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All these guys were at a conference i attended the last couple days.
#ppp09 = Poets, Prophets, Preachers Conference :: hosted in Grand Rapids Michigan, a.k.a. G-Rap. Which acording to Rob Bell is the Progressive Culture Capital of the world or something? Debatable!
There is A LOT to unload from this time. i took some note and plan on spending some time here sharing them with you.
All that and more coming soon!
Grace and peace
Erik
Just updated my shelf…
(which is where i share with you what i’m reading or listing to. Those kinds of things.)
I’m reading a few new books, still working on a couple old ones and re-reading another.
Check out “The Shelf” if your interesting in what i’m into these days.
And if you have read any of those titles, let me know your thoughts!
Would love to hear.
Peace
Erik
Well life feels busy these days, which is good but i am just getting hoping all the thing i want and pray for are going to start keeping me busy and not all this other crap.
I did manage to get to a baseball game on Saturday!
I’m a huge Chicago White Sox fan so i talked my budy barry into heading up to Cincinnati for the day with me and catching a Sox / Reds game.
It was awesome and we had AWESOME!!! seats!
PS :: i picked up the new iPhone friday when it came out! So below is a little video from the game . Pretty amazing that my phone took this video, at least i think it is.
TIP OF THE DAY :: if you have an old 3G iPhone put it on craigslist, TODAY!!! i put my old white 3G (16GB) phone on Craigslist for $225 and got about 40 emails that day! Sold it and then bought the new phone 16GB iPhone for $199.00 // $217.00 after tax.
So yea, i MADE $8 bucks or so by getting the new 3GS!
Amazing i know!
Here’s the video!
ENJOY!
Tags: baseball, craigslist, friends, iPhone, White Sox
I was reading Psalm 103 today, it goes like this…
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit
And it so it goes.
But what does it mean to “Bless the Lord?”
I have asked this question for a LONG time and nobody really gives me a good answer. I have never heard a pastor preach an insightful message on it and i have NEVER heard explanation that doesn’t sound trite and contrived. What does it really mean to “bless the Lord?”
I think this might help with our understanding of blessing and being blessed if we could work this out.
Now i do have an idea. And maybe my idea is WAY off. Who knows…
i’ll share it soon but first i want to get some of your ideas.
What do you think?
Peace and blessing
Erik
How much can you really fit into 60 seconds?
Well i’m gonna find out. I was just asked to do a series of radio spots on one of Nashville’s Christian music radio stations :: 89.1 WNAZ <— also on-line!
i’m pretty stoked about the opportunity and what doors it might open up for the ministry i’m doing these days.
My assignment is to do Rob Bell / Nooma-ish type deals — in 60 seconds — on the radio.
Easy enough…
We’ll see!
We’re going to called them “Revolutionary Thoughts w/Erik Willits” — Creative? it works!
Stoked about it for sure and i will keep you posted for when they start to roll!
Grace and peace
Erik
Thomas (ihajj.net) posted a link to this blog and i REALLY liked it! The post is by Chris Folmsbee and just think he has some really solid things to say.
I shot this link to a bunch of my buddies who are in youth ministry but i left WAY to many people out. So i wanted to post the link and even some of Chris’s list here. ENJOY!
Youth Ministry: If I were to do it again…
(this is a must read if you in youth ministry. here is a little taste!
Act theologically before methodologically
• Be more of a spiritual director than a program director
• Hire a parent to be a part of our youth staff
• Spend more time investing in interns/co-pastors
• Experiment with more learner-centered education models
• Ask less of my volunteers and yet equip them more
• Communicate change to the church leaders, staff and parents more
• Create more opportunities for students to “learn up” instead of me “teaching down”
• Celebrate the successes in the lives of students with greater regularity and intensity
• Worry less about the retreat themes and spend more time with the students on the retreats.
• Take students on way more spiritual retreats
• Work hard to be more collaborative with the youth workers in my city
• Take more time off to be with my wife and kids
• Be more intentional with a confirmation process
• Find time to laugh and play more
• Be more grace-filled with students who were goofing off and causing trouble
• Try to learn more from the staff instead of thinking I have all the answers
• Take the criticism of others more seriously and less defensively
• Meet with my spiritual director more often
• Take personal retreats more often
• Be way more missional and a lot less attractional in my approach or model
• Try and get more pulpit time to advocate for the students in the church and community
• Pray more and develop a team of people to pray with
• Provide inspiring training for the parent of the students
• Call the students to greater levels of holiness
• Spend a lot more time creating opportunities for students to practice justice
• Allow the more artistic students opportunities to express themselves and their love for God.
• Teach much more conversationally
• Try to enter into the joy, pain, loss, doubt, hurt, etc. of the students and their families
Well it’s true, i turned the big 3 - 0 yesterday.
I had a meeting in the morning and was asked, “how old are you?” I had to answer, “thirty”. That’s when it hit me. I am not in my twenties anymore! CRAZY!!!
But really it’s not that big of deal, it’s just another year. RIGHT?
Here are a few things i am looking forward in my 30’s
#1. Doing more traveling… international!
