23 Year Old Brain, 31 Year Old Body

shutterstock_50006200

I’m an idiot.

I just recently signed up for an event called Tough Mudder. It’s basically 12 miles of obstacles designed by British special forces. The estimated completion time is 3 hours. I’m really not quite sure why I signed up. As I looked at the pictures and videos from past and current Tough Mudder events, I must have thought for a moment that I was young again; that my body could withstand the torture; that I could actually be an asset to the team I was about to join…now I’m having my doubts!

Reality Check

For those of us 30 and older, we’ve all had lapses in judgement regarding our physical abilities.  The guy who jumps into a pickup game of whatever.  The woman who takes off after her dog that just got loose.  Whatever the activity, we learn quickly that our brains might be 23, but our bodies aren’t.  We don’t run as fast, we can’t push as hard, and we certainly don’t recover quickly.  Slowly but surely we become more aware of our limitations, and we become more reserved about the activities we’re willing to participate in. Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Leave a comment

Way to Go, Mr. Mayor

Way-To-Go-Mr-Mayor-2a

Great news for the home team.  Alcoa announced yesterday that Lafayette, IN has been chosen for the site of a new $90 million aluminum lithium casting plant.  Construction is slated to start in April.  The plant should employ 75 people when it is fully operational by the end of 2014.  While this news is tremendous in and of itself, what makes it especially astounding is that  it comes on the heels of a deal our city landed with the Nanshan Group to build a $100 million aluminum extrusion plant on the south side of town.

That means within a span of a few months, our city officials were able to encourage both a new Chinese company and a 75 year old American company to build 2 new plants in the same community, bringing good jobs and solid economic activity to our town.  That would be a huge win in any time period, but in our current economy, this feat is truly amazing.  What a great victory for Lafayette.

A Great Mayor, a Remarkable Response, and a Tremendous Team

I had the privilege of running into Mayor Tony Roswarski at our community center shortly after the announcement was made yesterday.  I congratulated him and thanked him for his leadership.  His response was remarkable. Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The IMAX Bible

the-imax-bible

One time I walked into the wrong movie theater, where the movie I had paid to watch was already halfway through. A sea battle was ensuing with swords clashing and cannons blasting in surround sound. The audience gasped as they watched their beloved characters struggle to survive. As for me, I sat with cold indifference.

I didn’t care. I had missed the beginning.

Movies are meant to be viewed from beginning to end. Even if you step out just to pop some popcorn, when you get back you will ask, “What did I miss?” because you might have missed an important chunk.

You don’t cheer for the hero who has no history, and you don’t cry at the funeral of a complete stranger. Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews and Recommendations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Are Outreach and Discipleship Mutually Exclusive?

Are-Outreach-and-Discipleship-Mutually-ExclusiveB

It’s no secret that Faith Church puts a significant amount of time, effort, and resources into outreach. We believe that the proclamation of the gospel–the good news about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the free gift of salvation available in Him–is at the very center of our mission.  After men and women trust Christ as Savior and Lord, we encourage them to learn to live out the implications of the gospel in everyday life.

Occasionally someone will suggest that we should reduce our efforts in outreach in order to focus more heavily on discipleship.  The notion seems to be that outreach and discipleship are mutually exclusive.  These persons are quite sincere in their belief, one that often flows out of a concern that we have men and women in our church family who are struggling to please God in their choices each day. Continue reading →

Posted in Community Outreach, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cheers

Cheers

State Farm Insurance Company has recently been using the theme song from the 80’s sit com Cheers to advertise its services on TV. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” is the title of the song. The claim implied by using the song seems very ambitious for an insurance company with its clients.

The original purpose of the song was to capture the atmosphere of a quaint bar in Boston called Cheers. The small group of regular patrons formed an intimate community. The show portrayed the patrons seeing each other every day as they gathered around the bar after work to talk about life. For those who were alive in the 80’s and remember the show, the loud cry of “Norm” as “Norman” entered the bar assuming his position at the counter captures the essence of the song.

