God is the Gospel

Consolidating

2008-09-01T07:36:00.001-04:00

We've combined all our web stuff into one totally redesigned blog:

Check it out: www.TheRieslands.com

Come On... You know you want to do it

2008-05-07T17:04:00.002-04:00

Give a geek some free time...

2007-10-19T13:38:00.000-04:00

And watch his blog get updated :0)

Yep, Wordpress just has too much cool stuff to keep using blogger, so I ported this over.

If you get here using www.ZackRiesland.com, then you're in good shape.

If you use RSS, then please update your subscriptions: posts, comments

2007-10-19T12:20:00.001-04:00

We're in N.Y. this weekend for Ellen and Peter's wedding. Steph is off doing 'bridesmaid duty' -- which consists of getting her nails done and going out to lunch.
In the meantime, I'm hanging out at Panera.

For possibly the first time in like a year, I have my Bible, a Jonathon Edwards book, good coffee, free internet, and 3 hours with nothing to do.

I do believe this post will get filed under 'worship'.

Today is a good day :0)

Yet another reason why my wife is awesome

2007-10-17T08:50:00.001-04:00

So I bought Stephanie an iPod for her birthday, and she taken up a sudden interest in music.

Well... that's not really true. She's always loved music, but since we've been married, she hasn't really expressed that very much. She pretty much just listens to whatever I want, and tries to like it.
But now, all of the sudden, she's like Carson Dailey or something -- she's downloaded 38 songs from iTunes in a week!

And I love her taste and variety. Check out her picks so far (you can click on it for a better view):

Yes folks... my wife is, well, awesome :0)

Interesting post about Joel Osteen

2007-10-15T14:18:00.000-04:00

Have a look here.

What do you think?

Some days I am just on fire...

2007-10-15T09:33:00.000-04:00

I completely ripped this off from one of my favorite blogs: RagamuffinSoul:

2 Questions for pastor mark driscoll

2007-10-12T11:47:00.000-04:00

Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington is taking questions (see the video below) that he'll use as topics for 9 sermons and a book, beginning in January, 2008.

You can go to askanything.marshillchurch.org to view, submit, and vote on questions.

I asked the following questions (there's a really short length limit, so I didn't get to word them exactly the way I wanted):

What are your thoughts about the level of criticism between believers, and particularly church leaders? What's the balance between a desire for Truth and a bad picture of Jesus we paint to the world?

What do you think about the term 'christian'? Do you think that it has become too stigmatized, and if so, is it worth redeeming or should we change our language?

I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist...

2007-10-11T16:54:00.001-04:00

Do you get it?

'Cause I got ticked for about 2 seconds and then I started laughing at myself :0)

The Gift of Worship

2007-10-11T06:23:00.000-04:00

There's a great discussion going on over at the 'Shlog' about worship.

People are basically arguing about the question, "What is worship?"

This video from Sermon Spice takes a good stab at it:

Can you love Jesus but not His bride?

2007-10-10T14:16:00.000-04:00

I was bored and looking around on facebook just now, a I read this in someone's profile:

I've been a Christian for 9 years. Went to church for about 8 of those years and then realized that God was calling us to something different - something out of the box. We have a small home group that meets at our house now and I don't think we will ever attend an actual modern day church again - Love Jesus just don't love what church has become.

I know this person. I know that she loves Jesus. I don't want to judge her heart or her motives. I just want to ask the question in the title of this post.

What do you think?

Best eternal investment opps

2007-10-09T09:20:00.000-04:00

This weekend at church, I taught about how we are free to serve Jesus because we don't have to.

...yeah, just take a second and think about that. My texts were Galatians 5 and 1 Peter 2.

I got on a social justice soap-box for just a minute.

According to Compassion International, 19 billion dollars a year could provide for the basic needs of all the poorest children in the world. To put that figure in perspective, this is about half of what Americans spend on dieting programs every year.

I told folks at the church about various opportunities to invest eternally, and this morning I began a list on the website.

What do you think should be on the list?

Mark Driscoll On Religious People

2007-10-08T11:54:00.000-04:00

I was just listening to Driscoll teaching on rest and sabath.

Here are some highlights:

"Religious people freak out, because religious people want to do the work of the Holy Spirit and the conscience...
We don't like religious people because they're not any fun at all.... Religious people are the kind of people who, if you gave them a sucker, they would flip it around and stick the stick in their ear. That's just the kind of people they are. They do everything wrong..."

Will today be the day?

2007-10-05T09:51:00.000-04:00

We're expecting something in the mail today.

Happy birthday Steph!

Ummm... can I borrow it? :0)

"Pulling Back" from church

2007-10-04T05:48:00.000-04:00

About 16 months ago, I began my relationship with Abundant Life Fellowship.
Though some would say that it was luck or chance that I even heard of the church, I know that it was God’s providence, and looking back to June of 2006, I see His fingerprints all over the time since then.

When I found out about Abundant Life and started spending time with Pastor Ted and hearing him talk about his heart and vision for the fellowship, I got really excited. Having been overseas for the previous year, I had a lot of new thoughts about what ‘church’ should be like. The thought of coming back to the tradition heavy, religious ‘south’, and leaving the small, Acts 2-esque experience of a third world was discouraging to me. After spending some time with the folks from Abundant Life, I was truly blown away by the uniqueness and effectiveness of the whole experience. This is a fellowship that is personal, committed, involved, vulnerable, and free in many ways that other groups are not.

After enduring four years of high school in Oxford without a good church home, and praying the whole time that God would raise up a good church where I could grow and see lives changed, it was amazing to have the opportunity to be involved with the very answer to that prayer.

I dove in head-first. I had lists of all the stuff I wanted to do and to plan. I started listening to a lot of teaching about church planting and youth ministry. I began spending my Tuesday nights getting ready to teach the youth on Wednesday. I got to church an hour early on Wednesday nights so that some of the youth could come learn how to play instruments, and even though it was off in the distance, I saw the possibility to have an awesome worship team of teenagers who could bless people all over Granville county. It was a really fun and exciting kick-start back into ministry after being overseas and away from everything for a year.

So of course the question is, “What changed?”

The answer is, “Everything.”

Though I didn’t know it from the beginning, this season of time with Abundant Life was only a temporary learning experience for me. From the very beginning, God has lead me away from settling in at this stage of life. Once I began serving the church, I prayed and prayed for a job that would be compatible -- something near the church that was only part-time. Weeks went by and I got deeper in debt, and the only opportunities were full-time positions far away. So I bit the bullet and took a job in Durham -- 50 hours less to work with.

My family situation got more intense. I came home to a world of changes in my family, and lots of opportunity to serve them, given that I make time for it.

Then God gave me Stephanie, and soon I had very little time to invest in the church.
Even with all the commitments and changes, I tried to force the time to do everything I wanted with the church. Even while courting my wife 200 miles away, I planned events and used our ‘date time’ to do ‘church stuff’.

Even after she had moved to Creedmoor and was living alone in an apartment, and trying to cooperate with her mom and plan a huge wedding, I was still busy and asked her to be busy with me.

