Steve Farrar, Point Man
I recently finished reading Point Man by Steve Farrar. This is an excellent book on manhood/male Christ-like courageous leadership in the home.
I’m probably going to add this book as required reading for men in my pre-marital counseling process and for all members of MANgroup.
Men, get your hands on this book.
Not only is Steve Farrar a good writer, he’s a good man. Decades ago he served as pastor here at Central Peninsula Church, back when our church was very small. I spent over an hour on the phone with Steve Farrar last week and as we interacted about the content of Point Man, it was evident to me that this book was birthed by a man with a genuine concern to see a biblical vision of manhood restored to our homes and churches.
Ted Haggard Update
JT links to a Ted Haggard interview. It looks as though Haggard has received some faulty counseling and has come to some faulty conclusions.
Phone vs. Email
A guest post by Taylor Buzzard:
I have a trivia question for you.
What surprisingly requires all of the following, simultaneously:
Left hand.
Right hand.
Left eye.
Right eye.
Brain.
Physical body orientation.
?
EMAIL. Email requires all of the above, all at the same time. And that is why email has become a thorn in my flesh. Email asks too much of me.
I used to love email. I thought it was fun, a convenient way to plan and touch base with people, a vehicle for being witty and silly with friends, and a way to be creative with writing. But, as of 3 months ago, I now have two young children. And, as of 3 months ago, email demands more than I can give. The inbox piles up higher and higher, and my stress mounts higher and higher. Even as I write about this topic, my heartbeat is accelerating. I just can’t get my email under control.
The phone is much better suited to my lifestyle these days. It allows me to communicate with someone, while still looking at my children, physically interacting with them, and turning my body towards them. Email is like a dark cave that requires me to dive in, whereas the telephone allows me to stay at sea level and multitask. Have you ever noticed that one email topic requires at least 3-4 emails in order to close the issue at hand?
Here’s an example:
Email #1: Do you want to meet up for coffee sometime this week?
Email #2: Sure. I’m free on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Email #3: Oh, bummer, I’m busy those nights. How about Friday morning?
Email #4: Sounds great. Want to meet at Peet’s at 9 am?
Email #5: You’re on. See you there.
Email #6: Alright. See you Friday morning.
I don’t think I exaggerated while writing this out. Six emails for a coffee date. A one-minute phone call could have taken care of all of that.
So, what to do, what to do? I can’t close my email account and call it quits. Email is a component of our modern life, and it would be unwise to pull the plug. I’m looking for ways to live with it without letting it weigh me down. One suggestion I’ve received is to create 3-4 folders where I immediately file every incoming email (To Read, To Answer, Pending, etc.). That way the inbox is always orderly. I’m going to start with this tactic. And if this doesn’t relieve my email stress, I think I will take more serious action and move to the second suggestion I received: to create an auto-reply message that states that I check email on days x, y, and z, and if a response is needed sooner, to please call me.
Email, email, I used to love you so.
Email, email, now I long to let you go.
Email, email, let’s try to make this work.
Email, email, before I go berserk.
Matthew Elliott on Thursday
This Thursday I’m looking forward to having Matthew Elliott as a guest speaker at 20s. After reading Elliott’s latest book, FEEL, I asked him to come speak for us. John Piper hails Elliott’s first book, “the most thorough study on emotions in the New Testament.”
Driscoll on Nightline Tonight
Tonight, ABC's Nightline will feature Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church. From the Nightline website:
At first glance, Mark Driscoll seems like a typical Seattle, Wash.,
"hipster" dad, from the biker boots to the shades to his calling his
3-year-old "dude."
Pastor
Mark Driscoll is the "indy rock star" of the evangelicals. At his Mars
Hill Church in Seattle, sermon topics include sex, and why Jesus was a
rebel.
But nothing about Mark Driscoll is typical — and neither is the church he presides over.
Driscoll, 38, is the pastor and figurehead of Seattle's Mars Hill Church. The church, founded by Driscoll in 1996, is now nearly 8,000 strong and among the fastest-growing in America.
Watch the story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m. ET
Most of his parishioners call him "Pastor Mark" but, Driscoll said, "You can call me Pastor Dude if you want."
Whatever you call him, Driscoll is the "indy rock star" of the
evangelicals. His flock is a colorful bunch in their Sunday best: torn
jeans, tattoos and 20-something avant-garde fashion statements. They're
not just there for the dress code; they come to hear sermons with an
edge.
(Thanks to Jason Watson on Facebook for sending me this info)
Unhappy Christians
-MLJ, Foreward, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes And Its Cure
My Cagefighter Twin
Joe Thorn sent me an email today, saying that when he first saw the photo of this Mixed Martial Arts fighter (the guy on the right), he thought it was me. What do you think?
Taylor Buzzard: Advice for Fathers
A guest post by Taylor Buzzard:
Greetings, Buzzard Blog readers. Mrs. Buzzard reporting. I am happy to announce that I am back on the blogging band-wagon. Four score and seven moons ago (or, mid-2008), I wrote two blog posts, only to disappear without explanation. Toddlerhood, pregnancy, preparing the home for another child, birth, and adjusting to mothering two sons kept me away from contributing to the blogosphere. But I’m back and I’m sticking around (Justin’s holding me to this: he wouldn’t publish this post until I had my second post written–smart man.).
So, why this sudden change? This past weekend Justin gave me a golden gift. He took our lovable, energetic 2-year-old son to Sacramento to visit his grandparents for the weekend. And, by so doing, he gave me the home to myself for over 48 hours. What rejuvenation I experienced! I took a giant step back from the unceasing demands of daily life, I took deep breaths, and I rested. Who would have thought that two full days alone in my home could make such a difference for this woman, but they did.
And I said that I was alone…that’s kind of funny, I actually wasn’t alone at all. I spent the whole weekend with my sweet 3-month-old son by my side. But, he doesn’t talk, or move, or put himself in dangerous situations, or make much of a mess. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to have had absolutely zero care-taking responsibility throughout the weekend. That just might have put me into shock.
During my personal retreat weekend, I got to thinking about the bigger picture. I began to think beyond what to serve for breakfast, which park to visit, when to go to the grocery store, and how to effectively disciple my toddler. And I realized that Justin prodding me to continue blogging was also God prodding me to continue blogging. It’s good for me, it challenges me, and it gets me out of peanut butter and burping.
In conclusion, the point of this blog post is to tell men that it is a great idea to get the post-infanthood children out of the house for a weekend and leave your wife to enjoy her home in peace and solitude. Going to visit grandparents is a smart way to make this happen, as you can count on extra hands for crowd control. If you are not yet a husband or a father, tuck this tip away for later use. You will really like the refreshed woman to whom you return.
Text of Rick Warren’s Inauguration Prayer
Almighty God, our Father:
Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone.
It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.
History is your story.
The Scripture tells us, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
Now
today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for
the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the
inauguration of our first African American president of the United
States.We are so grateful
to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of
an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership.
And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.Give to our new president, Barack Obama,
the wisdom to lead us with humility,
the courage to lead us with integrity,
the compassion to lead us with generosity.
Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.
Help
us, O God, to remember that we are Americans–united not by race or
religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you–forgive us.
When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone–forgive us.
When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve–forgive us.
And
as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of
clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our
approaches, and civility in our attitudes—even when we differ.Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all.
May
all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a
more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.And may we never forget that one day, all nations–and all people–will stand accountable before you.
We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.
I
humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua,
‘Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus—who taught us to pray:Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.
HT: JT
18 Minutes, 10 Seconds
John Favreau can write. Favreau did a good job crafting Obama's historic 18 minute, 10 second Inauguration speech. More about Favreau…
