here is another one from “Jesus for President” by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw

“He [Jesus] didn’t pray for the world in order to make governments more religious; he called Israel to be the light of the world - to abandon the way of the world and cultivate an alternative society in the shell of the old, not merely to be a better version of the kingdom of this world.”

this book is changing the way i think…i think.

grace and peace

“The great paradox and humor of God’s audacious power: a stuttering prophet will be the voice of God, a barren old lady will become the mother of a nation, a shepherd boy will become their king, and a homeless baby will lead them home.” - Jesus for President

…Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw.
im barely 33 pages in and i am hooked.
i wish i just had a day that i could sit and read
please go buy this book and read it.

these are a few of the shots that ashley and her parents wanted me to do final edits on. from this final edit session she is going to choose one or two to print and mail out with her graduation invitations. these are the ones i hope she chooses but hey, its not really my choice. maybe i can have some influence ;).

grace and peace.

a few days ago i got an email from a friend with links to these two videos. they are amazing.

probably the best guitar player i’ve ever heard/seen on video.

and probably the most accurate drum cover i’ve seen/heard in a long while.

just some good tunes for the ears this morning.
grace and peace.

this has always puzzled me. im not sure why. granted i have been a member of one church all my life. as a child i was member at first baptist rosenberg. when i went to college, i attended other churches simply b/c i played drums in a worship band, but i was still a member at first rosenberg. now i serve as minister to students and young singles at first rosenberg. i am confident that God has called me to serve here and i am seeing the fruits that God is working in some of our students. it is truly an amazing sight.

but what causes people to church hop? i know it is the simple answer that the church isn’t offering what they want. the church isn’t offering enough programs. the church isn’t meeting my needs.

i know this is a generic post. a topic that has been discussed more than once, but it is on my mind.

do church members church hop b/c as church staff members (universally speaking) we have failed to teach them about the church? have we failed to teach them what the purpose of the church is? have we failed to teach them our relation, as believers, to the church? or have we been faithful to teach but church members just don’t listen? im sure it is both. i know i have probably not taught the youth their relationship to the church as good as i could have. but i will fall on the fact that we are selfish people. all of us.

yesterday our pastor preached on the tongue. one of the things that stuck out to me was james 3:8-10

With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessing out of the same mouth! - The Message

now because i am of selfish nature, im certain i have forgotten this at least once already today. my point exactly. we (believers) want church to be about us. im so guilty. we (believers) want the music to be louder or quieter. we (believers) want to sing from hymnals and not the screen. we (believers) want lights to be on not off, bright not dim.

i want jesus. whether its hymnals or screens. loud or quiet music. i want jesus.

jesus i want you more than anything in the world. far more than my silly human desires.

“you cannot care for me with no regard for her. if you love me you will love the church” - derek webb - the church

just my thoughts. my ramblings. thank you wordpress for listening.

here are a couple more of chris’ senior shots.

grace and peace.

my wife and i went last friday to a ksbj brown bag at the chick-fil-a on westheimer and fondren. needtobreathe was playing. needless to say, these guys are good. very good. you can check out their myspace here. listen to “more time” and “washed by the water”. amazing. here are some shots from the night.

grace and peace.

last saturday i had the privilege of taking chris’ senior shots. he is one of the seniors in my youth group. he goes to needville high school and is an all-state trumpet player.

i will post more in a day or two.
grace and peace.

as somewhat a ministry to our community we allow the Rosenberg SWAT team to practice scenarios in the upstairs of our church building. i usually don’t know about this until randomly during one afternoon a month i hear loud running above my office. today i have like 20 minutes notice that they were coming. i talked with one of the higher up SWAT guys and i got to take a few pictures before they got started.

so here you go.
a picture of a normal day at the office at FBC Rosenberg

just kidding about the normal day at the office.
grace and peace.