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

Eleven Years Ago

Guys, if you're looking for the perfect woman…you can stop. She's not available.

How do I know this?

Because I married her on this date eleven years ago.

Happy anniversary, babe! It's been a wild and wonderful ride. And it's only getting better.

Heroes

Got a brand new message series coooking for you, ACCers. Heroes kicks off this Sunday, and I'm psyched!

This summer-long series will focus in on some of the greatest heroes of the Old Testament. If you grew up in church, you’ll remember these stories from the flannel graph of your childhood Sunday School classes. If you’re new to the church, you may still recognize some of these stories. But these are more than tales of nice people who just wanted to please God. These are dramas of danger and uncertainty. Stories of people who stood against incalculable odds and a God who defies those odds.

Come and be changed by these stories again…for the first time.

Back It Up

Al Gore may be figuring out something that I've learned as a pastor. When you speak out against something, you'd better have your own life in order.

Gore is a leading voice in the environmentalist movement. And yet, this week we've learned that his Tennessee property uses more energy in a month than the average American household uses in a year.

"As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use," Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson said in a statement.

Whether you agree or disagree with Gore's environmental views, you've got to admit that his cred on the issue has been damaged. And it's scary easy for that to happen to us as Christ-followers.

Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5, NIV)

It's not that we can't speak out against issues that are contrary to the Word of God. It's just that, before we speak, we'd better do a gut-check in our own lives.

Our lives speak louder than our lips. When we speak authoritatively on a spiritual issue, we'd better be living in a way that backs it up.

If we're not, then we need to keep our mouths shut.

I'm a Moofer

Apparently this is becoming a more common slang word among the Millennials. Here's the definition…

Moofer: derived from the acronym for “mobile out of office.” Someone who abandons their workplace between meetings, taking laptop and Blackberry to the local Starbucks or anyplace else where they can escape interruption.

Yep. Definitely a moofer.

Vacation Reflections

My family had an awesome vacation last week! We went to Tennessee where we rented a cabin with some close friends. (You know you're "close friends" when you can spend the better part of a week together and still like each other afterward.)

Some various reflections on the trip…

This trip really reiterated one thing…I am, without question, the most blessed guy on this planet.

I am relationally blessed. I have an unbelievable family, wonderful friends, etc.

I am financially blessed. A lot of people can't afford a vacation. We were able to make it happen.

I am undeservedly blessed. I have not done anything to deserve what I have. I keep waiting to wake up from this wonderful dream. But it's not a dream. It's the undeserved, and yet seemingly endless, blessings of God. If it sounds like I'm gushing…I am. But God has been too good for me not to gush about it.

And We're Back

My vacation is over (sniff, sniff). Hope you enjoyed the posts over the last week while I was gone.

I'll post some vacation reflections later this week. Doubt I get to it today. First day back from vacation…you know how it is.

Comments are back on.

The Rebel

From Mark Batterson's blog…

Creative genius, Alex Bogusky, made one of those statements I can't get out of my mind:

"Life conspires to beat the rebel out of you."

It's true isn't it?

One of the things I love about Jesus is that He remained the rebel his entire life. He didn't bow to the Pharisees. He didn't bow to Pilate. Truth is, He didn't bow to anyone except His Heavenly Father. That is what it means to be a spiritual rebel.

In the words of Dorothy Sayers: "To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It is has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the Lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies."

Booyah!

Why I Don't Like Father's Day

I'm not too crazy about Father's Day. I know, I know. As a father of two boys, I should be loving this day. I should be propping up my feet and allowing my family to serve and honor me. I should be showered with gifts and accolades because I am Dad.

The problem is…

I'm not sure I deserve all of that.

I approach my role as a father very soberly. I understand the magnitude of my responsibility. I understand the stakes. I know that if I fail in this role, the results would be catastrophic.

I am so sick of watching men in our culture abdicate their role as fathers. For many men, the mere fact that they are fathers in the first place is evidence of their complete lack of self-control (aka, they couldn't keep their pants on). And this lack of self-discipline rears its ugly head again when they wash their hands of any fatherly responsibility.

But, that really is just a symptom of a bigger sickness in our culture…the complete lack of honor and appreciation for fatherhood.

For example…as a general rule, how are dads portrayed on TV sitcoms? They are lying, bumbling, lazy goofballs. When is the last time that a TV dad was portrayed as someone demanding respect and admiration and honor?

Being a dad is a weighty responsibility. I simply reject our culture's view of fatherhood. I know the responsibility. I know the stakes. And I know that I have so much growing to do as a dad. I know that I don't get it right a lot of the time. And therefore, I'm uncomfortable with a day that honors me when I feel like I fall so short of the mark.

Instead, I choose to view Father's Day as a day set aside to honor what I aspire to become.

Jason Case

My brother-in-law, Jason Case, is going to be preaching at ACC tomorrow.

Jason is a young fella with talent that far exceeds his years. He preached locally for several years. Now he ministers to those in grief at Nurre Funeral Home. He has a big heart for people. And when it comes to preaching, the guy can just flat out bring it.

God is going to work through him in a big way at our church tomorrow.

The Slippery Slope of Religion

In this short video clip, Dr. Tim Keller describes why religion can be dangerous. I've said before, and I'll say again, that God has not called us to a religion about Him. He's called us to a relationship with Him. When we go the religion route instead of the relationship route, bad things happen.

The scary thing about Keller's "slippery slope" is that it all starts with a feeling of superiority. Pride is the root of the whole problem. It's one of the most subtle, and yet most dangerous, weapons in Satan's arsenal.