance from the surface of the earth, its average distance being 384,400 kilometers.”
Clever replies to serious statements – These are clever and nonsensical replies to a question that was meant to be serious. For example, a talk show hosts asks an actress if her current boyfriend is a serious boyfriend. She replies that he is always joking around and not serious at all.
Double entendres – A double entendre is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is intended to be understood in either of two ways. In most cases, the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so and often sexual or inappropriate. Although most double entendres are sexual in nature, an example of a non-sexual double entendre is “Why was the garbage man sad? He was down in the dumps.”
Transformation of frozen expressions – Changing well-known sayings and clichés into unique sayings. An example is when a bald man is reminiscing about life: “Hair today and gone tomorrow.”
Puns – Using a word that brings up a humorous second meaning. This humor is usually based on a homophone, a word that sounds the same but has a different meaning. An example of a pun is “Immanuel doesn't pun; he Kant.” Here “Kant” is a play on the word "can't", in the name of philosopher Immanuel Kant.

(Long and Graesser 35-60 and Martin 13)

Lost Generation

2009-06-01T10:40:00.001-05:00

This is very insightful and clever. Well worth the one minute and forty-four seconds.

You Don't Have What It Takes

2009-05-31T22:42:00.001-05:00

This morning we started a new sermon series: You Don't Have What It Takes. This week's message is You Don't Have What It Takes To Be Good Enough.

The big idea was this simple truth of life: God accepts us through Christ. We are no longer living for His approval, but from His approval.

Listen (You need QuickTime)

Read Study Guide

Love and Happiness

2009-05-30T17:32:00.000-05:00

David's favorite song...

Never Gets Old

2009-05-29T17:24:00.000-05:00

Listening to this song never gets old.

You Are Not Good Enough

2009-05-28T01:26:00.002-05:00

Here is the outline for my sermon for this Sunday. It's the first sermon in our new series: You Don't Have What it Takes. Churches around the country have been doing this series for the last couples years. I don't know if Mike Breaux or Craig Groeschel is the creator of the series. Either way, it is good stuff. I hope to see you Sunday.

Objective: To reveal the areas in our lives where we feel unworthy and to find confidence in God’s unconditional love.

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. -John 10:10

You will never be good enough to please God with your very best attempts at righteousness.

To recognize that we cannot please God by our works frees us to serve Him, not out of an effort to gain His approval, but instead, out of the approval that we have already have through Jesus Christ.

Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.” -Genesis 18:27

Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips.” -Isaiah 6:5

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” -Luke 5:8

But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. -1 Timothy 1:16

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. -Romans 3:23

The performance trap is when we take on this idea that if we could only be a little bit better we would be fulfilled and secure. It means we also feel a sense of condemnation and guilt when we are not performing well.

Though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. -Philippians 3:4-6

How does the performance trap play out in our world today?

A) We attempt to please God by following rules.
B) We start to believe that our worth is based on what we produce and how we perform.

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. -Philippians 3:7-9

Skuvbalon – rubbish, trash

We can never work our way to please God. We can never stop sinning our way to please God. The only way we can be made right with God is by faith in His Son, Jesus, and that alone.

So, if we are doing great, or if we are not doing so great, that doesn’t determine our standing with God. We don’t need to feel the guilt and the failure; instead, we can feel the acceptance and the love, and we please God out of the strength and the security of knowing that we are right with God through Christ, and that changes everything.

Questions for Small Group Study or Personal Reflection

Why do we sometimes feel like we need to earn God’s approval?
Are there areas in your life where you have been trying to make yourself feel more acceptable to God? What are they?
We have been set free from having to earn God’s love. How does this give you confidence for your daily life?
In your personal time this week read Galatians 2:17-21 and ask God to give you confidence through His unconditional love.

Ethos

2009-05-27T13:06:00.002-05:00

I generally spend about 90 minutes each week writing a column. It is usually 470 words, give or take a few. This won’t be one of those weeks where I spend 90 minutes. 15 minutes is all I have. I’m at home finishing my dissertation this week. I usually share something that has to do with vision, something that is lighthearted, or something that encourages or inspires. I hope and pray that you get something out of these little messages.

This week I’m sharing the seven major findings of my dissertation and research project (my mind is unable to come up with anything else). The paper and project are on the use of humor in public speaking and its relationship to affective learning. Here are a few of the terms:

Ethos – The perceived character, compassion, and credibility of the speaker.
Affective learning - The listener's eagerness to learn and utilize the material and competencies beyond the learning environment.

The speaker’s effective use of sacred humor is useful in building an ethos with the listeners.
The speaker’s perceived ethos is an important tool in building a relationship with the listeners.
The speaker’s effective use of sacred humor is useful in building a relationship with the listeners.
The speaker’s relationship with the congregation is an important predictor of affective learning.
The humor orientation of the listener has no impact on the speaker’s perceived humor orientation, the speaker’s perceived ethos, interpersonal solidarity between the speaker and the listener, and the affective learning of the listener.
Of the three constructs used in this project—perceived humor orientation, perceived ethos, and relational solidarity—ethos is the best predictor of affective learning.
A sense of humor is considered to be a socially desirable trait.

