david norman blog dot com

This Year's Halloween

2009-11-14T09:31:00.000-06:00

Micah as Anikin Skywalker

Ally as a scary skeleton

Caleb as a scary skeleton

I hate that I'm only just now getting these posted, but here they are. I love my kids, and since this was our first Halloween in Kansas, we didn't exactly get bent out of shape when our younger two wanted to dress as something a little scarier than we would have expected.

What's important is that this year, Halloween held its wonder for my kids. And for me as a daddy, that's what I enjoyed watching.

By the way, the people in Kansas give way better candy than we ever experienced in Texas. Just saying...

This Sunday: The UNCHANGING Gospel

2009-11-13T11:31:00.001-06:00

Don't miss this Sunday as we talk about The UNCHANGING Gospel.

Crossroads.

Sunday, at 10:30AM

Stucky Middle School

John Piper on what is and isn't the Gospel

2009-11-12T16:16:00.001-06:00

Amen.

Thursday Thoughts

2009-11-12T11:35:00.002-06:00

This week in UNCHANGING may actually be the week that I am most excited about in this series. We're going to be talking about the Gospel. This week we're going to explore what the Gospel is, why it's necessary, and how it impacts our lives.

This past March, John Piper wrote this:

Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.

The Church has historically botched the meaning of the Gospel. We have treated it as something only pertinent to unbelievers as their method of "being saved." What kind of power and meaning could we discover if we understood its relevance to every aspect of our lives?

Read the full article here.

Thursday Thoughts is a series of posts where I post a link or a quote that deals specifically with the topic that I will be tackling that evening. Can you think of any other links that might enlighten me in regards to this week's topic? Please share links in the comments.

UNCHANGING Audio Available for Download

2009-11-09T10:55:00.004-06:00

Click here to download the message from week 1 - The Unchanging Authority of Scripture

Click here to download the message from week 2 - The Unchanging Trinity

I'll try to keep this post updated with the sermon audio from the series, so bookmark it to stay in the loop!

And maybe one day, I'll figure out how to get them to iTunes and be legitimate!

Sunday Rewind

2009-11-08T23:11:00.001-06:00

This has been an incredible week! Take a look at the rewind.

We saw over 100 people this week at Crossroads! Things are starting to get exciting.
We had over 30 kids in our children's ministry. We're already starting to need more children's space!
Be on the lookout for some awesome changes at Crossroads over the next several months! We're already dreaming, planning, and praying.
Kevin Johnson and the worship team did a great job this week leading us to the throne of God! We're so blessed as a church to have so much talent leading us.
We had over 30 visitors (many first-time visitors) join us this week at Crossroads. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH GOD DRAWING PEOPLE TO HIMSELF!
This week we explored the Doctrine of the Trinity and how it impacts our lives.
The essence of the Trinity is self-sacrificial love.
Not only are we invited to share in this love (which is amazing enough!), but we were created to mirror this love!
Lots of meetings and conversations already planned this week.
Did you hear? The COWBOYS WON!
Be praying for the leadership over our children's ministry, first impressions, and assimilation teams. We have a lot of work to do and need God to give us the direction to go.
This week, we said that a super-easy way to show self-sacrificial love and prefer someone else's need above your own was to serve in the church.
We need more people to serve on our children's team
We need more people to serve on our first impressions team
We need more people to serve on our setup / knock-down team
We need more people to serve on our assimilation team
Crossroads, the more time I spend with you the more honored I am to be your pastor and your friend.
Next week we're discussing the Gospel. Don't show up alone. SERIOUSLY! If you do, you will spend the rest of the week wishing someone you know would have heard what we're talking about!

You'll Never Guess Who Showed Up at the Island of Misfit Toys

2009-11-08T16:44:00.001-06:00

This is why I don't have an iPhone by the way. I love the phone, but it would take a lot more than a cool phone to get me to jump over to AT&T. And for the record, I use Sprint not Verizon.

Feeling the Weight

2009-11-07T23:35:00.004-06:00

I've been preaching regularly for years. And while I used to get nervous, for the past month or so, I've been a wreck the night before every message.

It's not a case of being unprepared. It's not a case of not understanding the text.

It's a case of understanding the text.

It's a case of feeling the weight of God's Word press down on me as I try to communicate a life-changing truth.

So tonight, as I was experiencing this - as I was feeling the weight of the moment - I twittered this:
What do you think? Do you still get tied in knots?