Even after we were married and bought a house with grass that needed cutting and boxes that needed to be un-packed, I asked her to wait for me while I took the youth to camp.
‘Righteousness’ is the act of valuing1 rightly. My pride has led me to treat my church responsibilities unrighteously. I communicated to everyone around me that ‘my ministry’ is more important than anything else. I taught my wife that I love her and appreciate her, but she’ll have to take my word for it because I have these other important obligations. I watched my sister get married to someone who I couldn’t make the time to disciple.

On top of all this, we have really suffered for lack of fellowship our age. We rarely get to spend time with other young married couples, and it has really made our adjustment to married life stressful. Even when Stephanie asked me if we could start going to events at other churches to meet people, I asked her to ‘grin and bear it’ a little longer. I asked her to sacrifice her own walk with the Lord so that I could feel like something special.

So our decision to move on has been a long time coming, and it has nothing to do with Abundant Life. Really, more than anything, we need to be free from responsibility for a season so that we can give unlimited attention to our marriage -- to each other.

Through hard times of prayer together and apart, and even weeping at the high cost of this decision, we have learned a lot. In fact, I am certain that God planned this season in our life to teach us. In the past year and half I have become almost certain that I want to devote my life to building the Church -- in America and abroad, and I have also become confident that I’m not ready to that. I have a lot to learn. We have a lot to learn. And thanks to our time here at Abundant Life, we have a better understanding of what we have to learn.

They say that 80% of pastors don’t make it. I believe that God, in His grace, is forcing the brakes in our lives so that we will make it, in His time.

So we’re going to take a break. Take some trips. Get some rest. And then, prayerfully, we’re going to look at the possibility of me going to school for an extended season of learning.

We love the youth here. It has been a heart-breaking decision to step back from teaching them, and learning from them. And we hope that God will give us creative ways to stay involved in your lives...

Happy Birthday, Mom

2007-10-03T10:50:00.000-04:00

I listened to a fantastic message yesterday about mommies (iTunes podcast URL here). It was the mother's day message from Mars Hill church in Seattle, by pastor Mark Driscoll, who I've been learning a lot from. It made me thankful for my mom, and excited about the future and seeing my wife become a mommy too.

Here are some photos from when we gave my mom her birthday present, Gracie.

Mom, you're awesome :0)

Quick Post With The Happenings

2007-09-28T06:32:00.000-04:00

It's 6:30 in the morning and I've already been up for a while....

There are a million and one things that are in my heart and that I want to write about, but they'll have to wait until I have time. In the meantime, here are a couple of quick notes:

Today is Stephanie's birthday! Call her and tell her that you love her!

God has really been changing up our plans and our lives. It's been good, bad, and painful :0)

We're more serious than ever about the possibility of going to seminary. Right now, the most likely choice is Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Got a suggestion?

Steve Fee re-released "Burn For You" as "We Shine" on INO records. Looks like the ol' boy is hitting it big. The song list looks almost the same, with the addition of "Happy Day" (from Tim Hughes?) and "Lift High". Now they're just calling themselves "Fee". Wow. Catchy.

Been listening to a LOT of Mark Driscoll while working. I do believe that God is raising up a new generation of dudes who get it. Click here to subscribe to the podcast.

Steph and I hung out at the beach after work the other day (we're dog-sitting like five minutes away). I'm no professional photographer, but her are a few shots:

More on the 'emerging' discussion

2007-09-24T10:38:00.000-04:00

J.D. Greear writes about his experience at the convergent conference at Southeastern this past weekend.

I'd be jealous if he just got to go to the conference.... but he was a speaker and got to spent the weekend with Mark Driscoll, which makes me green with envy.

He notes some really interesting and important things about the 'emerging' issues in the Church:

At SEBTS he discussed, in full detail, the emerging church movement. His perspective is unusual in that he addresses thing from the inside, having started out this process aligned with all the variant streams of the emerging church. He identifies 3 streams now...

"Wholesome Wear"

2007-09-21T08:50:00.001-04:00

I saw this at RagamuffinSoul and I just couldn't help myself :0)

Funny Driscoll Quote

2007-09-19T14:29:00.000-04:00

I've been listening to Mark Driscoll a fair bit lately. (I highly recommend that you subscribe to the podcast)

Today I was listening to a teaching about scripture -- where it comes from, how to approach it, etc.

Here's a rough quote:

I listened to several hours of 'christian' radio last week. I don' t do that very often because then I say things that I have to repent of.

He made me chuckle because I understand where he's coming from.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

You love me.... you really love me

2007-09-15T10:54:00.000-04:00

So, I just realized something...

There are like 25 comments on this blog from the past several months, and I wasn't aware of any of them...

"Why?" you ask.... good question.

I used to get an email whenever someone, like you, would leave a comment, but I just discovered a backlog of about 5 months worth of those emails in my 'spam' box...

So, especially to Stephen and Shannon... sorry dudes. I wasn't ignoring you.

Darn you blogger! Darn you!!!

"Emerging" vs "Emergent"

2007-09-14T18:02:00.000-04:00

Here's a great explanation of some confusing terms from a very trustworthy dude:

Should believers do yoga?

2007-09-14T15:43:00.000-04:00

Interesting conversation here. I don't know much about yoga, but I think I agree with both of them... which pretty much means I don't know :0)

What do you think?

O Church, Arise

2007-09-14T08:48:00.000-04:00

You've probably never heard of Keith and Kristyn Getty.

But you've probably heard of the song "In Christ Alone", which they wrote and which has become famous all over the world...

Stephanie and I went to chapel at Southeastern yesterday (that's an entirely different blog post... I'll have to keep you in suspense for a while :0), and lead worshiper went on and on about the power and beauty of the hymn-like songs that the Gettys have written. He lead us in a song called "O Church, Arise". I was blown away. You could tell me that it was written 200 years ago by Charles Spurgeon and I wouldn't think twice. When I got back to work, I immediately downloaded it on iTunes, and listened to it about a dozen times while I worked.

The chapel speaker yesterday, Dr. Akin, got me really excited when he said that every great revival in history has been accompanied by powerful, theologically sound hymns (that's the word he used, though I guess 'songs' would be more fair). He also said that a new generation of worship music is on the rise...

I think he might be right. Check out this first verse from "O Church, Arise":

O church, arise and put your armor on;
Hear the call of Christ our captain;
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given.
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We'll stand against the devil's lies;
An army bold whose battle cry is "Love!"
Reaching out to those in darkness.

I would post the rest, but I guess that would be illegal, so follow the links and see for yourself.

Aslan is on the move...

'Bourne' a spiritual metaphor

2007-09-12T08:02:00.000-04:00

Lately, I have been seeing Biblical Truth everywhere I look. EVERYTHING seems to point me to the reality of my own deficiency -- along with everyone else's -- and the glory of God's incredible redemption story. (So far, nothing touches 'Lost' for a wealth of information about how EVERYONE has a story)

A few weeks ago, Steph and I went to see the latest Bourne flick. We loved it, and I had some neat thoughts about the spiritual parallels, but this morning I found a great post that says it much better than I ever could.
Have a look over at the 'jolly blogger':

http://jollyblogger.typepad.com/jollyblogger/2007/08/two-ways-of-see.html

so far, pt. 2

2007-09-12T06:03:00.000-04:00

*Let me begin by clarifying that by putting quotes around ‘Palagian heresy’, I’m not saying it isn’t heresy, and by referencing Erwin, I’m not affirming that everything he teaches and believes is good and true. Follow me through this series of posts, and if you have concerns at the end, I most definitely want to know.

