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

Back Home

Brian and I got home late last night (very early this morning, actually) from the Unleash Conference in Anderson, South Carolina.

This conference was off the hook! Just an absolutely awesome experience. Several people commented that this was a pretty long drive for a one-day conference. It was a long drive…and worth every mile. Oh, and we definitely didn't make the longest trek to get to the conference. There was a dude there from Britain!

I'm going to debrief a lot of the conference here on my blog. It'll take several posts to tell you all about it, but trust me…it'll be worth your time.

For now, I'm completely wiped out. Definitely an early bedtime tonight.

Unleash 2008

I'm headed to South Carolina with our youth/worship minister, Brian Morrissey, for the Unleash conference.

I've been dragging lately. I really need a recharge, and I think Unleash will be just what the doctor ordered.

Catch ya later!

Joy Robbers

Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10b, NIV)

For those of us in God's family, our lives are supposed to be slammed, jammed, crammed full of joy. This little verse from Nehemiah tells us both the source and the result of that joy.

The source of our joy is the Lord. The result of that joy is strength. In other words, God gives us joy to strengthen us. To strengthen our faith. To strengthen our resolve. To strengthen our vision. To strengthen our mission. The strength of the Lord springs out of the joy of the Lord.

So why do so many disciples of Jesus look like their faces would break apart if they smiled? Why do so many people preach and teach that true faith in God is marked only by solemnity? Don't get me wrong…there are solemn times in our faith journeys. But there are also times to get flat out giddy because the joy of the Lord is in our lives!

Why don't more Christ-followers live with this exceeding, overflowing joy? Possibly because they've unlocked the door for the joy robbers. When these thieves come into your life, they will rob you blind. What are some of the joy robbers?

1. Busyness. When you run nonstop, your joy level drops. (Yes, I'm a poet.) Seriously, when you allow yourself to take on too much, is the end result ever going to be joy? Nope. The end result is going to be stress. Stress and joy cannot coexist. If your joy meter is running low, is it because you're running too fast?

2. Critical people. No one is immune to criticism. There is always somebody who is more than willing to take a shot at you. Now, when it's constructive criticism from a godly person who truly wants what's best for you, you'd be foolish not to listen. But much more often, the criticism springs from a negative person that you can never please. The key is being able to tell the difference.

There are some people who, when they offer criticism, I listen intently. First of all, their criticism is rare. Second of all, when they do offer criticism, it is constructive and godly.

But then there are other people that I simply can't afford to listen to. Their criticism is constant, and it is laced with their own agenda or self-interests.

I got an email this past weekend from someone who has never even met me. Apparently he listened to a portion of one of my sermons on our website, and he took the opportunity to rip me to shreds via email. He accused me of teaching things that I would never, ever teach. (When have I ever taught that evolution is true???) I read about three lines and deleted it. It wasn't worth my time. It was ignorant, self-serving criticism. I have no time for it…and you don't either. If you make time for it, you'll find that it's an almost instant joy robber.

3. Wrong priorities. We are created with a need for God. We are designed to lead lives centered on Jesus. When we live as we were created to live, joy just naturally invades our lives. But when we shift our priorities and center our lives around something else, the joy of the Lord quickly dissipates.

For example, if centering your life around money brought joy, then wouldn't celebrities be the most joyful people in the world? Wouldn't pro athletes lead the most joy-filled lives on the planet? But that's not the case, is it?

How many celebrities have you heard of in the past month who are struggling with addiction, getting divorced, committing suicide? I recently read that 78% of NFL players are unemployed, bankrupt, or divorced within two years of retirement.

If you center your life on anything other than Christ (and it doesn't matter what that "anything" is), you can kiss joy goodbye.

4. Satan. Here is the king of the joy robbers. Satan wants nothing more than to rob you of joy. Because, following the principle in the Nehemiah passage, if you don't have the joy of the Lord, then you don't have the strength of the Lord. And if you're not living with the strength of the Lord, then you won't be able to do anything that is eternally significant. Satan doesn't have to worry about you anymore. He can move on to somebody else who is accomplishing something for God's Kingdom.

Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10, NIV)

Jesus came to give us life to the full. Life that is full of joy that can only come from God. Satan is a thief, wanting to rob you of your joy-filled life in Christ. Don't let it happen.

Instead, follow this Biblical pattern:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV)

Children's Minister Opening

Amelia Church of Christ is currently seeking a part-time children's minister.

