Be Still

Here is my response to our staff as we discuss the word intimacy and what that means in our relationship with Christ. It had to be delivered at 8 am on Tuesday morning, and I actually made the deadline.

...................................................................................................................................................

Wow, it's early, and everyone knows I don't do early, but here we go. I struggled and struggled what to get everyone for Christmas, and since we weren't getting a bonus, I knew I had to be creative, and than it hit me. I've decided to allow everyone unlimited access to read, download, and even share with your friends all of the run on sentences and horribly placed punctuations marks that will soon follow in the paragraphs below. Yes, that's free of charge, and you can thank me later with large tangible gifts.... 

Now, sit up straight, place your hands in your lap, turn off anything that may distract you, and get your popcorn ready...

One of the things that I realize every year is that it seems that Christmas should be the time a year where we are reminded deeply about what it means to love Christ and for our passions to be renewed. If I’m honest and I really look at the first Christmas and read that peaceful quiet intimate moment between a husband and wife as they gaze into the eyes of of their son and savior I can see that Christmas now is not the same.

 To me the way we do Christmas has a much different feeling. With parties on every night of the week, Christmas pageants, community celebrations, and of course the annual trip to visit the family, Christmas for me anyways seems to be the opposite of intimate.

 And to be completely transparent the word intimacy is a hard one for me. Because I’m not sure that I’m very good at it. But the two things I understand about intimacy on any level is that it can not be forced and it can not be rushed.

When I look at my life I can see that many times those two things are happening on many accounts if I’m not careful. God constantly uses this Psalm and particularly vs. 10 to remind me to take a step back and to be quiet and to be still. Both of which I’m horrible about doing.

Psalm 46 10 & 11

10 “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. 

It was verse 10 that I could sense God saying over and over to me on October 27th a couple a years ago as I drove home completely broken. It was that car ride that I questioned God for the first time in my life, and didn’t have a clue what he was doing or where I would end up.( It wasn’t the most comforting verse at the time, I I thought to myself, why this verse God, why this verse? Could I please  get a strong sense of Romans 8:28 or something a little more cheerful, but it was vs.10 that I believe he continued to drill into my soul)

It was that same verse that I remember reading in a hotel room in California not to long ago wondering why I was so frustrated. I could later see he was showing me that I’d been living the past two years of life out of bitterness and never took time to deal with what I needed to deal with. it was simply me that was getting in the way of God restoring me. (that may only make sense to me)

 Intimacy takes time, it takes work, and for probably all of us, it takes us to the place where we’ve got to be still. To drop all of our agendas, our pride and the thought that we can do this on our own. I'm sure we’ve all been to that place in ministry when we’ve tried to force something to work for weeks or months, and it wasn’t until we were still, that God did the very thing we were trying to do.

For all of us this season, let us be still, let us praise God for who he is, and what he has done. Let us celebrate life with him, and let us be reminded that He is God and he is with us.

Regret

If you don't deal with your regrets from your past in the present, they will always come back to haunt you in the future.


I've got some regrets in my life.  So do you.  Let's deal with them now, and move on.

My Personality Traits

Took a little personality test, and here are the results.




Conscientious
You feel it's important to work according to a plan and finish every task, to do things correctly and thoroughly. You are not the kind of person who abandons a project before finishing it, or slacks off when you've lost interest.

Passionate
You are in touch with your emotions, and sometimes you react before you think. The good news: you don't tamp down your feelings. The bad news: you sometimes say or do things that you later wish you could take back.
You do not live your life on an even keel; you do not go for long periods without experiencing some mood swings.

Aesthetic
You appreciate art, beauty, and design; you know that they are not superficial but absolutely crucial to living the good life. You have good taste, and you're proud of it. Those with a high score on the "aesthetic" trait are often employed in literary or artistic professions, enjoy domestic activities — doing things around the house — and are enthusiastic about the arts, reading, and travel.
You don't think it's pretentious to be moved by art and beauty. You're not one of those who believe it doesn't matter what something looks like as long as it does its job.

Assertive
You behave in a confident and forceful manner, take charge of the situation, raise your hand in class, stand up for what you think is right, and lead others. Among those who have a high score on the "assertive" trait, many have jobs in which they are valued for their organizational skills as well as their talent for supervising others.
You are not interested in fading into the woodwork, leaving everything to fate, taking more time than necessary to accomplish a task, or avoiding confrontation.

Cautious
You very rarely make a move without first considering the pros and cons and, therefore, rarely do anything foolish or extravagant.
You are not rash; you almost never act before you think and, therefore, rarely end up doing things you later regret.