It’s as if life and reality are becoming a little clearer every day... I’m becoming more alive. And I’m trying to figure out whether I like this process.
About three weeks ago, Steph and I were at one of our favorite high-end restaurants, Chic-fil-a, and we saw this woman walking through the parking lot, who was obviously homeless. This isn’t a shocking site in Durham or Raleigh, but it’s actually pretty rare in Henderson, which is where we were visiting my folks. We decided to chase her down and buy her lunch in the hopes that we could talk to her a little bit -- learn from her, pray for her, and hopefully even share the Gospel with her.

I’ll spare you the long version of the story, mostly because I never read long posts and I don’t expect you to either... but the short version is that this woman was OUT THERE. She told us that her name is ‘walking song’. She is a spirit collector. She sees these spirits sitting on people’s heads. They go from person to person, and some people have more than one. She collects them. She believed in Jesus, but said that there are many Jesus’. The one in the Bible is different than the one who will come back some day. And there’s another Jesus still who is alive in the world today.

Now, depending on who you are, you read this encounter differently. My belief might surprise you: I believe she’s right, in a way... not about the different Jesus and stuff, but I believe that when she says ‘spirit’, she means ‘demon’, and that she is possessed by many of them, and sees them active in the world.

If you were to paint this hypothetical situation for me, and ask me what I would do, I would probably say, with sincerity, that I would preach the Truth to this woman. I would pray over her and cast the demons out of her. I would bring her to Jesus to be healed and delivered.
But you know what: I was there, and more than anything, I just wanted to give her a hug. I wanted to cry. And -- brace yourself, here it comes -- I think that’s because I’m just a little more like Jesus than I used to be.

Please Pray For Jack

2007-09-11T08:52:00.001-04:00

Hey folks,

I just received this email from a leader in our church. Please don't get distracted by how long it looks. It took me 2 minutes to read it.

Please stop and take 5 minutes to lift this guy up in prayer:

I sold land to someone names Jack Rafac. His wife is Delores. He’s lived a rough life, from abandonment as a baby, to carnivals, to Chicago Hell’s Angels, to prison, to homicide, to informant, now under Witness Protection Plan. He looks rough. He is rough. But he’s got a little boy’s heart in him. He just wants to be cared about and loved. I am the only person he trusts in this world, other than Delores. He’s quite poor, making a living in the junk-world business, with a little government assistance per month. He has never missed a payment.

Jack was recently diagnosed with some form of liver cancer. They gave him a few years. He was optimistic and was preparing a plan to take care of Delores. He collapsed today and is now in the emergency room at Mariah Parham. Beth and I had just invited them to come to our house this week to bathe and to eat lunch with us. We were going to buy them some new clothes. He had agreed to let me share the gospel with him for at least an hour without interrupting me. (He loves to talk….)

Please pray that he will live long enough for me to see him in the hospital. Pray that he will live long enough to make that trip to our home. Pray that salvation will over take him when I share with him. Pray for Delores, too.

Are we all fundamentally good?

2007-09-08T10:33:00.000-04:00

This is a letter to the editor of the N.C. State newspaper, the Technician, that I wrote several years ago when I was a student there. I'm posting it because I reference it in the post below, "So Far, Pt. 1", think of it as a footnote, except above instead of below. The discussions I've seen lately about being 'good' makes it particularly relevant these days. What prompted me to write this was an article by a student who basically made the argument, "Wasn't Jesus a liberal?" This is my response:

I am writing in response to Isaac Tripp’s article, “Liberals have morals, too”, from February 23, 2005. I think he makes an important point, and as someone who classifies himself as a conservative Christian and a supporter of our president, I agree with the majority of his argument. I applaud the way he stated his point and, for the most part, managed to avoid unnecessary, overstated remarks about those who don’t share his opinion.
I am not writing in defense of the ‘moral right’ or the Christian faith, but I do feel compelled to point out a miserably unfounded statement that he made that I feel reflects a common misconception about the teaching of the Bible and it’s subject, Jesus.
Mr. Tripp begins his article by presenting his working definition of liberalism as: "a political philosophy based on the belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties." That’s fair enough, but then he asks a semi-rhetorical question, which is what I’m responding to, “After all, wasn't Jesus the ultimate liberal?”
Now, before you break out your iBook and start writing me an email, allow me to clarify: I don’t care about the word ‘liberal’. That fact that Mr. Tripp links Jesus to this word is not what bothers me. Nor am I claiming that ‘liberal’, as defined, is not something good. My problem is precisely this: Jesus, and the entire Bible for that matter, taught and continues to teach almost the exact opposite of ‘the belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual…’.
The fundamental teaching that true Christianity is founded on is that man is not essentially good. Quite to the contrary, in Jeremiah 17:9, it says, “The heart (of man) is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? And the prophet Isaiah declares in Isaiah 64:6, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” The entire book of Romans, particularly chapters 5-8, is an exposition of how it is absolutely impossible for man to be good in God’s eyes.
To those who would object that we are made in God’s image, I point you back to the garden of Eden. Up until the day that Adam and Eve dropped the ball for all humanity, the definition of ‘liberal’ above was fairly accurate. But since that day, it simply doesn’t work.
As Easter approaches next month, let us not forget that Jesus Christ came to earth and died the barbaric death He endured precisely because it was the only way we could ever be ‘good’. As the Apostle Paul explained it in Romans 5:18-19, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.”
In closing, I offer a strong challenge from the bottom of my heart to the ‘moral right’ and particularly to the Christians on our campus: Liberals, non-Christians, homosexuals, and anybody else you want to throw into that pot are not good… And neither are you… And neither am I. There are two types of people in this world, those who have chosen to be forgiven, and those who haven’t. When the ‘moral right’, and (my own opinion here) Christians in general, are known more for what we are against and who we condemn, than what we believe and stand on, something is very wrong. I would venture to guess that this is sitting in print next to another response to Mr. Tripp from a well-meaning Christian that basically says, “We’re right, you’re wrong, and you don’t know what you’re talking about because you don’t know what the Bible says.” I can’t wait for the day when that energy and time goes into serving someone instead.