#2. Taking my / letting God take his ministry to the “next level”.
/ figure out what the next level for this ministry i do is.
#3. Owning a home. That kinda sound cool.
#4. Having a kid or two.
#5. Planting a church. Still dreaming about that :: www.communityplanting.com
#6. Meeting the rest of my family / sisters.
#7. Getting better at being married!!!
It’s hard at time but i have a feeling the 30’s are going to be good!
#8. Maybe becoming a priest. Long story but excited about the possibilities.
#9. Being less broke! God knows i am looking forward to that!!!
You can help!!! HELP // Donate
#10… LOTS OF STUFF
Here’s to the big 3 - 0 :: BRING IT ON!!!
Peace
Erik
There is always tension in the Christian life. If manifests itself in millions of ways. I am noticing it as a conversation piece here on this blog. New category? I think yes!
I was recently given a book by a good friend and pastor of mine. (I have like 20 different pastors :: I love all of you!) But this pastor (twitter @allalspals) gave me the book Living Your Strengths. A kind of spiritual gifts / strengths assessment and encouragement book.
This book wants to teach people to live into their strengths. It established some lines between strengths, gifts, skills, knowledge, talent… this gives it a new twist to an old idea. Which is primarily about figuring out who God created you to be.
:: QUOTES ::
“When you enhance a talent by adding the right skills and useful knowledge, you have created a strength.”
“Remember that God has given you a unique combination of talents. God also places within you a calling — a calling to serve others and advance the cause of the Christ and the Church, a calling to ministry. Your calling is what God wants you to do with your life; your talents and strengths determine how you will get it done. When you discover your talents, you begin to discover your calling.”
I mostly agree with the premise being given here. I do think God has created each of us in very particular ways and it’s wise to figure that out and live into it!
The Tension
Yes, there are plenty of places where we can find this idea of spiritual gifts and the fact that God has given each of us particular gifts and talents to edify and push forward the Church, to further the Kingdom.
But you can also find a strong current in the scripture where people are called to live into their weaknesses. To trust God in the midst of their inability and lean on God’s absolute ability and strength.
It’s the counterintuitive idea of a “weakness revolution” or something like that. The idea that in our weakness His strength is made perfect. That in our inability God’s great ability is put on display.
We can talk about a “Strengths revolution” as this book wants to pitch to us.
But does the bible talk more about a “Weakness revolution”?
I think about the story of Moses.
Maybe both sides of this tension need to be lived out by those who follow Jesus.
We need to live into our weakness…
We also need to live into our strengths…
To be that person who God has created you to be but also fine ways to not run but rather embrace your weakness so that God can be put on display in the midst of them.
I am not trying to push either side of this tension but I think in our intuition of living into out strengths we can forget the counterintuitive stream we find in the scriptures.
LIVING
and hoping God is put on display in all of it!
Tags: spirituality, tension
Well i am compiling my summer reading list.
The topic for the summer; Subversive Christianity.
Translate that how every you wish and give me recommendations that fit!
i am hoping for 5 solid books that fit the mold!
2 that are probably already on my list are:
Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire
this is a book i have actually already read but it’s been a few years and it’s a stellar book. So the plan is to go over it again.
The Prophetic Imagination by Walter Brueggemann
I’ve been “reading” this book for the past 6 months but not really reading it. So it’s time to dig in an get to it! It will be read this summer! The first 35 pages that i have actually read are amazing and fit extremely well into the subversive Christianity context.
———
So now you!
What are you recommendations!
Looking forward to hearing what you’ve got for me.
Shalom
Erik
I guess if i had to use the cliche of seasons i would say, among other things, this is a season of bloglessness. or something.
I just haven’t been blogging much lately.
But i do have a few things on my mind from a conversation i had today, let me share.
I was having a conversation with a friend today and i started spouting off how i felt like i was in this or that “season” of life? I suppose there was some truth to what i was saying but after i ended the call (cause you don’t really hang up an iPhone) i started thinking about how i was full of it!
I don’t really feel like i am in some kind of “season”, whatever that means. And often that’s just a Christian way to say life sucks.
I was wonder what would happen if we were just honest? And instead of hiding our sorrow, depression and even joy in the vernacular of “seasons” what if we could just be honest.
“Life’s hard” :: ”i’m depressed” :: ”I feel like everything is slipping through my fingers”
On the brighter side…
“I’m happy” :: ”I feel content” :: ”I’m doing well”
I think we hide our present state in our Christian language because we either don’t want people to know we are not doing well or we don’t want people to feel bad cause we are doing good and maybe they are not.
like i said, there is some truth to the idea of “seasons” and the bible talks about there being a season for everything. Which i would suppose is where we get the metaphor. But i just hate being so Christian that i’m being dishonest. You know what i mean?
I want to cultivate the kind of relationships where people ask me how i’m doing and i feel the space to really tell them. And when i’m b.s.-ing those same people call me out and ask for not the right answer but the real one.
Honesty is hard! but the more i learn the more i realize the hard way is usually the best way. and that’s not a cliche that’s the TRUTH!
So how are you doing?
And who are you telling?
Shalom
Erik