Lukewarm or on fire?

Over the past few years God has lead me on a journey to understand what living a Christian life truly is.  The western church has become a haven for "believers" that distort the Word of God and twist scriptures to fit our needs, wants, and desires.  Church attendee's look at the church no different than we would a country club we're trying to get membership in.  Do you have a youth group?  Do you have a nursery?  Do you have this..do you have that?  In the end is the teaching from God's word enough?  At the end of the day how challenged are we with God's word that it changes our lives? Are you lukewarm or are you on fire?

WOD - Angie

Since my poor wife and I overslept yesterday today's WOD was Angie.

100 Pull-ups

100 Push-ups

100 Sit-ups

100 Squats

Good grief!  We couldnt pick an easy WOD instead we went for the 100 Reps of death.  My finishing time was 22:08.  Probably not going to break any records with that time but the important part is I did finish.  Im going to be sore today from the Squats...i just know it.....

Don't Feel Connected To Your Home Church???

Lately I've been hearing the question, "Why don't I feel connected to my church?"  As I speak to folks I've adopted the the "Driscoll Method" which asks two simple questions.  How much did you give last year and in what area of the church do you serve in?  Usually folks are turned off by the first question that we never get to the second question.  The question is simply meant for us to consider the mindset we have in regards to the purpose behind our church family. I'm always amused when I'm being asked about the church budget and questioned on various bits of spending when I know the person I'm speaking to hasn't tithed....anything...not a cent! There's an entitlement in the church which weighs heavy.  The consumerism aspect of the church is rampant.  Perhaps this small little snippet from Mark Driscoll will put things in perspective for some of you...

Film Review: Act of Valor

WOW!  Yeah...WOW!   I'm reminded of the scene from Armageddon when it was decided that it was easier to teach the oil riggers to be astronauts then it was to teach astronauts to be oil riggers.  This movie is no different.  The Active Navy SEALs in this movie are not great actors nor will they win any Shakespearean awards but when it comes to understanding the depth of what combat is all about this movie puts it over the top.

The movie is based on actual combat missions from the perspective of the SEAL teams in this movie.  From the time the movie begins everyone understands that behind the iron clad exteriors are a group of men who have families but are faced with the duties of defending this country in situations most people will never hear about.  The tactics employed by these men are incredible.  In one scene you see the SEAL team rising out of the water having held their breath over long periods of time.  Not one ripple or disturbance in the water..they simply rise our of the water with weapons in hand calm and slow.

Once in their elements these SEALs take the movie to a new level.  Very quickly we begin to understand the humanity behind these men and the legend that comes along with being a SEAL.  I highly recommend the movie.  It gives us a great sense of appreciation for our military and the "missions" we'll never hear about.  I think it's best leaving this review with a quote from the movie.  As the film begins the SEALs are being introduced to the audience.  The Senior is known as "Chief".  As he is introduced the commentator simply says, "That's chief, we don't know a lot about him but what I do know is I wouldn't want to be interrogated by him." These are the men and women protecting our country and to them I pray for safety and thank them for their service

Mark Driscoll's Book Review: Real Marriage - The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together

Well, the book that a great deal of the Evangelical community has been waiting for is here. (Truth be told I'm guessing a lot of pastors were dreading this book as it asks the questions most pastors would cringe asking)  For anyone who might not be familiar with Mark Driscoll all you need do is search his name on YouTube and you'll see a man who is not without controversy in his teaching style.  He's bold in his teaching and vocal on the lack of real men in the church today.  So here are some of my thoughts.

• The books begins with Mark Driscoll and his wife explaining how most Christian books don't address the questions most people struggle with in marriage and by that I mean the REAL questions we all wish we could ask but are simply to embarrassed to ask.  And..he's right.  It drives me crazy how vague premarital counseling has become and how we don't use that time to tackle the tough issues.  We're not equipping people into marriage instead we're throwing two people into the deep end of the pool and saying "God Bless, call me if you have any problems."

• One chapter I thoroughly enjoyed was "Friendship in Marriage".  Mark and his wife make a great point.  Too often I see couple's who are so wrapped up in their children's lives they forget what their marriage was forged on.  As years pass their children leave and what's left in the marriage are two complete strangers who aren't friends but instead two strangers with little to no friendship.  Make those date nights a priority!

• In traditional Driscoll format he say's things in such a way where I'm left with the feeling, "did he really just say that?"  The following is one of those.