-Zack Riesland
Senior, Computer Science

so far, pt. 1

2007-09-08T10:29:00.000-04:00

*I usually don't have time to write anything very meaningful, and I want to force myself to, because I think it's a really healthy exercise, so this is part one of what I think will probably be a lengthy series of posts. The title is 'so far', because with every day I live, I see things just a little differently, and this is what I see, so far. I would LOVE to hear your feedback/thoughts! *end disclaimer

I’m not sure what my goal is writing this right now. It seems like I haven’t had time to even think insightfully in a long time, and I think that somehow, writing makes it easier.
...well, I suppose that’s not true. I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I think I just don’t have time to think all the way through anything. In fact, I’ve been wrestling with this suspicion that if I did think through this stuff to the logical end, my life would probably get turbulent... again

I’m happy to report that I feel very alive these days, also very human. I’m less happy to report the ‘human’ part. It’s a very bittersweet thing, being human. Lately I’ve been reading and hearing about this ‘Palagian heresy’. In short, there’s this dude from history who didn’t like Augustin’s prayer, “Lord, command what You will, but grant what You command.” He said that’s it’s an absurd prayer, because God puts in all of us the innate ability to accomplish anything that God commands from us. And he even goes a step further and says that that means that we all have some good in us. And that’s where the ‘heresy’ comes from. Many people today -even followers of Jesus - believe that humans, deep down, are good, or at least we have some good. I actually wrote an editorial in the NC State newspaper about this when I was in college. The Bible is clear that there is no good in us. None whatsoever.
But that’s all kind of a rabbit trail. My point in diverging is that as I get a little older, and hopefully just a little bit wiser, I’m learning that theology doesn’t meet reality as simply as we would like it to. I most truly believe that there is no good in any of us. And yet, to steal the imagery from Erwin McMannus, I have these cravings inside of me that honestly feel like there is some good in them. And I see them in other people too.
To be continued...

some various thoughts pt. 2

2007-08-31T06:22:00.001-04:00

There are a TON of great learning resources out there these days.

Andy Stanley at Northpoint is doing a really powerful and convicting series on wealth. You can download or watch the messages for free here
Shaun Groves redesigned his website and keeps a really provocative blog here. He also does a podcast, in which here recently interviewed one of my favorite musicians, Derek Webb. Get that here.
Elevation Church in Charlotte has lots and lots of stuff available for free. Their pastor, Steven Furtick, is very young and very rough around the edges, but he's been really challenging me about what church is/can be. They have a newly tricked-out resource page where you can watch/listen to the sermons here.

I love my wife. A lot. I don't know what I did before God gave her to me.

Lost is a very cool show, and I have come to believe that a pastor could use it as his soul source for illustrations and never run short. Everyone has a story. If you believe that, it will change your life.

I really want to serve Jesus full-time.

That makes me really discontent with computer jobs.

I am now the proud owner of a very funny DMV story/experience/memory. Ask me sometime. And pray for the lady that helped me when I went to get my license renewed.

I've been really, really missing good friends. Y'all come closer!!!!

Pray for my friend 'bob'

2007-08-31T05:26:00.000-04:00

I have a friend who I spent a good chunk of time with when I was in Central Asia. His name is...

Well, let's call him 'Bob' just to be safe (in the picture above, 'bob' is on the right, and yes, believe it or not, I am on the left).

'Bob' was faithfully discipled for over a year after he gave his life to Christ, and for a while, he was bearing all kinds of fruit.

But when pressure from the oppressive government of his country started to cramp down, he really backed off. He started dating a non-believer, and recently he sent me an email and said that he is now married to her.

Here is the response I received ('Dad' is how we write about God):

Do you remember Manzura?! Is this she whom I got married .

I will send you pics. I am still in '_______'.

I work at Tour Agency. I'm doing well.

Walk with Dad not so well man, ask Him to be better.

With his love, love you.

Some various thoughts

2007-08-30T10:24:00.000-04:00

Over 2 years later, "United We Stand" by Hillsong United is still the best thing I've ever had on my ipod.

I need Jesus more than the air I breathe.

Being grown up is expensive.

Life goes by really fast.

Celebrating your victories is essential.

Good friends are more valuable than you think.

Brian Regan's new DVD is not nearly as good as his previous stuff.

Church life can be very painful.

The Gospel is very simple, and has nothing to do with politics, religion, or personal preferences.

Following Jesus is the most exciting and fulfilling thing you can imagine.

Stress is a very bad thing, and always destructive.

Insecurity is worse, and may be the most powerful tool of Satan against the Church -- collectively and individually.

I miss going to concerts... especially small ones.

Words are really, really powerful... for good and for destruction.

'Expelled'

2007-08-26T07:32:00.000-04:00

Have you heard about Ben Stein's new movie coming out next year? It's called 'Expelled'.

If you go to the website, the flash intro has this quote:

If people think God is interesting, the onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about. Otherwise they should just shut up about it.

So I'm sure the first thought through your head is, "Great, another movie bashing the intelligence of those who believe in God."

But it's actually just the opposite.

It's about how people in scientific community who question Darwinism are immediately 'expelled'. Noone is allowed to consider Darwinism.

I'm really excited about it!

There's also a blog devoted to it here

disturbingly true (and kind of funny)

2007-08-21T08:46:00.000-04:00

This guy (I seriously don't know who this is, just a link of a link of a link) has a really interesting, creative post called "Excuse me while I single-handedly neutralize al-quaeda".

See if you can figure out what he's hinting at:

http://branthansen.typepad.com/letters_from_kamp_krusty/2007/08/excuse-me-while.html

I heart N.Y.

2007-08-20T14:13:00.000-04:00

Steph took me to the Big Apple last weekend.

Here are a few shots from the trip.

If you want the stories too, you'll have to have us over for dinner or something ;0)

Zhang Shuhong

2007-08-13T17:27:00.000-04:00

Here's a story from Forbes that adds a little perspective on where our hope lies, and gives me yet another reason that I'm so thankful to have been born and raised in America.

Zhang Shuhong ran a toy company in China that sells in America under the name Fisher-Price. Thousands of their toys had to be recalled recently because of huge amounts of lead found in the paint on the toys. The pressure and humiliation that this created for him led him to suicide.

Read the story, and as you do, ask yourself the questions:

Where did his hope lie?

Where does mine?

Some pics from katie's wedding (finally)

2007-08-09T17:52:00.000-04:00

I finally got my hands on some of the photos from Katie's wedding besides the ones that I took.

More to come...

Kristian Stanfill

2007-08-09T08:20:00.000-04:00

Kristian Stanfill has been a lead worshipper at 722 for a long time. It's a general rule that whichever songs he uses during worship will eventually become favorites of mine. But occasionally he leads songs that I've never heard and can't seem to find anywhere... these are usually songs that he's written himself.

When I gave up on finding them on CDs anywhere, I just hijacked the audio from the web streams and wore them out. But now there's a new EP available, and I want to make sure you know about it. It's awesome!

Go to his myspace, listen to 'Beautiful Jesus' and 'Spring of Life', and then go search his name on iTunes and buy his new EP, called 'Hello'.

Do it now :0)

Need your opinion

2007-08-08T09:58:00.000-04:00

I'm re-designing me and Steph's "we're newlyweds and this is where we keep our pictures and tell you what's new in our lives" blog.

The current version is at http://www.therieslands.com. This address points to a blogger account that looks pretty crappy.

Apparently I'm a bad judge of these things. Steph never likes the templates I like.

I moved our stuff over to a wordpress account at http://therieslands.wordpress.com. Once I get it all prettied up, I'll point therieslands.com to that address.

Wordpress makes it really easy to switch between a lot of nice templates, so I want your opinion! Please go take a look and let me know what you think about the current theme, and in a few days I'll try a new one.

