Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Playing It Safe?

Think that following Jesus is easy, convenient, secure, and safe?

Come to ACC tomorrow morning. I'm gonna rip that thought up in my message. I can't wait! We're gonna absolutely tear that notion to shreds.

Oh yeah!

Three Years on Video

Now that we have a computer that isn't the same model used by Fred Flintstone, we're able to transfer all the video we've taken from our digital camcorder to our computer. In the process, we've watched some of those videos from the last three years. Wow.

The last three years of our lives have been pretty full. Moving back to Ohio from Indiana. Selling one house so we could buy another. Observing how people have aged (excluding Nicki and me, of course). Seeing Ryan grow up faster than you can imagine. Welcoming Brock into our family.

Makes me wonder what the videos will look like three years from now.

There Are No Words

I made a hospital call this morning. Not an uncommon thing for me to do. It is, however, uncommon to visit a 14-year-old boy with kidney cancer…and yet that's just what I did.

I didn't know what to say to Dylan or his grandpa. It was so hard to see Dylan in so much pain. It was so difficult to listen to Grandpa Jim tell about the ordeal that Dylan has been through.

I simply didn't have any words to express what I was thinking and feeling. Anything I could think of would have sounded hollow and trite. Religious platitudes are worthless, especially in situations like this. I just didn't have the words that I needed.

And I still don't.

Political Pasta

Heard on the radio this morning about the findings of a study concerning what kind of pasta Democrats and Republicans prefer.

Apparently Democrats prefer elbow macaroni, while Republicans prefer long spaghetti. I had two "wow" thoughts after I heard this.

My first thought was, "Wow. Somebody had some serious time and money to waste."

However, my second thought was, "Wow. The study is absolutely correct, at least for me personally."

Wow.

How Big is Your TV?

At a recent consumer electronics show, Panasonic unveiled a 150-inch flat screen TV. No, that's not a misprint. 150 whopping inches.

The cost hasn't been released yet, but consider that their previous huge TV (103 inches) cost $70,000 when it was launched. Again, that's not a misprint. That's a seven followed by 4 zeroes.

Can You Argue With Success?

Apparently. Or at least some people definitely give it the old college try.

It never ceases to amaze me how churches with burgeoning, successful ministries can be such a magnet for criticism. And that criticism is, by and large, leveled by people and churches who are stuck in neutral (or reverse).

For those churches who are on the receiving end of criticism, there is a great temptation to stop and attempt to deal with all the critics. But notice what happens when we do that. When we stop to answer the critics…we stop. We stop doing the very things that have brought the success. It's easy to get completely consumed with answering criticism, to the neglect of our mission.

Over the last few months, I've been reminded how much criticism we sometimes receive as church leaders. There have been some very negative things said about our church. And do you know what we're doing? We're growing. We're reaching people. We're welcoming people into the Kingdom of God. People are growing deeper in their walk with Christ every week. In other words, we're staying on mission.

I used a verse in my message this past weekend that is still ringing in my head. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10, NIV)

Simply put, when we focus solely on pleasing men, we stop pleasing Christ. When we allow the criticism of people to derail us, we will miss out on the blessings of God

And I have found that the blessings of God are far too good to miss out on!

APEX

Mark you calendars for Saturday, February 2 at 6:00 pm. That's the day that APEX returns. Just had our APEX planning meeting today and I'm excited about the upcoming APEX event. I can honestly say that we've never done anything like this before.

On a side note, APEX will no longer happen every month. Last year, it became too much of a drain on our volunteers and staff. We've backed it off to once a quarter. There will only be four APEX events this year, so you don't want to miss any of them!

Political Endorsements

I feel like I should go ahead and get this out there now since I know the question is coming.

The answer is, "No."

The question is, "Will you publicly endorse a presidential candidate?"

I am a pastor, minister, or whatever other title you choose. I am not a politician and I am not going to endorse a politician. My job is to endorse Jesus. My responsibility is to hold him high, week in and week out.

Having said that, I absolutely do think that Christians should be heavily involved in the political process. I have very definite political opinions and persuasions. I do have one presidential candidate that I'm watching very closely. If he gets his party's nomination, I think he'll be my guy. (I guess I've already told you one candidate that I will not support by using the pronoun "he." Oh well.) If he doesn't get the nomination, it'll get a lot tougher for me to sort it out.

If you want to know who it is, you can ask me privately. (If you're fishing for a debate or argument, then please refrain from asking me altogether.) But I will not throw my public support behind any political candidate or party. While I do believe Christians should be involved in the process, there is a misconception that Christianity has become nothing more than a political special interest group. That is a tragic misunderstanding of who we are called to be as God's people.

So vote. Think it through. Pray it through. Be passionate. Be involved. Vote for your candidate. But don't expect me as a pastor to misuse God's pulpit as a political stump.

Is it a Big Deal?

It's a new year…but does it matter? I mean, does it matter anymore than writing the wrong year on your checks for a couple of months until you get used to the whole '08 thing? Does a new year really, truly matter?

I think it does. In reality, December 31 and January 1 really aren't all that different. The coming of a new year is really an artificial marker of time that man invented. But I still contend that it matters.

As human beings, we need times dedicated to measuring how we're doing in our lives. For a lot of us, the turning of a new year serves as a good time to do a little life inventory. Even though the calendar change is largely symbolic or ceremonial, it's still a good time for some life evaluation.

For me, 2007 had its share of successes and failures. There are some areas of my life where I can see tremendous progress over the last 12 months. There are other areas…well…yeah.

At any rate, this annual evaluation really helps me set some goals for myself in the coming year. I have a physical goal, an academic goal, and a spiritual goal set for this year.

My physical goal: Lose 30 lbs. I'm nowhere near my heaviest weight, but I'm significantly heavier than I was at this time last year. Gotta turn that around before it gets completely out of control.

My academic goal: Read twice the number of books I read in 2007. It sounds a little cheesy, but leaders are readers. I was fairly inconsistent in my reading schedule last year. I'm committed to do better in '08.

My spiritual goal: Commit a New Testament book to memory. I'm tempted to choose a book like Jude because it's only one chapter long, but I want to challenge myself more than that. However, I don't think I'm ready to memorize Romans just yet! Probably one of the mid-length New Testament letters. Haven't decided which one yet.

What are your goals for this year?

McRib

Just heard that McDonald's is not going to serve the McRib anymore…ever.

You're killing me, McD's.