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

Just Drop the Ball

My friend, Aron, had a great post on his family's blog this week. Need a little more forgiveness in your life? Just drop the ball.

Just Drop the Ball – Aron Kirk

A Quiet Life

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life… (1 Thessalonians 4:11a, NIV)

Most of the time, I really stink at living out this verse. My life is often far from quiet. Hectic, busy, harried, on-the-run…but not quiet.

But God didn't say, "Make it your ambition to lead a busy life." He said, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life."

My family is vacationing in Tennessee right now, and one of my goals for this trip is to bring some quietness back into our lives. It's why we rented a mountain cabin instead of a hotel room. It's why we haven't scheduled a thousand things to do. I don't want to get back home and feel like I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. I want to return rested, refreshed…and quieted.

Even when we're not on vacation, slowing things down in our lives really is a requirement, not an option. Bill Hybels wrote, "The archenemy of spiritual authenticity is busyness." Very true.

We can easily outrun God. Knowing Him means slowing down. Enjoying your family means slowing down. Living a life of purpose, meaning, and hope means slowing down. The faster you live, the less of these things you will have.

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life."

In the World, But Not Of the World

There is a Bible principle that teaches us to be in the world, but not of the world. That is more than a mere semantical difference. This principle will determine our spiritual life or death.

We have to be in the world. Jesus has called us to impact our world for his purposes. He has called us to bring people to him. But to do that requires building relationships of trust with people outside of Christ. Hard to do that if we don't engage in life with them. Too many Christians stick their heads in the sand instead of engaging the culture.

God has commanded us to be proactive. To be in the world…

But not of the world.

The Bible commands us, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2, NIV)

When we are in the world, it's frighteningly easy to conform to the world. To buy into our culture's values and standards. God warns us to be on our guard. While we must engage our culture, we cannot conform to our culture.

As one philosopher put it, "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

Be in the world, but not of the world. That is Jesus' call on us as his disciples. It's what he prayed for in John 17.

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17:14-18, NIV)

Why Don't We Just Burn The Sign Instead?

Wow. A few thoughts after seeing this…

Sigh. There will always be a few who don't get it. I thank God that I'm part of a church that does.

If I Were the Devil

If you were the devil, what would you focus on as your first priority?

Craig Groeschel nailed the answer to that question on his blog.

If I Were the Devil – Craig Groeschel

Church 101 Wrap Up

I have loved getting back to the basics in our Church 101 sermon series. It's so easy to get caught up in this and that…to the point where we start missing the big picture of what we're all about as a church. The book of 1 Timothy is a great call for the church to refocus on the things that God says is important.

It's been a great ride, but there is still one more message to come. Brian is going to put a wrap on our Church 101 series tomorrow. I have often found that great worship leaders are also top-notch communicators. ACC is blessed to have both of those in Brian.

ACC is not going to lose a step tomorrow in my absence. Trust me.

Your Pastor Has Left the Building

We're taking some much-needed, much-anticipated vacation time. My family is heading to Tennessee for a few days of fresh mountain air, eating some some serious southern fare, and doing a whole a lot of nothing.

But fear not, blog enthusiasts! Everything is going to keep humming right along here on ye olde blog.

There will be a new post everyday throughout my vacation. I'm not blogging while I'm on vacation. The posts are already written. (I'm not taking my computer with me. Yee Haw!) The only difference you'll notice is that the comment feature has been disabled until I return to work.

Do I take care of my peeps or what? I go on vacation and still provide quality blogging at an affordable price. Man, I rock! :o)

For now, I'm southbound with the hammer down. Catch ya later!

Preaching Schedule

One of my goals for this week was to finish planning my preaching schedule for 2008. I had messages mapped out through the summer, so I wanted to get my messages for September-December planned. I always want to be at least 6 months ahead of schedule. I'm happy to report that it's done! I've submitted the schedule to our creative team. Together, we'll do some tweaking and fine-tuning.

Some random fun facts from this planning process…

1. I almost always listen to classical music on iTunes during my sermon prep. Yes, I said classical music. It's hard for me to concentrate when I listen to vocal music. I need something like classical piano to get me into sermon mode.

2. I planned six sermon series for September-December. Three of them are Edmisten originals. I "borrowed" the remaining three from other guys. I have been known to use other guys' ideas, titles, and (rarely) even some of their message content. I am not at all ashamed of that.

There is a great open source movement in the church. More and more preachers are putting their stuff online for other people to use free of charge. All of my messages are online and can be used by anybody who is interested. I've had guys from as far away as the Philippines ask if they can use a message that I preached. My answer is always the same. "Yes, and next time you don't even have to ask." Freely take, freely give.

3. I had a little trouble planning this year's Christmas series. It's June, for crying out loud! So I started listening to some instrumental Christmas tunes. And voila! A Christmas series was born! Only problem is that now I'm ready to go home, pour some eggnog, and start putting up Christmas lights.

4. A few things that I consider when I'm planning my sermon schedule.

Ultimately, I honestly believe that God and I tag-team on things like the preaching schedule. I always try to be sure that I stay in tune with where he wants me and our church to go. I'm pretty stoked about the messages that are coming in the second half of '08!

Let the Renovation Begin!

The much-anticipated ACC basement renovation is officially underway! And it started with some demolition. (Not to be confused with the sermon series.)

On Saturday, a group of 15 hardworking volunteers jumped into action. Down came walls, ceilings, dividers, etc. In our wake, we left a pretty full dumpster and a basement that is wide open.

This is just the beginning. We've got some big plans that will start developing soon. If you don't see any progress over the next few weeks, don't lose heart. Some of the work that is next on the agenda is a little bit more behind the scenes. These aren't aesthetic changes that will be readily noticeable, but they are necessary repairs for the overall functionality of the basement.

With every passing day, we are one step closer to achieving our goal…a bright, vibrant, top-notch children's ministry center.

The Tolerance Rant

I try not to post too many videos on my blog. I think videos are an easy excuse for bloggers to post frequently without any thought, creativity, or effort.

BUT…

I absolutely had to post this one. If you're troubled by the shift from truth to tolerance in our culture (or if you just want to see a preacher nearly have a coronary onstage), you need to set aside 8 minutes to watch this. I know, it's a little long, but man…it's worth it!

Just one more reason why I love listening to Mark Driscoll!