Eventually we'll settle on the one everybody likes the most :0)

Thanks baby

2007-08-07T08:52:00.000-04:00

I share things with my wife that I don't usually tell people. Recently, I mentioned to her that I was always a little disappointed in college, because I went to tons of fun birthday parties, but everybody was always home for the summer when my birthday rolled around.

Well, apparently she took this information to heart... she started planning a party for me, which happened yesterday. She invited my whole family, cleaned our house from top to bottom, and made my Mom's lasagna recipe for dinner (one of my favorites... and no small undertaking).

Not only did I have an awesome time enjoying my family, but I think I can say that my loot (i.e. gifts) this year were the best ever.

I got two books I really wanted:

The title "Sex God" probably gives you a funny look on your face, and makes you wonder exactly what effect too much Starbucks can have on a soul. But rest assured, it is not a modern version of the Kama Sutra, but a masterful exposition by one of my favorite Bible teachers, Rob Bell, about how everything in life -- including sex -- was designed by God to point us up to Him. Rob's last book, Velvit Elvis, fundamentally changed my life. I read it twice, and then bought the audio book off iTunes and listened to it some more. If this is the first time you've ever heard of Rob, then you also need to know about Nooma. 'Nough said

"Blue Like Jazz", by Donald Miller, is a book I have heard nothing but great things about, and I'm excited that I'm finally going to get to read it!

I started on 'Sex God' last night, and I'll probably finish it in a hurry, but "Soul Cravings", by Erwin McManus, would have been at the top of my list if I hadn't just bought a couple of weeks ago. I'm mentioning it because you need to pick it up too :-)

I also got some new jeans (much needed), and a pair of shoes that I've been lusting over for at least a year.

As if that weren't enough to make a boy very happy, Steph made me a framed scrapbook of sorts, with pictures and articles and memories from our whole first year together, and... oh yeah, she's taking me to New York this weekend.

Y'all... God is good and my wife is the best gift I ever got :0)

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

good quote

2007-08-06T09:11:00.000-04:00

I read this quote on the 'Thinklings' blog this morning:

"Real Christians are marked by sincerity—the whole truth about themselves and the whole truth about God. Real Christians stand before people the way they stand before God—transparent and vulnerable. Anything less is a dressed-up Gospel."

- John Fischer

i want to go to this conference

2007-08-03T12:30:00.001-04:00

It's called 'Southern Baptists and Calvinism' and it's at Ridgecrest in the fall :0)

everybody loses everything on earth -- someday

2007-08-03T07:24:00.000-04:00

That's a quote from Piper in his sermon "Where Is God", which is a response to catastrophic occurrences like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina.

Piper is the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minnesota. They are so close to the bridge that collapsed that you can see the lights of rescue crews from the church.

They sent their video crews out to capture some of what's going on out there, with some audio from the 'Where Is God' sermon spliced in. Here's an excerpt:

Famines, pestilence, persecution -- these happen so that the world will see that followers of Jesus count Christ more precious than everything they've lost -- and discover that He can be that for them, because one day they're going to lose everything. Everybody loses everything on earth, some day.

Thoughts on the bridge from piper, whose church is a mile away

2007-08-02T11:29:00.000-04:00

Read this

'FanMail' by KJ52

2007-08-01T17:34:00.000-04:00

Pray for our brothers and sister being held hostage

2007-08-01T08:37:00.001-04:00

I don't know if you've read this anywhere, but a couple dozen Korean missionaries to Afghanistan have been held hostage for several days now, and at least two of them have been killed.

The deadline that their kidnappers gave has come and gone, which leaves their fate uncertain (from a worldly perspective).

Please keep them in prayer:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200708/200708010038.html

Spiritual Thought of the Day - 7/27

2007-07-27T14:22:00.001-04:00

This reminds me of one time when I was at 'Big Break' with Campus Crusade in Panama City Beach.
We went in teams to witness to tipsy college students on the beach every day (which was actually a great experience). One day I got paired with this freshman who was still pretty innocent with regard to sharing his faith. At the end of the day I noticed, for the first time, that his hat said, "I'm not arrogant, I'm just smarter than you."

Baptist Press article about UZ exchange student

2007-07-27T09:03:00.000-04:00

Check out this awesome article. It really highlights what's involved and at stake for many Central Asians.

Here's an excerpt:

When Sherzod, who recently graduated from Jacksonville (Ark.) High School, telephoned his Muslim parents in Uzbekistan to tell them of his newfound faith, his father disowned him, making it clear he was no longer welcome in his home and was never again to speak to his mother or his siblings. He withdrew all funds from Sherzod's U.S. bank account, arranged to cancel his son's U.S. sponsorship and college scholarship and even drew up legal papers declaring Sherzod is no longer his son.

As devastating as that must be for an 18-year-old, Sherzod remains strong in his commitment to Christ.

"I am not sorry I accepted Christ," he said. "I am not sorry for getting baptized. Even though my parents did that, I am not sorry for anything that happened."

how'd they do it?

2007-07-26T14:39:00.000-04:00

Check out this story about a family in NJ who had a backyard pool stolen during the night.

Having a pool stolen is no big deal I suppose, but it had 1,000 gallons of water in it, and nobody can figure out what happened to it. See for yourself:

Click here

Pray for the former Soviet Union

2007-07-26T08:53:00.001-04:00

Here's yet another article about how oppressive things are becoming in Central Asia. I also read that reporters from two of the best news sources for the truth about what's going on there were recently arrested and taken to a military prison.

Praise God for our freedom, and pray for theirs!

PB&J Campaign

2007-07-25T14:43:00.000-04:00

What do you think: http://itotd.com/articles/642/the-pb&j-campaign/

yet another reason why today is a good day

2007-07-24T14:26:00.000-04:00

So, every couple of weeks, I head down to the 'quicky lube' -- or whatever it's called -- and the nice people there change my oil.

And of course they punch my car into their handy-dandy computer and tell me all the things I should pay them to fix... which is sometimes helpful and usually just makes it a tad bit harder to sleep at night.

This past time, they gave me this rediculous checklist and basically told me that my car needs some serious internal surgery -- to which I said, "Oh gosh, I'll have to have that looked at some time," but politely declined when they offered to get started for a reasonable fee.

Well, yesterday Dad took the car to the Toyota dealership where he works and some of his trusted friends took a look just to see if there are any major problems. Last night he called me to tell me the damage. Here's how the conversation started:

Dad: "Hey son, how are you doing?"

Me: "Good. We're just getting ready to have a little dinner."

Dad: "Hmmm... I have some information about your car. Do you want me to call back after dinner?"

Me: "Eek. No - What's the damage?"

Dad: "Have a seat and get a pen."

He proceeded to tell me that I need a new radiator, rear axle, brake lines, rack and pinion system, O-rings, gaskets, oil pan, some kind of valve... oh and windshield wipers

- which is going to cost a grand total of $1,050 -- with his 'hey cut my son a break' discount...

How do you plan for that one in the ol' budget?