Celebrating Micah's other birthday

2009-11-07T09:23:00.002-06:00

Micah at The Freedom Experience in 2007

Today is my oldest son's other birthday. 2 years ago, at a Freedom Experience in Corpus Christi, Micah stepped across the line and gave his life to Jesus. During college, Krista helped this Christian illusionist with his first shows and learned a lot of what it means to live the Christian life from just being his friend. Brock Gill is also the same dude, who at the end of his show, shared the Gospel and led my son to Christ.

Brock, I've got a lot to be thankful for, and your ministry is on that list.

Micah, I'm so proud of who you're becoming.

Jesus, thank you for giving my son what only you can give him... you.

Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs

2009-11-06T12:48:00.003-06:00

Dr. Emerson Eggerichs' book on marriage, Love and Respect, is based on one primary thought: she desires unconditional love above all else, and he desires unconditional respect. Whenever that desire is unmet, we typically respond by withholding the very thing our spouse desires most. Dr. Eggerichs calls this The CRAZY Cyle.

He writes that the only way that a couple can get off of that CRAZY Cycle is by someone choosing to show that which their spouse desires most without condition. The idea is that no spouse acts maliciously with mean intentions, but rather we spend out entire marriages reacting and responding to one another.

What if we chose to give our loved one what they desire most regardless of their actions toward us?

I thought this book had a lot of really good ideas and suggestions for how to treat our spouse, even if the book seemed a little wordy.

Ultimately, I thought this was a very good book, and would recommend to anyone with a desire to get off of the CRAZY Cycle of merely responding to their spouse, but wanting to take the initiative and build a stronger marriage.

This book was reviewed as part of the Book Review Blogging Program with Thomas Nelson.

This Sunday: The UNCHANGING Trinity

2009-11-06T09:37:00.001-06:00

Don't miss this Sunday as we talk about The UNCHANGING Trinity.

Crossroads.

Sunday, at 10:30AM

Stucky Middle School

Thursday Thoughts

2009-11-05T09:33:00.000-06:00

This has been a crazy week preparing for my second Sunday teaching in this series. The scheduled topic is the nature and character of the Triune God. Let's just put it this way, there are easier topics to teach, but not any as exciting.

This week, I read an unpublished essay on the subject of the Trinity by Jonathan Edwards (considered by many to be the premiere American theologian) over at the Resurgence. Here's what he has to say regarding the Trinity:

I am far from pretending to explaining the Trinity so as to render it no longer a mystery. I think it to be the highest and deepest of all Divine mysteries still, notwithstanding anything that I have said or conceived about it. I don't intend to explain the Trinity.

The beauty of the Trinity is that it is shrouded in mystery and beyond our grasp of comprehension. We believe the words of Scripture, because they are the authority and means by which God has elected to reveal himself to us. And that which we do not understand, we seek more illumination by God's Spirit and we trust in faith.

Thursday Thoughts is a series of posts where I post a link or a quote that deals specifically with the topic that I will be tackling that evening. Can you think of any other links that might enlighten me in regards to this week's topic? Please share links in the comments.

Sunday Rewind

2009-11-01T22:29:00.005-06:00

Today was my first Sunday as the Lead Pastor at Crossroads Friends Church
The series that we started today is going to change the way we look at church
Today we talked about the UNCHANGING authority of Scripture
We either stand under the authority of the Bible or declare ourselves to be the authority of it!
6 people crossed the line of the faith this morning! We said it this morning, "ALL SCRIPTURE POINTS TO JESUS AND ULTIMATELY WILL BE FULFILLED BY HIM"
9 guests joined us this morning for worship. Our heart as a church must beat for drawing others to Christ!
The worship music this morning was incredible! Our church is blessed with some awesome musicians!
We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel with an elder and his wife. The home-style fried chicken was phenomenal! And I don't even like fried chicken!
This week is going to freakin' rock as I start to try to get into the groove of cultivating this church.
I'm blown away by the work that our team puts into being the church throughout the week. The mission requires nothing less!
I had almost forgotten what the post-sermon hangover felt like. Now I remember!
The Cowboys won, and that always makes for a good Sunday!
Now off to bed. Big week ahead!

Really?

2009-10-31T12:33:00.004-05:00

I was reading a great Christian blog today and this add was tagged at the end of it. Really?

This is the different category of Christian dating services. Really?

This is a picture of a young lady that's going to partner with you and encourage you to grow into Christ-likeness. Really?

I mean really?!