Organized
You like to think a task through before you embark on it. If it's the slightest bit complicated, you make a list (even if it's only in your mind) and methodically work your way through it. When you have a goal in mind, you're not satisfied until you reach it.
You are not one of those people who ignore the details, and you don't understand how anyone can get anything accomplished without thoughtful planning ahead of time.

Curious
You like to get to the bottom of things. You're not content knowing what someone did; you want to know why they did it.
You don't simply take things as they are and move on; you're not content skimming along on the surface; you don't feel you're wasting time by digging for the meaning of things.

Optimistic
You are a "glass half-full" kind of person, always on the lookout for the silver lining. Your happiness is contagious, which is why others like to be around you.
You do not feel that the world is an intrinsically depressing place; you are not the kind of "realist" who thinks that only fools find joy in life.

Creative
You are good at solving problems, coming up with original ideas, and seeing connections between things, connections that most other people miss. People with a high score on the "creative" trait often are employed in such fields as finance and scientific research, and enjoy avant garde and classical music as well as literary fiction and scholarly non-fiction.
You do not shun abstractions and concepts in favor of the concrete and tangible.

Efficient
You are very well organized, even a bit anal. You like to stick to your plans and finish on deadline, wasting as little time as possible in the process.
You are not comfortable when things do not go according to plan, nor are you a procrastinator. You don't waste time when you can be getting down to business.

I Will Vs. I Can

There is a big difference between I can and I will. In my world, I hear a lot of I can, and not a lot of I will. With I can, there is a chance to back out, and not live up to your word, but I will says commitment. I'm reminded the words I speak and the commitments I make matter.

Ecclesiastes 5

1 Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Some fools go there to offer sacrifices, even though they haven’t sinned. But it’s best just to listen when you go to worship. 2 Don’t talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so don’t talk too much. 3 If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.

4 God doesn’t like fools. So don’t be slow to keep your promises to God. 5 It’s better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. 6 Don’t let your mouth get you in trouble!

Based on Experience

So last week, Steve came to me and asked me if I would preach on Sunday night. I told him I would love too and was really excited to do so. In 7 or 8 years of ministry, I've been fortunate enough to speak hundreds of times, so this shouldn't have been any big deal for me to get ready for. I realized shortly after saying yes, that wasn't the case. As I did a lot of wrestling with the text that week, I found out there was a lot of emotion wrapped up in this for me and self imposed pressure to perform.

(Many of you who know me well, know this is one of the things I obsess about in my life. I've spent more time watching & listening to guys that I'm willing to admit.

Yeah, it's probably a little weird to you, and at times, weird to me to)

The reasons I thought I had to perform:

1. We've got the best in the business around here when it comes to communicating.
2. It had been over 2 1/2 years since I was asked to speak to a mainly adult audience.

When those are at the forefront of your brain, you automatically think you've got to rise up to the challenge...

Saying all that.... well... It wasn't the best sermon I've ever preached. I mean, it was probably a 6.5 I struggled through a lot of it, had a hard time balancing my time, struggled into transitioning on to the next point, and really left with out a strong conclusion.

Putting all that pressure on yourself and then not performing, you might imagine how disappointed I was.

However this was the best thing that could have ever happen to me because of all the stuff I learned / relearned.

Here's what I Learned:

1. Know your audience. Just because you are successful with one audience doesn't mean that will carry over.

2. Allow the people in the audience who you trust to be honest with you.

3. Allow the experts to critique you, and make you better. I sat down with Steve and Brent and listened intently as they poured so much into me.

4. Don't think you are to good to learn from everyone. If you can't learn from people, than you've got a heart issue.

5. Realize that everyone won't think you are Billy Graham.

6. It's in these moments that God renews your passion to refine the gifts God has given you.

7. Let it go, trust God, and get ready for the next week.

Dave Rants

Golf W/The Fellas

Can Your PC Do This?

As you all know I am a Mac Only kinda guy.

Here's one example. Can Your PC do this? (That's a Macbook Pro incase you are wondering.)

I used to be..

I used to be the youngest one on staff

Now I've got 4 & 5 years on some of our new guys.

I used to be the one asking all the questions

Now I find myself answering a lot of them, and giving away all the stuff I've learned these past 7 or 8 years in ministry.

I used to be the one who struggled getting to the office before 8:15

Now many days, I find myself there before 7:15.

I used to get to spend money anyway I wanted

Now I spend all of it paying rent, utilities, trash, etc..

I used to weigh 210-215

I now weigh 175-180

I used to not take my day off.

Now I'm determined that I do.

