THINK DIFFERENTLY

List-O-Mania V.2

Biggest surprise: People actually read this blog. Sometimes you type, type, type and wonder (along with Pink Floyd), “is anybody out there?” Traffic to the site has increased nearly 200% with BeDeviant.com’s nomination for an Iowa Web Award and listing on the RSS aggregator website, Alltop.com. Huzzah!

Favorite new song: “Once In a Lifetime” (link opens in iTunes) by the Talking Heads. It’s so wonderfully bizarre and was featured in the trailer for the new George W. Bush “bio-mock-umentary”, “W”.

What I’m reading: My courses have me neck-deep in The Book of Concord and The Augsburg Confession. I’m also reading Emotionally Healthy Church, The Emotionally Healthy Manager, and Churched by Matthew Paul Turner (BeDeviant.com will be part of the “Churched: Blog Tour” later this month.)

Seminary: I’m trying to figure out how I can get done earlier. Right now, I’m slated to graduate May of 2010. This, simultaneously, seems like forever and like it’s right around the corner. It’s a good thing I’m Lutheran, otherwise the paradox might kill me. This quarter I’m taking three classes, which has been a real challenge, but something I’m finding I can manage. Of course, if anybody out there feels like sponsoring my seminary education, this is a moot point. Got an extra $30,000 laying around?

Most excited about: This week, we’ll be broadcasting the Immersion sermon live at BeDeviant.com/Webcast. We tried it out last week and it worked beautifully. I’m not quite sure how many people actually watched, but we had good feedback all around. So we’ll keep doing it. Mark your calendar: This Thursday. 8:15pm CST. Sermon series: What Does the Bible Really Say About… Topic: Sex. Holla!

Favorite new Twitter-er: Ran into @jameseliason at a wedding I was a part of over the weekend. We went to high school together, but I had no idea he was behind WhatsYourTweetWorth.com, Twittad.com, and FilmFitti.com. Ambitious, I like that.

Webcasting Immersion Sermon Live!

Check back here at 8:20pm CST and hopefully you should see a live sermon by yours truly!

It actually worked! If you tuned in from 8:20-9:05pm CST, you would have seen a live broadcast of my sermon for Immersion! Check back next Thursday, October 9th to catch the latest in our new series, “What Does the Bible Really Say About…” Next week: Sex.

Oh yeah, it’s also the 10/10 Challenge!

They’re All Going To Laugh At You!

I’d like to officially invite all of you to the “Immersion 10/10 Challenge”.

For those who don’t know, I’m on staff with Immersion (link opens in iTunes) - a 20s and 30s ministry in West Des Moines, IA. We meet on Thursday nights at Lutheran Church of Hope. 7:37pm. Worship Center.

At any rate, next week we’re asking everyone to bring 10 people to the 10/9 service. (We’re calling it 10/10 because on the Jewish calendar, the next day begins at sundown. Booyah!)

I’d like you to be one of my 10. Would you consider coming? Besides if you don’t, that little boy will seriously come laugh at you. Consider yourself warned.

BeDeviant.com in the News.

BeDeviant.com is up for its first (and probably last) award!

The Iowa Web Awards was started by Internet Mastermind Andy Brudtkuhl over at 48Web here in Des Moines. It’s the first annual competition, and this little blog got nominated for “Best Religion Blog”. Would you consider plunking down a vote for BeDeviant?

Also, don’t forget to vote for some other of our Des Moines favorites (and BeDeviant.com blogroll members): Brianne Sanchez, Juice Magazine, Rush Nigut and Four Legacies Mortgage.

Voting goes until Monday, October 6th. Tell your friends!

Photo credit: broox

BeDeviant.com Welcomed To Alltop.com

Not going to lie, pretty amped about this. It’s never a bad day when you find yourself in the same company as Craig Groeschel, Mark Batterson, DJ Chuang, Dan Kimball, and the ever-lovin’ Jake Bouma.

The good people at Alltop.com have welcomed this little blog into its ranks. You can find us at church.alltop.com. We’re at the bottom, but the more love we get, the higher we go! Tell your friends!

The Digital Pastor

God is seriously blowing my mind.

I’ve recently come across the term, “Digital Pastor” and I really like it. I really like it.

There was an event that happened earlier today, something called #churchtechcamp. Basically the conversation consisted of asking the question, “What does God want to do through the new digital media?” Things like Twitter, Facebook, Mogulus, Second Life, the iPhone, and more.

Rhett Smith points out that the times are a-changin’ for those who call themselves pastors:

“I love ministry…I was and am a pastor, so I love pastoring. But I also think that technology is allowing us to do things differently in a very easy way…communicate, organize, etc, etc. And hopefully the congregation can do this without having to go through all the traditional, hierarchical church structures that have for too long consolidated “power” in the hands of a pastor, exec. team, elder board, etc.

Instead, I think it will put the “power” back in the hands of the congregation…and the pastor will act more as a facilitator, shepherd for the community. But I think that is a great thing.

And maybe we need to rethink the whole role of pastoral leadership in this country anyways.”

Amen, bro. Amen.

Technology is allowing us to approach life in an entirely new way, the church included. Luther had the printing press. We, as the 21st century church, have the Internet. The question becomes will we allow God to breathe through these new mediums and bring his life-changing reality to people in new and creative ways?

#churchtechcamp made the Twitter blog today (and for the record, that’s a big deal.)

Chris Brogan, a faith blogger (amongst other things), is listed in the Top 100 blogs on Technorati.

LifeShare, a recent web ministry event co-opted by Lifechurch.tv and Carlos Whitaker, blew everyone’s expectations away by linking countless numbers of believers over the internet in an effort to “become the church” online.

If you’re in ministry, are you prepared to engage a culture in a completely new way? Are you prepared (or willing to be prepared and/or prepare others) to translate the message of Christ using a fully digital language? If “digital” is not your native tongue, will your accent betray you to a generation that is desperate to know that God is real?

In the meantime, hit me up on Twitter and we can talk about it. In 140 characters or less, of course.

The Things We Pastors Do…

This is too funny not to share (to set this up, the pastor with the motorcycle brought it into the church to make a sermon illustration “come to life”):

That guy’s got to feel like a dope.

Source: NeueMinistry.com.

Are You Spiritually Unhealthy?

I just started reading Peter Scazzero’s Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. 20 pages into it, I put the book down and called my counselor to set up our next meeting. It’s that good.

It’s convicting me to my core. Mainly because of lists like this. See if you’re suffering from a bad case of emotionally unhealthy spirituality. Perhaps you’ll fare better than me! Here’s a list of possible symptoms:

1. Using God to run from God.
2. Ignoring the emotions of fear, anger, and sadness.
3. Dying to the wrong things.
4. Denying the past’s impact on the present.
5. Dividing our lives into “secular” and “sacred” compartments.
6. Doing for God instead of being with God.
7. Spiritualizing away conflict.
8. Covering over brokenness, weakness, and failure.
9. Living without limits.
10. Judging other people’s spiritual journey.

Are you down with the sickness? Unfortunately, this is one fever that cannot be cured with more cowbell! What would you add to the list? What signs do you see of emotionally unhealthy spirituality?