Friday, February 25, 2011

REDEMPTION

The following video is a powerful picture of what God can do in the life of ANYBODY. Joshua Harris is just one of the many whose lives are being radically altared by the reality of Jesus Christ.



Please leave a comment if this has meant something to you...

Thursday, February 24, 2011

A Hairy Situation

I have this good friend, his dad has cancer.

If you've ever had somebody close to you wrestle with a sickness that brings with it the fear of death, you understand what he's been dealing with. I have. I can tell you that God was there in those moments, but it was still one of the toughest seasons of my life.

One of the things that can happen in those seasons is an overwhelming desire to "Do Something". Deep down might be a realization that nothing we do will actually help, but that feeling of total powerlessness can lead to subterranean depths of despair. So we try.

Sometimes, all we can do is try.

My friend’s dad has colon cancer. I love my friend. I don’t really know his dad all that well… but I love my friend. That love makes me want to do something too.

My friend has courageously chosen to act. Interestingly, he’s chosen to shave his head in order to raise funds. The monies will go towards Hope Lodge, a Kansas City refuge for the families of cancer victims needing a place to stay while their loved ones receive treatment. Its part of the American Cancer Society… and it’s a worthy cause to be sure.

Shaving his head is simply a gimmick… it’s just my friend’s way of doing… something.

I’m joining my friend’s cause. I won’t be shaving my head (I really don’t have much more I could shave), but I will be doing my best to help him raise funds. Could you possibly throw a few dollars towards his cause? It’s as simple as clicking here: I CAN DO SOMETHING

ANYTHING will help, and with the technology available, it really couldn't be easier.

My friend, Bil Brown, has been growing his hair out for a year. In a few short weeks he’ll be sitting on a stage and his father will be shaving his head. It promises to be a special moment for them both. I want to be a part of that.

Thanks. Cancer sucks, but God conquers.

And Jesus loves you.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day

You've never heard 1 Corinthians 13 like this:



All I can say is... "WOW".

Monday, February 7, 2011

Where Are All The Bible Answer-Men?

This video made me smile, so I'm sharing it here. I don't do this often in my little blog-world. However, for all my pastor-friends and anyone that has ever been involved in "counseling"... I'm hoping you'll smile too. I KNOW you'll relate to this poor guy,... but I hope you'll also smile.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

What's YOUR Story?

Recently, at Desperation Church, we’ve been discussing the idea that we each have a story. Our lives, much like a story, are unfolding scene after scene, much like a movie or the chapters in a book. We’re seeing that Jesus means for our stories to be much more grand than many of us have accepted. He longs for our life’s tale to be mind-blowingly ‘EPIC’.

I heard of an idea from a pastor/friend of mine in the St. Louis area, named Shane Adkisson. He pastors Mosaic St Louis. Shane is an awesome Jesus-lover and a creative leader. He has an approach to hearing people’s stories that is such a neat idea, I wanted to steal it and share it here in hopes of learning the individual stories of those who read this little blog. You know what they say, “Copying is the sincerest form of plagiarism”. Shane talks about how he enjoys inviting people to tell him about one of a few different things:

• a relationship
• a project
• a moment where they exceeded expectations
• a moment where they were told they did a great job.

Here’s the only catch: One of these has to be from before they were 10 yrs old. One has to be from before they were 18, and then the rest from adulthood, but none can have anything to do with their present job.

I’d love for you to take a few minutes and let me know part of your story within these parameters. So often we define who we are by what we do (occupationally) currently. You may leave a comment here, or you may write to my email at: frontdesk@desperationchurch.org ('attention Michael').

Be funny, be boring, be whatever you want... just be authentic. I'd just seriously love to know you better.

Thanks so much, and from this moment on, may our story always be one that revolves around the Main Character, Jesus.