I used to give my opinion the second I didn't agree with something.

I now hold my tongue, think, process and find out most of the time I was wrong in the beginning.

I used to procrastinate about the small boring day to day things.

I now only procrastinate some of the time about the small boring day to day things.

I used to be a baby about doing the stuff I didn't want to.

I now... well yeah, ok I"m still working on that one..

I used to be in love with chipotle.

I now find it undesirable and prefer not to eat there.

Ok, that last one was a total lie. I still love chipotle

I used to be stubborn.

I now... well, I'm still stubborn.

I used to want to be the boss.

Ok, well that hasn't changed either, but I know I've got a long way to go before I pastor a church of any size, and am completely grateful that I get to serve under our executive staff.

I"m not for sure what has happen to me over the past year, but these are some of the things I see, and know there's a lot of things that I can't wait to say.... I used to be...

BRB

Blog, I'll get back to you... promise

Catalyst West Coast Day One.

Catalyst Day One from J Parker on Vimeo.

Cali. Day Two

A little trip to Laguna Beach before the conference started that morning.

6 Hard Questions

Here are the 6 questions that we are asking ourselves in the worship department. Perhaps you should ask them in your life and in your context.



1. Do you still love your job?




2. Do you consistently seek after him before you step on the stage/step into your office?





3. Are you just going through the motions?




4. Do your people see you as their leader? (spiritually as well)





5. Would you still be at this church, and do what you do if you didn't get a paycheck?





6. Is your spiritual life evident to the people you are leading?

Cali. Day One

So I'm here for the Catalyst West conference and flew out a day early to site see. Been here a couple of times for work, but never did anything besides that.

Southern California... It's nice... Not for sure why more people don't live here.

Gary,The Other Side of Me.

Some of you only know me by my serious side. Some of you have only know me by my crazy side. Many of you know me by both. (I feel sorry for you) Here's a little taste of the crazy side. Meet Gary, the character that I play in kidstuf a couple times a month when I'm not trying to use my serious side in youth ministry.

Easter = Wow

It's hard to explain what happen Sunday. All I can say is... if you weren't there, you missed the most exciting Sunday we've ever had and we have a lot of exciting Sundays.
This video doesn't describe in full how it all went down.

The 25 person worship choir, the glitter, confetti, the lighted trash cans (straight out of stomp), the live 5 minute painting that Karen did, the worship and sermon were incredible. I was proud of our team for pulling it all out, and I am thankful for what great talented people we have at our church. It's nice when the plan all comes together and God shows up big. All of it was amazing... well except the red carpet. One thing I never expected is how the glitter and confetti would make it to every part of our facilities even making it across the street.

On a side note. We had 1100 people worship with us on Sunday. Not bad for a town of 6,000

I'll post the actual pictures when Don gets back from vacation.

The Res.

We shot this for our student ministry, answering the common questions about the resurrection. What was it like? Why is it important? What if it happen today? etc...

Check out the previous picture below to get the behind the scenes visual.

where were you?

This was me at 645 this morning. Where were you & what were u doing?

Please don't be jealous of my sweet outfit. It was incredibly muddy.

I'll post the finished video later this week.

Don't Miss Today Because You Are Worried About Tomorrow.

The Washington Post placed Joshua Bell, the world’s best violin player, in a Washington DC Metro stop to work his magic. Would people stop and listen to the world’s best violin player who’s playing one of the world’s best violins (his violin was made in 1730 and cost $3.5 million)

1,097 people walked past him and only a handful stopped to listen. They were completely ignoring a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear this guy.

Today was a good day for us, not just a good day, but an unexpected day where God really did some big things. Sometimes I think we miss these days too often because we are too worried about tomorrow. Let's stop, take a look around and see today as it's suppose to be.

Be Who You Be # 1

Let me first start out telling you who I am.

Selfish, stubborn, strong willed, over critical, a little bit obsessive & never satisfied. 

(A bit of a diva)

 

I know what you're thinking... wow... he's a real charmer.

 (Please ladies, reframe from leaving me your numbers in the comment section below.)

BUT THAT'S WHO I AM!  That's not who you may be. However I feel like more and more often these days, we are striving and fighting to be like someone else. Someone we are not.

I had a friend and I realized the longer our relationship extended, the more and more he was trying to be me.  Even from the odd things that I did (I won't go into those) he would also do.  The way I dressed, the way I talked, and even the way I shaved my legs. He, (and maybe I should add narcissistic to my list) was looking for someone to be, because he wasn't satisfied with who he was, so he chose me.

Obviously by my first statements, I'm not the best person to emulate!