The most important thing I discovered is the importance of ethos. In the congregations I surveyed, we asked about the speaker’s intelligence, delivery style, use of humor, use of media, how the speaker relates to the listeners, and ethos. Ethos was hands down the most important predictor of affective learning. (Humor and how the speaker relates to the listener were tied for second place.)

I wrote about ethos: Ethos is how the listener perceives the character of the speaker and how this perception affects the receptivity to the speaker’s message. Ethos is rhetoric's appeal based on character – as opposed to content (logos) or delivery (pathos). The numbers conclude that speaking, teaching, and preaching cannot be separated from the public, personal, and professional life of the speaker. This paper on humor has proven the old axiom is true: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

In Christ,

Craig

A Room with a View

2009-05-26T22:11:00.000-05:00

I've been sitting in the same chair for the past 5 or 6 days working on my dissertation. The next 4 or 5 days aren't looking the best either. With the exception of the third picture, at least I have a nice view.

Birthday, Anneversary, Memorial Day

2009-05-25T11:26:00.000-05:00

May 25th is always a special day for us. Today is Benjamin's 8th birthday, our 13th anniversary, and Memorial Day.

The Water's Edge Live

2009-05-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

I did two interviews this morning during The Water's Edge Live. One is with Larry Brown, a kidney donor. The other is with Fred Wilson, one of the survivors or the Von Maur shootings. These are stories of hope, forgiveness, and life.

Listen here

You will need QuickTime to listen.

God of this City

2009-05-23T07:43:00.000-05:00

I noticed AJ is playing this song tomorrow. This video was filmed before Kris Allen was famous.

Limitations and Future Studies

2009-05-22T15:07:00.001-05:00

Just in case your ever thought a dissertation on writing humor is fun I thought I would share this with you.

Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research

Very little, if any, quantitative research has been completed on the use of humor in the local church. This study focused on the pastor’s use of humor and also investigated the pastor’s ethos and the interpersonal solidarity between the pastor and the listener. All of these constructs were demonstrated to have a positive correlation with affective learning—one of the primary aims of preaching. This study lays the groundwork for future studies. Other constructs of preaching and their correlation on affective learning can be examined in the future. Other constructs include, but are not limited to, the perceived intelligence of the preachers, the preacher’s immediacy with the listener, the preacher’s pathos, the conversational style of the preacher, and the preacher’s use of multi-media. The surveys used in this study are thorough and somewhat lengthy. Further studies may need to be more lengthy, but many possibilities exist for future quantitative studies that can serve as a great resource for preachers, listeners, and churches.

This study focused on five pastors who have above average perceived humor orientations. Additional studies can examine pastors with average and below average humor orientations. Also excluded from this study were Roman Catholic and Charismatic Churches. Three of the five churches in this study were in large Midwestern cities. The remaining church were in Atlanta and Dallas. The review of literature described differences in humor in different regions of the country. This study was not able to draw any meaningful conclusion based on regional humor differences. Future studies can expand on the variety of pastors, churches, and regions of the country that are surveyed.

Another limiting factor of this study is the perceived ethos and relational solidarity of the preacher that occurs outside of the preaching. Two of the churches are new churches in their first three years. Both congregations average worship attendance at the time of the survey was around 100 people per week. Two of the churches are downtown congregations in large Midwestern cities. Both congregations average worship attendance was between 500 and 700 people per week at the time of the survey. The fifth church is a church that has an average worship attendance of about 1,300 people per week, but the preacher studied is the primary preacher at the contemporary worship service that had an average attendance of 300 people per week at the time of the survey. She is the primary pastor to the people of this worship service. All of the pastors have served these congregations at least three years when the surveys were distributed. Therefore, all of these pastors, to various degrees, have relationships and have developed a perceived ethos and relational solidarity with many of the survey respondents outside of the worship environment. A suggestion for future study would be to survey pastors of mega churches where the listener has very little exposure to the pastor outside of the worship environment.

Another suggestion for future study would be to examine the listeners on a more detailed level. This study did not consider the age and gender of the survey respondents. It grouped all survey respondents into a single pool. In the review of literature, it was demonstrated that age and gender play an important role on how humor is processed. Future study could investigate the role of listener’s age and its effect on how they process and respond to the pastor’s humor and how the pastor’s perceived humor effects perceived ethos, relational solidarity, and affective learning. These studies could prove useful for pastors serving congregations that have a majority of older congregants, younger congregants, and to pastors to middle school, high school, and college aged students. Likewise, the gender of the listeners can also be investigated. This study could be useful to male pastors who preach females and female pastors who preach to males. Also, the study could provide insight to pastors who preach primarily or exclusively to men or women—for example—prison or military chaplains.

A final suggestion would be to do this study or a similar study in a college classroom, political campaign, or other setting. The review of literature extensively discussed the differences between sacred humor and profane humor. In the local church, the expectation is that if humor is used then the humor used is the sacred variety. It should be noted that pastors do use profane humor such as excessive self-deprecation, satire, sarcasm, and teasing, but the expectation in the local church is sacred humor. The expectation of the prominent use of sacred humor does not necessarily exist in other environments where more aggressive and profane humor is commonly used and is often appreciated. The application of this proposed study could provide useful insight to sacred humor vis-à-vis profane humor and its effect on perceived ethos, interpersonal solidarity, and affective learning.