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

Doing Better

Another little family update…

Brock is really breathing better today. We all crashed very early last night and got some much needed rest.

Appreciate the prayers!

A Night in the Hospital

Ok, so I don't think I'm ever going to write a post about being stressed ever again. Things got even more stressful after that post.

We ended up spending Wednesday night in Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Our youngest son, Brock, was having some significant difficulty breathing. We took him to urgent care. After he didn't respond well there, we were admitted to Children's. By that point, it was almost 1:00 am.

We're home now. Brock is doing a lot better. We've still got to administer breathing treatments for the next couple of days, but I think he's turning the corner.

I appreciate your prayers for the health and rest of my family. We are completely exhausted.

God@Work

We just completed the longest sermon series of the year. Our Heroes series was spectacular! I loved going back to some of the classic, heroic stories from the Old Testament.

We're going to follow it up with a short, super practical series called God@Work. As we lead up to Labor Day, we're going to talk about how a Christ-follower carries himself/herself at work. How can we live for God while we're on the job?

We're going to focus on two problem areas for a lot of us.

This Sunday, we're talking about accepting authority. How does a disciple of Jesus deal with this? What if your boss is a jerk? We all work under authority at some level, so we need to know how God wants us to react to it.

Then, on August 31, we're exploring how to deal with difficult people. Got any of those at your job? Almost everyone does. How can we be faithful to God and deal with these people who make us crazy?

This series isn't going a be an encouraging, "touch your heart" kind of series. It's going to be nitty-gritty, practical Christianity. You're going to know how to walk into work on Monday and apply what you learned on Sunday.

This Blows My Mind

My boy, Aron Kirk, is doing some pretty amazing stuff for God in Michigan. Aron is the worship minister at Macomb Christian Church in Shelby Township, MI.

Their church recently held the most unique, creative communion service I've ever heard of. You've gotta check out Aron's thoughts about it.

Tent-a-palooza – Aron Kirk

Wow!

Stressed!

By nature, I don't worry about too much. But that doesn't mean that I never get stressed out. The stress level in my life is on the rise right now.

Add all that up and you know what you get…STRESS!!!

I struggled with whether or not to post this. It probably sounds like I'm just a big whiner. I don't mean to say that my problems are worse than somebody else's. In fact, I know a lot of people would love to only have to deal with my problems.

But I decided to post this, not so I could have a public forum to complain, but to demonstrate that I'm not immune to stress.

There has historically been a disconnect between pastor and parishioner. The thought is that somehow, a minister doesn't struggle with everyday life. He's above it.

Not true.

Just because I "work for God" doesn't mean that I'm above the struggles of life. I'm prayerfully seeking ways to deal with stress. I want to honor God, even during the crunch times of my life.

I don't always succeed at that. When I get stressed, you know who gets the worst part of me? My family. Now, I know that couldn't possibly be the case with you, could it?

I know that this dishonors God. And I'm praying for strength and wisdom to do better.

Thanks for letting me use my blog as a digital pressure valve. And ACC, thanks for not requiring your pastor to be perfect.

And The Winner Is…

Wade Allen!

Wade is the senior minister of Central Christian Church in Huntingburg, IN. Wade was the first to email me, so he's getting a free copy of Wild Goose Chase.

Wild Goose Chase Review

Mark Batterson's new book, Wild Goose Chase, officially releases today.

I'm honored to be part of the book's blog tour. I just finished the book, and I'm excited to share some thoughts about it.

"Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something…

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure." -Introduction to Wild Goose Chase

I love the picture Mark paints throughout the book. We tend to want a faith of comfort and convenience. It's all about ensuring our own peace, our own security, our own self-centered desires. Mark takes those self-serving notions and smashes them to bits. Chasing the Wild Goose is anything but comfortable. Anything but safe.

The book is chocked full of Scripture. And I absolutely love the way Mark makes stories of Biblical characters come alive. He paints vivid pictures of what they were thinking, feeling, and experiencing. He takes them off the pages of Scripture and turns them into real, flesh-and-blood people that we can easily relate to.

Mark explores six "cages" that keep us confined, prohibiting us from chasing the Wild Goose. On some level, I resonated with every one. My favorite was his exploration of "The Cage of Guilt." Absolutely masterful. Life-changing stuff.

Simply put, you need to read Wild Goose Chase. Seriously. Get it. Read it.

And, to make it easier, I've got a copy of the book to give away here on my blog. Want it? You know you do! Here's the deal. Be the first person to email me with the subject line "Chase the Goose," and the book is yours. I'll even take care of shipping if that's required. I only have one to give away, so you'd better get on it now!

As I said in a previous post, I consider Mark Batterson a long-distance mentor. I've admired his ministry at National Community Church from afar for a long time. His new book exceeded my expectations. I couldn't give it a higher recommendation.

Chase the Goose!

Wild Goose Chase – Amazon

www.chasethegoose.com

What do Jesus and Halls Cough Drops Have in Common?

I needed them both to help me preach yesterday.

Ok, so I needed Jesus a lot more than the cough drops. But I still sucked down about a dozen Halls yesterday morning. My throat was a wreck. I barely had a voice when I woke up.

To be honest, I've felt pretty lousy the last two Sundays. But God still did his thing both days.

It's a pretty good reminder about how much God does not need me. When it comes to the preaching of the Word, God cares a lot more about it than I do. Don't get me wrong…I care A LOT! But God cares about His Word infinitely more than I do because it's HIS Word!

I'm humbled that he chooses to use a messed up, broken person like me to communicate his truth. He doesn't need me at all. He chooses me, in spite of all my shortcomings.

Someone asked me yesterday if I struggle with all the positive comments I receive. They asked if I ever "get a swelled head." I had an immediate answer for them…no way!

I feel no arrogance or pride or cockiness when it comes to preaching. If anything, I fall the other way. I feel inadequate and ill-equipped to preach. I am the spokesman for Jesus Christ. That alone is enough to keep me humble.

Feeling lousy on Sundays is just the meringue on that humble pie.

Pre-Sermon Prep

We're wrapping up our Heroes series tomorrow. God is going to speak to us through the story of Gideon.

If you don't know the story or need a refresher course, take a few minutes and read the story before Sunday.

Gideon: Judges 6-7

God can communicate more clearly with us if we've prepared ourselves to hear his truth. Reading this story ahead of time is a good way to do that.

Things That People Never See

Our volunteers at ACC blow my mind. There are so many volunteers who do things that other people will never see.

For example, a group of guys came to the church building this past Saturday to install ceiling tiles as part of our basement renovation. It wasn't a glorious job. Actually, it was rather tedious. But they gave up a big hunk of their Saturday, took on that project, and just beat it into submission. I still can't believe how much that group accomplished. All because they weren't concerned with recognition. They just wanted to serve.

That's just one example from the ACC family. I could go on for days about the things that people do for our church that no one else ever sees.

I love it when people obey the command of Jesus. "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." (Matthew 6:1, NIV)