Mom's trip pics

2007-07-24T11:33:00.000-04:00

Mom took a trip back west to visit most of her 11 brothers and sisters a couple of weeks ago. The quite extensive St. George clan is a beautiful bunch of folks. Have a look:

Wanna help African Pastors?

2007-07-20T09:27:00.000-04:00

Desiring God has some info about how you can put good theology in the hands of those who teach the Church in Africa:

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/732/

Home Alone

2007-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

So, my wife is out of town without me for the first time since we've been married.

This isn't the first time we've been apart -- I took our youth group to camp for a few days. But this is the first time that I've been the one home alone.

I'm a bachelor for the first time in over a year.

I don't know what to do.

Last night I came home after church, ate some leftover chinese and a bowl of cereal, and watched half of 'White Chicks'. I didn't really enjoy it, I just didn't want to go to bed alone. I even thought about sleeping on the couch...

Thank you Jesus, for my wife :0)

Come home soon honey!

This is why I want to work at DG

2007-07-18T14:48:00.001-04:00

Great advice from Mark Driscoll

2007-07-16T08:35:00.000-04:00

An awesome pastor and emerging church pioneer offers the following advice for people in ministry to deal with stress in part 9 of his series called 'Death By Ministry'.

Another piece of perspective

2007-07-13T15:35:00.001-04:00

http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=2029

A great opportunity to give

2007-07-13T11:56:00.001-04:00

Via the DG Blog:

http://www.frontiersonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Pakistan_Cyclone_Floods

Transformers and the Vatican

2007-07-11T09:14:00.000-04:00

Last night, Steph and I celebrated 5 (awesome) months of marriage by going to see Transformers.

Those of you who know me well know that it's hard to get me to be over-the-top about a movie. I gave "Pirates 1" a 9, "Pirates 2" a 6, and "Pirates 3" a 7. I gave "Spiderman 3" a 7. All of the LOTR movies together get about a 9.

I don't like my movies to be too predictable, cheesy, cliche, boring or exhausting.

I'm a tough customer.

I give Transformers a 13. They knocked it out of the park. I love everything about it. It was funny, witty, exciting... it shows off the new Camaro that's coming out soon... it has a great message... and it's just fantastic enough that I didn't care how realistic it was. Go see it -- today.

And on a completely unrelated note, something very important came from the Vatican yesterday.

Read about it here. And here. Share you thoughts. I'll share mine :0)

Here's a snippet, in case you're tempted to skip reading the link:

With Pope Benedict XVI's blessing, the Vatican released a document Tuesday that said the Catholic Church is the one true church and other Christian bodies shouldn't be called churches.

Farley Lives!

2007-07-05T09:06:00.000-04:00

Awesome Video From "Astronomy Picture/Video Of The Day"

2007-07-02T15:49:00.000-04:00

Hey boys and girls!

If you don't check out the 'Astronomy Picture of the Day' on a regular basis, you are missing out!

Check this out*: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0707/pelicanzoom_alves.mov

*Be patient: It'll take a couple of minutes...

Another Reason To Be Thankful We Are Americans

2007-06-22T13:20:00.001-04:00

Have a look and then stop and thank God for everything you have :0)

$5 Books at DesiringGod.org

2007-06-22T08:29:00.001-04:00

The Desiring God blog is advertising that this coming Wednesday and Thursday, ALL BOOKS available through the website will be $5. No limits. No conditions.

This, friends, is why my wife should control my credit cards...

May I suggest my top five picks*:

This one

This one

This one

This one

and

This one (for which this blog is named :0)

*These are in no particular order for two reasons: 1 - It would take me all morning to decided, and 2 - They all pretty much say the same thing...

Read and enjoy!

Ruth Graham Memorial Website

2007-06-18T17:29:00.000-04:00

Ruth Graham was possible one of the most important women of the 20th century.
There have been lots of folks who have written extremely thoughtful blog posts about the life and legacy of Ruth Graham. If don't subscribe to Piper's blog at DesiringGod.org, have a look at his thoughts here. You can also see the thoughts of his wife, Noel, here.

Someone had the awesome idea of making a memorial website to Ruth Graham where you can read about her life, legacy, and the impact she left in the world. You can even order a FREE copy of a book that is in the works, which is a collection of her writings. Go here and have a look: https://www.billygraham.org/RBG_default.asp

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you...

2007-06-18T15:14:00.001-04:00

The 'butterfly nebula': http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0706/m2-9motivo_corradi.gif

Someone try and tell me God isn't creative :0)

Oh, and try and take it easy commenting on that last post. You're going to take down the Google server... Geeze!

Survey

2007-06-12T17:54:00.001-04:00

Alright people. I want your feedback on something. I'll explain why I'm asking this in the future -- I don't want to taint your honest response for now -- but I want y'all to respond with your thoughts on a really important question:

What is my number one purpose in life?

I want to keep the question as simple and ambiguous as possible -- again, so as not to influence your honest response -- but I do want to clarify that very general/vague answers will not be very helpful. I'll also tip the scale just a little bit and acknowledge that 'to glorify God and enjoy Him forever' is already well ingrained in my head, but if you're planning to go that direction, please help me out by clarifying what that means to you :0)

This will hopefully be interesting. You can click the number next to the title to post a comment/response!

Thanks!

8 Posts I'll Write When I Get Some 'Free' Time

2007-06-07T09:17:00.000-04:00

Hey Folks,

I've been neglecting ye ol' blog lately, but for what it's worth, it's been to focus on being faithful at work and as a hubby...

There are a lot of things I'd like to write though. I usually write them in my head on the way to work. Some day they'll make it up here. Here's what a few of them will be:

1 - Buy 'Hope And Decay' by my friend Shelly. You can get it on iTunes. It's got some great thoughts and perspective, and a ton of excellence.

2 - Dear Jack Bauer

3 - Dear Starbucks, here's the way I see it...

4 - God gave us a HOUSE!!! Holy guacamole...

5 - Dear Uncle Mike

6 - Dear Southern Baptist Convention

7 - Blogs I like to read

8 - Sermon Jams Make Me Happy :0)

Wedding Album Online

2007-06-06T13:50:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,

I know we have been really, really slow getting our wedding pictures and stuff together... What can I say? Life comes at you fast!

Have a look at this wedding album that our photographer from always.autumn.studios did for us:

http://www.alwaysautumnstudios.com/rieslandalbum/

If you don't read JDGreear.com, you probably should

2007-06-01T13:24:00.000-04:00

I am consistently challenged, equipped and encouraged by pastor J.D. Greear's blog. This post is particularly of interest to me, as someone passionate about the Church. He talks about sitting down with Bill Hybels.

A highlight:

"A church ought to be diverse IN EVERY WAY that its community is diverse if it is to properly be called an Acts 2 church."

New Photos

2007-06-01T10:02:00.000-04:00

In case you don't check TheRieslands.com very often, there are some new photos up. Here's the slideshow:

Why I Want To Be Like Chris Tomlin (on the road to being like Jesus... which is much better :0)

2007-05-31T13:47:00.000-04:00

Open Letter To God

2007-05-30T15:28:00.000-04:00

It’s 7:37 at Starbucks. The music isn’t very nice, and it’s freezing cold in here, but the coffee’s good, and I need to hear what You have to say about some things...

