No more facebook !

I'm overly annoyed with facebooks new privacy policy. From now on, I'll be on twitter. I realize that most of my friends are not on twitter, so I'll be posting more often to this space. And who knows - maybe there will be more for the Roodanoke Podcast as well.

A Zone Music Video from gaolista on Vimeo.

Anti-intellectualism in the Church

If you have ever wondered why Christian influence is not proportionate to the number of Christians in America? Or why churches are no longer the center of communities; why pastors are no longer considered intellectual leaders? Why well intentioned followers of Jesus don't know much about the history of Christinaity or how to explain it's message to our neopagan culture. If so, you'd enjoy reading "Love Your God with All Your Mind" by JM Moreland.

At the root, many of these problems are created by anti-intellectual trends in the church. Even though Moreland is critical of these trends and causes, he points believers in the right direction. Moreland, makes the hopeful case that "there has never been a greaer opportunity for Christians to be different from the broader culture and to make a differance... but,it will not happen if we do not take a hard look at reforming our understanding of what a local church is and how it is to go about its activities."

My Jet-Lagged Weekend to Remember

So the last few weeks have been really busy as Annette and I have been working with our leaders to talk about exactly where and how we might serve the Lord together. We are still in the middle of that process and remain confident that all the details will be worked out soon. Right now, we are planning for Annette to rejoin staff in a full time role, but we want to find a role for her that lets her use her counseling degree. We’re excited to trust the Lord with this.

But in the meanwhile, I’m in Dallas to help with wedding planning and marriage preparation. Two specific things that you can be praying for this month:

1.) Please pray for our pre-marital sessions. We have scheduled 6 sessions for time here. Together we will be reading Love and Respect by Eggerichs.

2.) To kick off our marriage preparation we are going to “Weekend to Remember” which is a marriage conference lead by Campus Crusade’s Family Life ministry. It’s a jam-packed schedule and I’m still feeling a touch jet lagged so please pray that I can be as mentally there as possible. This conference is largely for married couples but they do have several sessions for engaged couples. If your interested what this conference is about I’ll include our schedule below.

TONIGHT
07:30 - 08:30 p.m Why Marriages Fail - Identify and understand the five threats to marriage
08:30 - 08:45 p.m. Break (on your own)
08:45 - 09:30 p.m. Can We Talk? - Discuss factors that make communication difficult.
09:30 - 09:50 p.m. Application project for you and your spouse.
SATURDAY
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08:00 - 08:30 a.m. Resource center and ballroom open.
08:30 - 09:20 a.m. Unlocking the Mystery of Marriage - Realize God's plan for marriage.
09:20 - 09:35 a.m. Break (on your own)
09:35 - 10:25 a.m. From How to Wow - Achieve God's plan for marriage by leaving, cleaving and becoming one flesh.
10:25 - 11:40 a.m. Application project for you and your spouse
10:25 - 11:40 a.m. So You Wanna Get Married (Optional Pre-Married session)
11:40 - 12:30 p.m. What Every Marriage Needs - Marriage is dependent upon your own personal relationship with God.
12:30 - 02:00 p.m. Lunch break (on your own)
02:00 - 03:05 p.m. We Fight Too - Recognize the goal of marriage is not to be conflict-free but to handle conflict.
03:05 - 03:20 p.m. Helping Others
03:20 - 03:30 p.m. Break (on your own)
03:30 - 04:30 p.m. Marriage After Dark - Uncover intimacy from God's perspective.
04:30 - 04:55 p.m. Help for Today (Optional Break-out Session)
04:30 - 05:30 p.m. Two Become One (Optional Pre-Married session)
Evening Date Night
SUNDAY
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09:00 - 10:30 a.m. Woman to Woman / Man to Man - God has given husbands and wives different roles.
10:30 - 11:05 a.m. Hope for Tomorrow (Optional Break-out Session)
10:30 - 11:15 a.m. Application project.
11:15 - 12:00 p.m. How Marriages Thrive - Learn the three essential elements to a healthy marriage.
12:00 - 12:30 p.m. Leaving a Legacy - Detect and implement your family's legacy.