 My previously free and fun girlfriend was suddenly my frigid and fearful wife. She did not undress in front of me, required the lights to be off on the rare occasions we were intimate, checked out during sex, and experienced a lot of physical discomfort because she was tense...One night, as we approached the birth of our first child, Ashley, and the launch of our church, I had a dream in which I saw some things that shook me to my core.  I saw in painful detail Grace sinning sexually during a senior trip she took after high school when we had just started dating. It was so clear it was like watching a film — something I cannot really explain but the kind of revelation I sometimes receive. I awoke, threw up, and spent the rest of the night sitting on our couch, praying, hoping it was untrue, and waiting for her to wake up so I could ask her. I asked her if it was true, fearing the answer. Yes, she confessed, it was. Grace started weeping and trying to apologize for lying to me, but I honestly don’t remember the details of the conversation, as I was shell-shocked. Had I known about this sin, I would not have married her.” (p. 6, 11-12)

          The part that bothers me the most is the last sentence..."Had i known about this sin, I would not have married her."  Lots of other blogs and boards have had conversations on just this one sentence alone.  He and his wife have been married from quite some time and have 5 children together.  Conversations ranging from, "is he saying he regret's marrying her" or "had I simply known I never would have pursued marriage" or something else entirely.  In my eyes forgiveness is the key thing.  She clearly loves the lord and regrets the decision she made.  I struggle with what he wrote and wonder how his wife reacted to the sentence.  It seems bullish and down right un-compassionate to say such a thing as he reflects back on his time with is wife.  The paragraph is followed by some other key sections in the book which reflect the mindset of Driscoll.

He notes: “I grew more chauvinistic. I had never cheated on a girlfriend, but I never had a girlfriend who did not cheat on me. And now I knew that included my own wife. So I started to distrust women in general, including Grace. This affected my tone in preaching for a season, something I will always regret.” (p. 14)

and

“In the second year of the church we had a lot of single people getting married," he writes, "so I decided to preach through the Song of Songs on the joys of marital intimacy and sex. The church grew quickly, lots of people got married, many women became pregnant, and my counseling load exploded. I started spending dozens of hours every week dealing with every kind of sexual issue imaginable...Although I loved our people and my wife, this only added to my bitterness. I had a church filled with young women who were asking how they could stop being sexually ravenous and wait for a Christian husband, then I’d go home to a wife whom I was not sexually enjoying.” (p. 15)

I have to give Mark Driscoll kudos on his candor about the state of his marriage during this time.  Maybe I'm reading into it...maybe I'm not.  But as the book is based around openness and honesty I suppose these are his feelings about the period of time he went through.  My hope is that for most people, despite whatever mistakes we made in relationships before our marriage, it wouldn't keep us from marrying someone.

Last is the piece most people would be drawn to....the chapter called "Can we...?"  Let you mind wander and that's pretty much what they tackle.  The chapter is devoted to the commonly asked questions about all things sex.  For any further detail BUY THE BOOK!

So, my recommendation is...  

If you're light of heart the book is probably not for you.  If you have a heart condition, the book is probably not for you.  If you still sing hymn's in church and wear sock garters, this book is probably not for you.  However, if you're open to reading and tackling some very real issues surrounding your own personal relationship with your spouse this might be a good read.  It's RAW..very raw.  I don't agree with 100% of the book...nor should anyone.  But read it with a prayerful heart and perhaps you'll find some nuggets that could really make a positive impact on your marriage.

Crossfit - 1-11-2012

Today's workout made my heart RACE!  I used 52 pound KB's and we went for 6 rounds having to hit 30 swings in a minute.  If you didn't make your 30 swings you had to do 25 Knee's to Elbow's after the workout was done.  Remember, that's 25 knee's to elbows for EVERY round you don't make 30 swings.  That means it was feasible a person could do 150 Knee's to Elbows after the WOD!  Good grief.  By the end of 6 rounds i was exhausted.  I could barely grip the KB much less swing it up.  Great workout!

WOD 1-4-12

Awesome work out this morning.  The WOD (Workout of the Day) looked easy but at round 3 my heart was pounding.  Burpee's always slow me down but...I beat Elaine by one second.  And really, isn't that what's important? :)  The Hang Cleans were tough to do by round 3.  Overall, awesome workout.  I'm sure I'll feel this later on this afternoon.