We've all done this... I have several man crushes... who I often look to their insight on how to live, but the question is, Why don't we just be who we be? (yes I know that wasn't proper english)

We will unpack this in future posts.

Are you happy the way God created you?  If not, why?  

We are created in his image, he has made us each individual with different characteristics, likes, dislikes, personalities, talents, looks, and skills.  

Let's rejoice in this!

Next post: Be who you be- communication

Reframed

Start of our new series Reframed, and the days leading up to it.

Enjoy

Creativity vs. Imagination

After walking through our church this morning I felt of a sense of satisfaction with all that we accomplished this week with such a short turn around. 

 Yes it almost killed me, but I felt good about what we accomplished.  Sure there are things that I will fix this week, because there always is. But it got me thinking a lot about creativity.

Creativity isn't creativity if it's just an idea.  That's called imagination.  

Creativity: having the quality or power of creating.

If you are just an idea guy.  You may call yourself a creative, I'll call you an imaginary.  

The Door Is Worth Fighting 4

2nd week in our youth ministry series Guerilla Empire.

If you get that far (26 minutes) and wonder what the beeping is. I preach with a timer and well let's just say that's the first time I've ever been on any stage and forgot about it.

woops..

Hope

This is the short film series we are calling "Hope" that we are placing in the hands of hundreds of people throughout our community.  

I'm glad to say it's finally finished.  It turned out pretty well, especially since I'm a rookie at all of this.

It's 25 minutes long, so if you've got some time, or just want to skim through all of the locations we shot, check it out. 

And as T.O. would say, "get your popcorn ready!"

Thanks for all of you who helped out with this project.  You guys are amazing!

Social Networking

Here's the new list for the top 25 social networks.

My 2 observations:

1.  Thank Goodness Facebook has taken over Myspace for the # 1 spot.  I keep telling out students that myspace is for losers, and that once you hit college, you will realize that.

2.  Twitter, if you don't know what this is, then you are behind.  It's time to catch up!  it took quite a big leap this year. (From 22 to 3)

The Bum In The Corner

Our youth ministry is in the middle of a series called "Fanatic" and this week we wanted to challenge students to radically love people like Jesus did. I realized that if our students were going to change the way they looked at people, we were going to have to do something drastic!  So we did, we put a bum in the corner of the room as people walked in. Not a real bum, but a student we dressed as one, and wow did he look real.

As the night progressed, and the stares and looks continued, I finally closed my talk by calling him out of the corner, and sat him on the stage finally removing the wig and hat. You can probably imagine the look on their faces as we revealed his real identity.  

My closing remarks were this: Although they may not look like this, there are hundreds of people we come across everyday, that are hurting, lonely, depressed, and are in need of love.  Jesus saw these people, spent time with them, and loved them, often times making them well.  If we are to be like him, it's time we take radical steps to do the same!

 Stop and take time this week to simply love people!

The Top 10

 In their most recent article, Fast Company ranked the most innovative companies in the world:

The Full List Is Here: 

The Top 1o:

1. Google

2. Apple

3. Facebook

4. GE

5. IDEO

6. Nike

7. Nokia

8. Alibaba

9. Amazon

10.Nintendo

My Day In 100 Seconds

My Day in 100 seconds... minus the boring stuff

My Day In 100 seconds from J Parker on Vimeo.

My Afternoon in 90 Seconds

My Monday Afternoon.

It's Only Monday!!!

What a week, and it's only Monday!!  Who knows what else will be on this list.  This is the reason I won't be calling any of you back this week who want to shoot the breeze.

Sorry, Love you.

The Wedding

Here is the latest video we shot for an upcoming dvd we are releasing to the community.  This is the extended version, and is a little long.  It will be broken into 3 sections all across the dvd.

This is one of 7 videos we will be releasing.

Hope you enjoy!

The Wedding from J Parker on Vimeo.

2009 Goals

Here they are, in all their glory, some small, some ridiculous, some large:

* Move into a house

* Seminary

* Pay off revolving debt

* Start Retirement Plan

* Take a vacation

* Make blog a bigger deal

* Make hard decisions in worship ministry

*Ask hard questions about my leadership often

* Keep Head Shaven

* Get to & Keep Weight @ 175-180

* Find a hobby

* Learn To Relax

* Get A.D.D. under control (completed 1/7/09)

* Go to doctor regularly 

* Deal w/ Baggage

* Get More Tats

Don't tell the boss, or most conservative moms about the last one...

What in the Sam Hill?

I'm not for sure what he wants from me when he does this...

It's a little creepy if you ask me...

Just sayin'