Father, I have never been more certain that I have no idea what I’m doing -- at anything. I don’t know how to be a good husband, son, friend, brother... My spirit’s drying up. You’ve been trying to point that out to me. I know, I’m stubborn. By the way, is that a sinful side-effect of something good You wove into me? I’d sure like to know what’s up with my pride.

Anyways, I need some advice, Daddy. This life You’ve given me -- this whole concept of life that You’ve written -- it’s so fragile... and beautiful. But really fragile. I’m 24 Lord. A good third of my life is probably passed. And, as is usually the case when my focus gets off You and on me, I feel so torn.

I drive past dozens of hopeless people on the way to work every day. I read suicidal posts from almost hopelessly insecure teenagers. I see people spending a year’s income on a car they don’t want, just because they can’t see outside of their culture. The 20th century was the bloodiest ever. There’s war on every side. The American Church is bleeding.

The cost of the coffee I’m drinking could feed three starving Sudanees brothers in Christ for a day or more....

And I’m so afraid of being ashamed in heaven. I don’t want to have tears for Jesus to wipe away from my eyes. (Is that wrong?)
And here’s what I just don’t understand: I think You’ve been trying to show me that that’s stubborn and prideful. It’s impatient. It’s a good impatience though, isn’t it? I want You to make all things new right now! Today! I want Your purposes in my life accomplished to their climax right now!

God! How can I feel good about spending 50 hours a week writing a property tax database system? How can I be fully alive without a circle of brothers? How can my wife be fully alive without a circle of sisters? Is it healthy to be so poured out with nothing pouring in? Is this fire in my bones a call to full-time ministry? Isn’t it more manly and soldier-like to be all things to all men? Doesn’t Your Holy Spirit in me make me a superman? Would You could you call us to a place in life where we are anything less than thriving? I think the answer is no. But if that’s true, then why does it feel so uncomfortable to wrestle with this stuff? And why is the thought of letting someone down so painful to me?

You made clear to me last year that You don’t need me for anything. You don’t need me for the purposes You have planned in my wife, my church fellowship, or my family. So why do I feel so burdened? What’s the balance? Is it possible that I’m trying so hard to help that I’m in the way?
If that’s the case, then what’s next? Isn’t it selfish to want to go spend 4 more years learning when there’s already so much waiting to explode out of me? Is it prideful to try to avoid it?
My vision hasn’t been clear in so long Lord.
What are the steps to go from here to fully alive?

Some New Photos For Ya

2007-05-21T14:13:00.000-04:00

Debate Followup

2007-05-16T16:18:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago I pointed you to an upcoming debate between Ray Comfort and the 'Rational Response Team'.

It happened. It wasn't pretty...

Here's a good post from a pastor about his take on it:

http://www.sbcoutpost.com/2007/05/10/knowin-when-to-foldem/

Boring Mother's Day? Try Beating Up An Elderly Woman...

2007-05-15T08:57:00.000-04:00

At least, that's what one woman did at a Golden Corral in Ohio. She attacked a 56-year-old woman for yelling at her baby.

When all was said and done, 15 people were involved, several were hospitalized, and 5 went to jail.

Ah, memories...

I have just two thoughts:

1 - The only hope for our culture is Jesus

2 - I hope my wife throws down to stand up for my baby one day :0)

Holy Cow! Go Steve Go!

2007-05-11T11:02:00.000-04:00

Check out this blog post from pastor Steven Furtick. It lights me up!

Key quotes:

Because of the perception of Pastoral ministry we’ve perpetuated, the sharpest and highest potential young leaders in our country go on to do other things with their lives.
After all, who wants to give the best years of their lives to keeping a committee of angry white deacons happy about the carpet color and the type of flowers in the vestibule?

Nevertheless, I’m encouraged.
Currently in the body of Christ there is a new generation of Joshua pastors rising up.
They often look more like youth pastors than pastors.
They say words like sucks and crap, and they probably shouldn’t.
They are rough around the edges, they don’t always get it right, but they’d rather fail aggressively than simply exist passively.
They might not have the best bedside manner, but they have a fire in their bones to preach God’s Word with no apologies.

Pictures and Such

2007-05-11T09:55:00.000-04:00

Alright people, I still haven't heard anything about the video I pointed you to in the last post. I know it takes a whole 3 minutes to watch it, but I'm excited to hear what you think!

Also, there are lots of new pictures. Eventually, I'll change the template on this blog and get some photos up for ya, but for now, you can see some new church photos here:
http://www.acts242church.com/photos.html

and new Riesland pictures here:
http://www.therieslands.com

Time for some discussion

2007-05-10T09:13:00.000-04:00

So, I seriously thought about whether it would be beneficial to post this video. I just saw it on a website where you download 'visual liturgy' clips to incorporate into sermons and such...

I think I'd really like to see what kind of discussion we can have from it, on the condition that everyone understands:

I LOVE -- love, love, love the Church -- and I am the chief among sinners and hypocrites. Every fellowship among the Body of Christ has its issues, and we're all transitioning 'from one degree of glory to another'.

That said, how do you respond to this?

"The Innkeeper", by John Piper

2007-05-08T14:41:00.000-04:00

This made me tear up...

Another Reason To Appreciate America And Pray For Central Asia

2007-05-07T16:13:00.000-04:00

Here's a story that gives a little bit of clarity to why the U.N. calls Uzbekistan's government the 5th most corrupt in the world.

Abstract:

Farmers and officials in eastern Uzbekistan are likely to face criminal charges for growing crops that they can sell, instead of the cotton and wheat demanded by the state.

The case highlights the problems facing farmers in Uzbekistan, who in theory belong to the private sector but in practice are tied into Soviet-style rules under which they are bound to grow cotton and grain and sell it to the state at artificially low prices.

This is reality. In fact, all college and university students are FORCED to live out in the cotton fields for 5-10 weeks and pick a required yield of cotton every day in order to remain enrolled in school!

This is the type of persecution that believers there face. They are not always physically hurt (although it certainly happens... and WAY to often), but bullied by manipulation of the rules. For example:

“Last year, I was prevented from transferring money from my account to pay the institute where my son is studying,” he said. “Even though I had enough money in the account, I was forced to take out a loan at a high rate of interest.”

Take 10 minutes. Read the story. Pray for Central Asia. Thank God you were born in America...

Squirrels are Evil -- DCB is cool

2007-05-01T15:41:00.000-04:00

Atheism Debate: 5/5/07 on ABC

2007-05-01T09:01:00.000-04:00

A couple months ago, there was some controversy over a group of atheists who challenged people to film themselves denying the Holy Spirit and post it on YouTube in order to prove that they do not believe the teachings of the Bible.
In response, Ray Comfort called ABC and on May 5th, he and Kirk Cameron will debate with the people behind the 'Blasphemy Challenge' on national television about the existence of God.
Further, he promises not to speak use faith or the Bible in his argument .

You can read more about it here.

