gdp's Comments

tylerstanton.com : I'm Calling Your Bluff...

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:10:13 +0000

Ted Haggard: "I over-repented". He says the thing with the drugs and the male prostitute was a "massage that went awry". Uh huh. I've had massages that went awry and all I got was a bruised muscle in my lower back. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704...

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Pastors who read sermon notes from an iPad.

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:26:33 +0000

I have not experienced this, but I have recently gone from our church saying "please turn off your cellphones" to "and you can follow along with the message on your iphone or blackberry at our website". I find it very disconcerting. Part of it is I don't have a smart phone, and part of it is I find the light from other's phones very distracting during service. And also... I'm no Luddite, but we all have Bibles, right? We're all here at church, right? Do we really need to sign online to experience the teaching together? Can't we just unplug for this hour?

rethink naked. : What is Your Mask?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:13:19 +0000

How right you are! Of course those two are really one in the same, God just said it twice because we're pretty thick about it. I am completely guilty of having different personalities in difference places, especially at church. It's hard for me to be authentic at church because I feel I won't be accepted - but that only puts distance between me and God and between me and others there.

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : The most dangerous vehicle on the road.

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:27:03 +0000

Yes, I am very familiar with this phenomenon. We never had a pee jar though - maybe that was in the van that only had boys in it.

Michael Hyatt Blog : Don’t Wrestle with Pigs

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:16:16 +0000

That is literally the best thing I've heard all day!

FRACTURED SAINTS - A Christian blog for the broken ones : The way up is down

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:15:02 +0000

This is so me! I'm the ultimate resolution breaker. But its so comforting to know that mourning and sadness have their place in the faith too. So many times when I say or write anything vaguely negative or depressing many of my Christian friends jump all over me telling me not to be sad and that I should rejoice in God. But it's not always the time for rejoicing and that kind of encouragement without meaning or understanding of the situation just makes me angry!

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : One letter that changes everything.

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:52:44 +0000

Of course, part of the problem is an unwillingness to often be honest with ourselves about things. It's impossible to share with others until you're willing to admit things to yourself.

FRACTURED SAINTS - A Christian blog for the broken ones : The Cool Christian

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:40:49 +0000

Drinking, smoking, swear words, tattoos. None of that matters so much (unless you are doing it to excess and harming yourself or others). What is supposed to make is different is the radical love of Jesus lived out through us, the sacrificial love that makes you lay your life down for Him and for others. Which will impact people more? Seeing you refuse a beer because you're a Christian, or seeing you refuse to gossip or badmouth someone who has hurt you? Knowing that you're going to say "darn" when you drop something or knowing that you are someone they can come to at any hour of the day or night for help, even if they have wronged you in the past you will love them steadfastly. So many of these things Christians "aren't supposed to" do are things simply meant to make ourselves look better than others, by a particular and ever-shifting standard of "good". But Paul said that true witnessing comes when people are asking what is this incredible hope you have in Christ? And that is not something people ask you just because you never touched a cigar.

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : 4 ways to Febreze, "Blessed Be Your Name"

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:49:17 +0000

Nope, sorry, there's nothing for it. Gotta completely stop playing it for at least five years and then have the most popular worship band at the time do a cover version. It's the only way.

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : The North vs. the South.

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:45:38 +0000

Oh my goodness, where I grew up no Christians EVER smoked. I thought it was literally impossible to be a Christian and have a cigarette. Then I moved out West for a little while and between services the pastor and all the men of the congregation would sit outside and smoke. My poor little brain was so confused.

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : The North vs. the South.

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:39:05 +0000

Three words: Sunday. School. Bus. The first time I visited down South with my mom I was shocked. They will RUN YOU OVER. Also, a bus comes to your house and takes you to Sunday School? Simultaneously awesome and a little creepy. They will come for you. Whether you want them to or not.

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff : Holding your church technical team to slightly higher standards than Apple and Steve Jobs.

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 14:08:52 +0000

I am hyper aware of this, because my best friend is in charge of all the sound and making sure the service runs smoothly. He is always freaking about feedback that I swear no one else can hear. When we get too uptight about these sorts, either as people working to create the service or those attending, it helps to remember that the Holy Spirit first showed up in an upper room, not a 21st century over produced media stage.