What Cheers Got Right

While the show’s values did not cohere with a Christ-centered life, the show did capture the desire of human hearts to be an intimate part of a community in which people know your name. Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Find Your Tebow

tebowing_m

Few professional football players have created more buzz than Denver’s Tim Tebow.  Since winning the starting quarterback position mid-season, Tebow has led the Broncos to four overtime victories including an incredible win this past Sunday night against the highly favored Pittsburgh Steelers.  In case you missed the game, it was the shortest overtime in NFL history because on the first play from scrimmage, Tebow threw an 18 yard pass to receiver Demaryius Thomas who stiff-armed cornerback Ike Taylor and ran down the right sideline for an 80 yard touchdown.

The Real Story

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beall (Flickr: denverjeffrey)

The real story is that Tebow is an outspoken follower of Jesus Christ.  Raised in a missionary home, Tebow developed the habit of pausing and thanking God for the blessings he received each day.  That desire led him to kneel on the football field and pray in a gesture that amazingly has already become an accepted word in our culture – tebowing.  Imagine if a word was going to be invented based on your last name and the way you choose to live.  What are the odds that the word would have something to do with your love for Jesus?  As soon as Demaryius Thomas crossed the goal line Sunday night, the cameras immediately panned to Tebow to see what would happen next.  Of course everyone knew what would happen next—Tim Tebow bowed on one knee and thanked God.

Consistent with playoff traditions, the mayors of Pittsburg and Denver made a friendly wager.  Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Should the Islamic Center be Approved?

church_state

Recently our commissioners approved a rezone request to allow the construction of an Islamic center in northwest Tippecanoe County.  The project will still require a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) before construction can begin.

Some residents from our community expressed concern over this project, essentially suggesting that its approval was un-American.  I think the polar opposite is true.  Refusing to approve this request simply because the petitioners are followers of Islam would be contrary to the ideals of religious liberty and the importance of the separation of church and state.

I think our county leaders were spot on in their decision, and I hope the BZA grants the special exception our Muslim friends are requesting.  I take this position for three primary reasons: Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Top 10 Posts of 2011

shutterstock_90602167

Here are the top 10 posts of 2011, as determined by what you–our readers–viewed the most. For this top 10 list, we’re including posts from all of our blogs, so you’ll notice a couple of Faith Biblical Counseling posts in here as well. You can find our entire listing of blogs, as well as an aggregated feed of the latest posts, at http://blogs.faithlafayette.org.

10. Highway to Hell: A Question of Culture and the Church

9. Premarriage Counseling is not first about the marriage

8. Can You Enjoy Luxuries While People are Suffering in Poverty?

7. Schedule and Suggested Readings for Day of Prayer and Fasting

6. Dating an Apostle or a Potential

5. Why Faith May Change Our Name

4. How Should Evangelical Christians Respond to the Death of Osama Bin Laden?

3. The Christian and Halloween: A Plea for Valium

2. Indiana Jones Would Be Proud

1. Gospel Indicatives And Imperatives: Where Is The Debate Anyway?

What posts did you find the most useful, and what would you like to see us cover in 2012?

Posted in Miscellaneous | Leave a comment

School Vouchers Are An Educational Win-Win

IMG_4950-1

Our community is blessed with many fine educators in our public school system.  We are very fortunate to have such tremendous servants in our town.  They deserve our profound respect, appreciation, and support.

That is precisely why I believe our present educational system has to change.  The model that is currently in place, like so many other aspects of our government, is simply unsustainable in its current form.  Few if any of us like change, but the plain fact is that we desperately need ideas that are fresh, courageous, and innovative. Failing to face hard realities actually diminishes the sacrificial work of our public educators and places the entire system in jeopardy.

There are several reasons to believe that our state’s school voucher program can actually strengthen the public school system and place our community’s overall approach to educating our children on a much firmer foundation. Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Praying Like An Apostle: Joy, Love and What is Best

Praying-Like-an-Apostle_Part-4

In our last post, we identified a number of excuses that we often use when prayer has not been a consistent habit. We addressed those individually, but it is helpful to have a big picture view that puts all of our excuses into perspective…even the new ones we haven’t yet developed.

Paul is a master at focusing on the big picture. He guides his readers to his source of joy, where his confidence lies, describing clearly his mindset to pray faithfully.

Philippians 1:1–11 (NIV)

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul, as he usually does, thanks God for the Phillipians, but he especially highlights that he prays with joy. When Paul thinks of his friends, he is driven to prayer, and specifically joyful prayer,  but why? Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , | Leave a comment