If you don't know who Ray Comfort is, he is pretty sharp and a great apologeticist (what word would I use there?). He hosts a cable show with Kirk Cameron called 'The Way of the Master', which is intended to educate and encourage believers to share their faith.
He does seem to fall into the trap of being fairly haughty about his experience. Sometimes I feel like his evangelism is prideful and misrepresents the love of Christ. He also is outspoken against 'The 4 Spiritual Laws' Gospel tracts that Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade For Christ) made famous, because he says that it is confusing, if not wrong, to tell someone that God has a wonderful plan for their life when there is so much pain and suffering in the world. I think this does more harm than good, and is probably not the best use of his time or skills... but overall he is doing awesome things for the kingdom. I have a good book he wrote called 'God Doesn't Believe in Atheists'.

So let's pray that he represents Christ well and that this debate is something that God will use to gain glory -- through the actual debate as well as all the water cooler conversations that will likely follow...

Oh, and here he explains some of the reasons why bananas are my favorite food :0)

Why this is NOT a bad day

2007-04-27T10:32:00.000-04:00

This article about what the past few weeks have been like for people in Uzbekistan is real reality check. This is what people around the world experience every day just for trying to follow Jesus. I encourage you to subscribe to the blog at www.Registan.net for perspective served up every day. It's usually more political than anything, but I benefit a lot from it.
Here's how the article begins:

Following a January raid on a private home in Nukus in north-western Uzbekistan where 18 Protestants had gathered, one of those present, Salauat Serikbayev, faces criminal trial for teaching religion illegally, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. There is a three year maximum sentence if convicted and the hearing is set for 24 April. The host of the meeting, Grigory Ten, was fined more than many local people earn in a year on 9 April, and his hymnbook was ordered to be confiscated. In the eastern city of Andijan, three members of the embattled church led by Dmitry Shestakov – imprisoned on 9 March – are also facing possible prosecution. In Samarkand police swooped on an outdoor Protestant Easter service. Several prominent Protestants are facing death threats and the daughter of one pastor was traumatised after being kidnapped by unknown young men.

Great Article About Worship

2007-04-26T12:42:00.000-04:00

I'm posting this on behalf of my friend Stephen, since he keeps his blog under a password :0(

He pointed to a great article from Christianity Today entitled, "It's All About Who, Jesus?"

This little blurb will let you know what you're in for:

When we're not affirming God for how well we're nurtured, our songs often congratulate ourselves on how well we respond to God's grace. Have you noticed how much we sing about how loud or passionately we sing? We talk a lot about what we're going to do—usually in the singular: I will worship, I will praise you, I will bow down, etc., etc. One beautiful and well-intentioned song even tells us that God thinks of "me above all."

As my professor friend says, "Begging your pardon: the only person who thinks of Me above all is Me."

If it's not in our singing, it's in our preaching. Whether it's contemporary meet-my-needs sermons or old-fashioned fire-and-brimstone, the focus seems to circle in the vicinity of getting our fine wide souls into heaven, and between now and then, into better circumstances here on earth. And yes, I may be overstating the case. But then again, am I?

Any thoughts?

New Template (scrubbin' with AJAX :-)

2007-04-26T11:26:00.000-04:00

So, Steph wasn't a big fan of the last template I was testing out. I think she didn't like all the dark colors...

So how 'bout this one? Any comments or suggestions?

Anybody Familiar with Blurb?

2007-04-26T09:34:00.000-04:00

I recently learned about this website, blurb.com, where you can use your own photos and ideas and put together a book that people can order online for reasonable prices.

Has anybody tried this? I think I would like to make a 'Perspective From Central Asia' book... Would anybody be interested if I did?

New Planet Discovered -- Similar To Earth

2007-04-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

This is an artist's mockup of a planet that was recently discovered about 20 light-years away. They say it is the most earth-like planet that we have found so far, and that its parent start (sun) is the right brightness and distance to make our climate possible.

Read more here

Harvest Crusade Coming in June

2007-04-20T13:36:00.000-04:00

Since the News and Observer is even talking about it, I thought I'd make sure that everyone knows that the Harvest Crusade is coming to Raleigh, June 22-24. Over the course of three nights, there will be music from Leeland, Third Day, Toby Mac, David Crowder Band, and others.

This is especially significant to me because Harvest Christian Church (in Riverside, Ca) is where I became a believer and went for almost 10 years. I even went to school there for a while. Greg Laurie is the pastor at Harvest and is a very gifted evangelist. I've been to probably 10 different crusades over the years and they are really awesome opportunity to expose a friend to the really simple Gospel Message. Let me know if you have any questions about the crusades!

A tunnel between Alaska and Russia? (!?!?)

2007-04-19T11:51:00.000-04:00

Apparently, it's a real possibility.

Read more here

New Post Over At TheRieslands.com

2007-04-17T10:07:00.001-04:00

Go see

Honey, Can I Go To Law School?

2007-04-13T15:53:00.000-04:00

Watch out for those chickens?

2007-04-13T09:29:00.000-04:00

An article on slashdot is saying that a new study 'confirms' that birds are the modern descendants of dinosaurs, and that the DNA of chickens (of all the modern animals currently cataloged) most closely resembles that of a tyrannosaur.

Read more here

I love chickens! They taste just like tyrannosaurs....

wait...

I'm confused...

The Seven Sisters

2007-04-13T08:57:00.000-04:00

Wow! Can I just say that today's Astronomy Picture of the Day will rock your socks off! No wonder Jesus said that if we don't worship, the rocks will cry out!

Kiva

2007-04-13T08:50:00.000-04:00

Has anyone ever used Kiva before?

I saw a special on 60 minutes that really intrigued me. In a nutshell, they provide a web interface that enables regular old folks like you and me to provide small loans to people in developing countries who want to start a business.

For example, you can provide a loan to a guy in Kenya who wants to advance his sheep farm. The web site connects you and enables you to negotiate the details, then you put up the money, and amazingly, people usually pay it back with interest. And you get the joy of helping someone fulfill a dream!

Most of these people are only looking for less than $2000. I'm really interested... but has anyone out there done this before?

Those silly Google programmers...

2007-04-11T15:16:00.000-04:00

Katie sent this to me. It's pretty cute...

Google Maps directions from New York, New York to Paris, France *

*read carefully, and click on the popup for #23 :0)

From Nichole Nordeman

2007-04-03T08:29:00.000-04:00

I listen to music almost all day while I'm at work. It's probably a bad idea, since I imagine that having headphones on all day isn't good for the ol' ears....

These couple of lines really stood out to me just now:

"At the end of myself and the end of the day,
I can find little else but the courage to say,
'I need you'
...that's all"

I'm learning that there's mature truth in that :0)

Good Friday Service This Friday Night

2007-03-30T14:56:00.000-04:00

I have the exciting privilege to do some teaching this Friday night (4/6) at our church (www.acts242church.com).

Please come if you can make it!

This Blows My Mind

2007-03-30T08:27:00.001-04:00

This is pretty funny

2007-03-28T09:04:00.000-04:00

This guy pulled a pretty funny fast one. It probably won't seem quite as ingenious if you're not a computer geek like me though:

http://mike.newsvine.com/_news/2007/03/26/633799-hacking-john-mccain