Amelia is a suburb southeast of Cincinnati (about 25 minutes from downtown). This is a perfect position for a student from Cincinnati Christian University or other college. However, it is not limited to students. If you love Jesus, love kids, and have some children's ministry experience (paid or volunteer), we want you to apply!

Currently, this is primarily a weekend ministry position (10-12 hours per week), paying $225 a week.

If you're interested in the position, you can check out our website for the complete job description and information on how to begin the application process.

jobs.ameliachurchofchrist.com

Not the Weekend I Planned

Who could've known that we'd get slammed with a blizzard producing over a foot of snow? Apparently even the TV meteorologists didn't know until the storm was almost on top of us.

Due to the heavy snow, we cancelled our worship services today at ACC. Definitely not what we wanted to do, but after weighing all our different options, it was what we needed to do.

While I missed preaching and worshipping with my church family, I did enjoy the snow day at home. Ryan and I built a little snowman in the front yard. I absolutely love playing in the snow. I loved it as a kid. Now I love it as a dad. It doesn't get better than that.

Then we came in for some good, old fashioned comfort food. Baked steak, mashed potatoes, and baked apple crisp. Are you kidding me? My bride can really throw it down in the kitchen.

All in all, it was a beautifully relaxing weekend for me. But come Sunday, you'd better watch out. I'll have two weeks of pent up preaching energy that is going to have to find a release. They may have to tie me down!

March 9 Services Cancelled

Due to the heavy snow here in Cincinnati, all services and programs tomorrow at Amelia Church of Christ are cancelled.

Not Since '98

Cincinnati is buried under 8-12" of snow today. It hasn't snowed like this in Cincy since 1998. I remember that snowfall well. Nicki and I were newlyweds, living in an apartment at Eastgate Woods. Can't believe that was 10 years ago!

Would you like to see snow like this more often? Is once every 10 years enough for you? Do you never want to see this kind of snowfall ever again?

Interceptions

Legendary Packers quarterback, Brett Favre, has decided to hang up his cleats. His retirement has been received with great sadness by all the cheeseheads around the country. While I'm not a Packers fan, I do have a lot of admiration for Brett Favre.

I didn't know this until I read my buddy, Wade's, blog today. Brett Favre holds the career touchdown record…but he also holds the record for career interceptions.

I don't think that is a coincidence at all. In fact, I'd say there is a direct correlation between the two. The reason Favre holds the touchdown record is because he was willing to risk throwing interceptions. When he threw a pick, he didn't let that stop him. On the next set of downs, he was willing to go deep again. He didn't let fear stop him.

Fear of failure builds an insurmountable wall between us and the success we seek. To put it in the category of faith…you can't find one person in the Bible who did something incredible for God, yet was unwilling to take a risk. Go ahead. Read the Bible. Read it cover to cover if you want. You're not going to find anybody who accomplished something big for the Kingdom without taking a significant risk.

You want to be used by God? You want to see Him work powerfully through your life? You've got to be willing to risk a few interceptions. Or, like Brett Favre, maybe even a lot of interceptions. The man holds the NFL record for interceptions, and yet he's a lock for the Hall of Fame. Want to know why?

He wasn't afraid to fail.

Walking In, Walking Out

I'm working on my message at Starbucks this morning. (You're shocked, I know.) I just witnessed an interesting, and very sad, scene unfold.

A group of about a dozen mentally-challenged people just came in and sat down. As their group leader was patiently trying to help them all find their seats, a couple of other guys who had been drinking their coffee on the couches got visibly annoyed. To the point where they got up and left. This group walked in, so these two men walked out.

These people weren't doing anything to these guys. They weren't being loud or intrusive at all. And yet, their very presence seemed to be enough to scare these other guys off.

How do you react when you're in close proximity to someone who challenges your comfort zone? Do you have the capacity to love and respect people who are different from you?

I would hope those of us who are Christ-followers can answer those questions in a way that honors Him. I would hope that we wouldn't be a part of the scene that I just watched unfold.

Seen Any Good Movies Lately?

I went to rent a movie last week but I walked out empty handed. I didn't see one film that caught my interest. So I thought I'd throw it out to everyone here in blogdom.

What movie(s) do I just have to see? Keep in mind, we have young children. We rarely go to the theater. I'm looking for DVD rentals.