This Sunday: The UNCHANGING Authority

2009-10-30T10:30:00.001-05:00

Don't miss this Sunday as we talk about The UNCHANGING Authority of Scripture.

Crossroads.

Sunday, at 10:30AM

Stucky Middle School

Thursday Thoughts

2009-10-29T10:29:00.004-05:00

This week, The Resurgence started a series of posts on "What is Scripture?" In the introductory post, Justin Holcomb wrote some great stuff that corresponds to the message at Crossroads this week.

Jesus is the message—God participating in human life, coming near to us, bringing his good news, expressing God’s love for us, dying as our substitute, rising as the victor over death, and building his church as a community of grace. Jesus is not just the main person in one of many events in the story of God’s people. Jesus is the final revelation of God’s drama of redemption. Humanity sees God in full light in Jesus. Jesus is God’s ultimate word about human life and the Bible is God’s word about God’s self-revelation through human life. This is what Christian theologians have been saying in various ways for 2,000 years.

Take the jump to read more.

This is the first of what will hopefully become a series of posts where I post a link or a quote that deals specifically with the topic that I will be tackling that evening. Can you think of any other links that might enlighten me in regards to this week's topic? Please share links in the comments.

UNCHANGING starts this week

2009-10-28T13:27:00.000-05:00

This week is more than my first week as the Lead Pastor at Crossroads. It marks the beginning of a new series we're starting called UNCHANGING.

One of the more common questions that's asked when a new pastor comes on board is, "What will change?" It's only natural, considering that churches (especially young churches and church plants) usually reflect the passions and values of the lead pastor. And in this series, I want to settle the fears and concerns by talking about that which is most important.

Over the course of the series, we'll talk about the things that WILL NOT CHANGE. These are the things that will shape the small things that may change. These are the essentials.

This week, we'll talk about The Authority of Scripture. I can't wait. This is an awesome opportunity get reacquainted with the basics of Christianity.

Do not miss this Sunday!

Greetings from Wichita

2009-10-28T09:15:00.000-05:00

To all of my friends and family back in Texas: We're here! We've been here since this weekend. It's been incredible. It's been cold (though not for the locals). And we're swamped trying to unpacked and ready for this next step in the journey.

To all of my friends and church family here in Wichita: We're here! Thank you so much for your generosity and love. I can't begin to tell you how much your love and support mean to us. My family feels your support and I cannot wait to serve you and pastor you.

Hopefully, we'll be unpacked enough soon to be able to have you over...wherever you come from.

Pastors, please perform background checks

2009-10-27T19:35:00.003-05:00

This is just another in countless articles that discuss a youth pastor or a children's minister or a volunteer crossing the line.

This is the world in which we live. We must do our diligence to protect the flock (especially the children) that God has entrusted to our care.

"We had some filters in place. But apparently we didn't have strong enough filters in place." -Pastor Thomas R. Hamilton of Stony Point Baptist Church

Learn from this so you have to deal the fallout of the same failure. Read the full story here.

PERFORM A BACKGROUND CHECK ON EVERY VOLUNTEER THAT SERVES WITH MINORS.

REMEMBERING: When we moved to Austin

2009-10-22T10:22:00.003-05:00

We moved to Austin on a Friday night. It was raining in Corpus Christi, so loading it took significantly longer than we expected, the battery on my wife's minivan ran out, and rather than leaving around lunch, I eventually pulled out around 7pm.

On the road to Austin (Krista and the kids stayed an extra day at her parents), I got the U-haul stuck at a gas station where I struggled to get out with my Jeep on the tow-dolly. And, when your vehiclular baby is on the dolly (and oversized tires keep it from being properly secured), you drive the recommended speed posted on the vehicle - 55 mph.

I finally pulled into our new apartment community around midnight, where my baby brother waited in his car in southwest Austin. Brian Durr (whom I had never met, but had spoken to on the phone and via twitter) met us with the keys to my new apartment, and my brother and I spent the entire early hours of the morning unloading the U-haul. We finished right around 7AM.

We slept on the floor in the closets (because there were no windows in the closets) until I received a phone call telling me that we were blocking the drive w/ our oversized trailer, so we awoke at about 10:30AM to return the U-haul.

Krista and the kids met us at the apartment when we got back, and we had just enough time to unpack enough to go to church the next morning and send Micah to school for his first day.

Our first few days in Austin were chaotic and full. Looking back it only makes sense that our last few have been as well. Still, looking back at those first days only reminds me of the dizzying fullness we've experienced here.

It's been a blast.

Generations view the Bible Differently

2009-10-20T10:20:00.000-05:00

My first sermon as Lead Pastor of Crossroads Friends Church is on The Authority of Scripture. Needless to say I was anxious to read the newest Barna research on how the generations use and view God's Word differently.

There's a lot of good stuff, but one of the things that stood out most to me was :

Young adults are significantly less likely than older adults to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. Just 30% of Mosaics (18-25) and 39% of Busters (26-44) firmly embraced this view, compared with 46% of Boomers (45-63) and 58% of Elders (64+).

One of the major concerns regarding our view of God's Word has to do with authority. A believer cannot rightly approach the Bible and believe that the final authority rests anywhere else BUT THE BIBLE! All too often we place ourselves as judge of Scripture and we determine whether or not to obey and walk in light of what it teaches.

The proper understanding is (as Paul wrote to Timothy) to understand that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

Take the jump for the full report.

I want you on Facebook

2009-10-16T10:16:00.002-05:00

Life is crazy. Most of us, if we're honest, will admit to being stretched a lot thinner than we'd like. I know what it's like to run here, there, and somewhere else in a vain attempt at keeping up. That makes keeping up with other people even more difficult.

That's why I want you on facebook. Facebook is a great way for me to be able to be involved in your life. Facebook offers me the opportunity to see what you're doing, who you're already connected to, and any photos you might share along the way.

At most, as a pastor I may get to spend 2 hours each week with you. Facebook (or twitter) offer me another chance to get even more involved and get to know you more. It's not a replacement for a relationship, but it gets me in your life and you in mine.

I want you on Facebook. Add me as your friend and let's connect.

Image by MrTopf

I want you on Twitter

2009-10-15T10:15:00.001-05:00

There have been some new readers of the blog lately. I wanted to give you a quick heads-up on why I want you on twitter, especially for my new friends and church at Crossroads.

It's an easy way for me to keep up with you.
If I go grab some coffee, you'll know where I am if you'd like to join me.
If you have a prayer request, I'll know almost immediately.
If you discover a need, I can know as soon as you post it and we can do our best to meet that need.
Any announcements, ideas, or upcoming thoughts will be delivered to your phone immediately.

It's simple to register, you can connect it to your mobile phone, and follow me. I promise, I'll follow you back...

Lessons from a Mormon Run-in: Plain Speak

2009-10-09T10:09:00.000-05:00

Perhaps one of the most concerning things about my conversation with the Mormon missionaries was that so much of what they said sounded right, but wasn't right. They used a lot of the same words as my Bible, but if you don't know what to look for (and you don't have a firm grasp on your theology), it would be easy to be led astray.

Sadly, this easily explains the vast numbers of misled and misguided Christians leaving the Church and joining the Latter Day Saints.

And this stirs a number of emotions for me, but mostly:

It breaks my heart to know how many sheep have left the flock and chosen another god and another gospel.
But it primarily pisses me off that we as pastors are doing this lousy of a job teaching, instructing, and preaching the Word of God! Most misguided Christians aren't leaving for what they consider to be an altogether different faith, but more like a denominational jump. We are failing to instill proper theology and doctrine in our people, and as a result their destruction is on our hands. We feel the need to use words no one understands and fail to explain them. So when someone else follows us using the same word, but explains it simply (and improperly) our people don't know the difference.

We must teach God's Word well. The cost of our failure is too high.

Lessons from a Mormon Run-in: Disrespect and Arrogance

2009-10-08T10:08:00.001-05:00

I'm sure these guys weren't expecting my knowledge not only of my faith, but of theirs as well. Now, I admit that I've never read The Book of Mormon (though I do admit to throwing them away when I stay in a hotel). But my knowledge of it stems from multiple sources including Dare2Share Ministries and The Great American Bathroom Book.

I asked multiple questions, because as a pastor I know that I will constantly be answering the "what's the difference?" question and I was seeking for more information. But the more questions I answered, and the more blatant contradictions with the Old and New Testament I offered, I was asked if I've ever read my Bible or how it came to be?!

My first reaction was to regret that I vowed to never punch a Mormon (Relax. It's a joke...mostly).

My second was to just be completely turned off to anything he was saying. I actually told him to shut up so I could hear the little one who was actually being polite and respectful.

Anyway, this led me (upon reflection and reconsideration of my vow) to wonder:

How often do we come across rude and disrespectful when we're sharing the Gospel?
How many times does our arrogance give someone reason enough to discredit Christianity?