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Last year I resolved not to make any resolutions. My reasoning? It’d be the one resolution I knew I could keep. Mission accomplished!

But this year is different. This year has been very different. So much so that I can’t resolve to do anything new. I have to revolt against what I’ve been doing.

I have to make New Year’s Revolutions.

I will fight against my past complacencies: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relational. I’ve let far too many things slide because of my laziness, or forgetfulness, or selfishness, or ignorance. But I’m keen to my blindsides now, aware that my inaction breeds habits that must be forced out by… force.

By revolution.

Revolting against my sinfulness, I will fight to put God above all.
Revolting against my selfishness, I will fight to love my wife as Christ loves the church.
Revolting against my laziness, I will fight to better apply myself at my work.
Revolting against my indolence, I will fight to exercise and to get outside much more often.
Revolting against my ignorance, I will fight to read more and write more.

By contrasting who I’ve been with who I want to be, I can see the path set before me. It’s not an easy path; it takes dedication, commitment, perseverance, endurance, patience, and a whole host of other qualities that I possess in small qualities or rarely display at length. But it’s a burden worth bearing, because the reward is so great.

Even then, remember…

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. - Matthew 11:28-30

I told myself that I’d write about each of the speakers at the conference individually. I haven’t had a speck of time to get to writing about the second day of the conference. And I keep forgetting that my notes are at my office, and I only have time to write at home, and hopefully some day soon the twain shall meet.

In the meantime, I’m still processing what I heard and learned at the most motivational, moving, and practical conference I’ve ever attended. Not that I’ve attended many, but this conference, from the things God told me or reawakened in me, has profoundly affected me. I haven’t felt this physically good, this emotionally well, or this spiritually awake in a long time. It’s near sublime, and I keep subconciously waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it hasn’t. And I’m trusting God that it won’t. If I keep my eyes on the prize, the race is mine to be won with Christ as the goal.

Until then, I can at least say that Steven Furtick’s talk kicked my proverbial butt. Learn more about him at his blog, the Elevation Church site, and this article in their local paper.

I told myself to get some rest.

OK. I didn’t actually tell myself to get some rest. I sort of just fell to the floor in a heaping pile of tiredness. I’m physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually drained, but my mind has been racing ever since the conference finished. I’m hoping it’s not just a “conference high,” and I don’t think it is. God’s up to something big in my life as a result of what I heard and felt this last week. It’s been an astounding rollercoaster, and I hate rollercoasters.

For the three of you that will notice, I skipped posting about a day of the conference, the day that God used to break me down and tell me what I’ve been missing and what I’m supposed to be doing about it.

Those posts will be forthcoming. I just need to regroup and rest before I tackle and write more about what I heard and experienced that day.

Kem Meyer told us to stop doing so much.

OK, she didn’t actually use those words, but that’s what she said. That’s what she always says. Her blog’s mantra is Less Clutter. Less Noise. so even though it may seem she’s contradicting the Stop Talking. Start Doing. motif of the conference, she’s actually reinforcing it.

People today are overwhelmed by choice, bombarded by advertising, and struggling to redeem their time. It’s up to us in the communications business to convey necessary messages without adding to the mess. Kem listed five myths, but here are my distillations in active form:

Reduce the gap between intent and perception.
See these unfortunate domains as an example. Be warned! Most are risque. But really funny.

Focus your audience’s vision.
Watch this awareness video for an example.

Every communication piece can afford liposuction.
Have you heard about the new stop sign?

Hit the heart within nine seconds.
Nine seconds is both the average attention span for a normal web user and for a goldfish. Trigger an emotional response to engage your audience.

Spend money on the experience, then on promotions.
A bad, personal experience is worse than a typo. A cool flyer that leads to an inauthentic experience is just more dead trees.

The distillation of the distillation? Effective and engaging communications wisely communicate concisely

Shawn Wood, Experiences and Creative Communications Pastor at Seacoast Church, and recent author of 200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One, told us not to touch the poop.

OK, he didn’t actually use those words, but that’s…actually, he did use those precise words. He’s afforded some leniency because he was quoting his two-year old daughter (who wanted to touch the dog doo-doo in the backyard), but I’d even go so far to say he’s completely absolved of any verbal wrongdoings based on Paul’s letter to the Phillipians where he considers everything “rubbish,” which, I’ve been told, may have referred to something a little more pungent than trash.

As it was, he was also reminding us in the church that we’re far too enamored with our stuff when our stuff should only be used to further the good news that Jesus loves us all and wants everyone to know and feel that in the very essence of their being. Yet, we want to “touch the poop” (or in C.S. Lewis’ much more masterful terms, “go on making mudpies”), when there’s something much greater out there to spend our time and effort on.

And it’s when we become so myopic in our own ministry areas that we begin to schism, to lose sight of the big-M, Meaning Of It All.

The distillation? The church is a continent, not an archipelago.

[Of course, he gets bonus points for two things: being on Twitter and using The Office as a metaphor for a day in the life of a pastor.]

Mark Beeson, Senior Pastor at Granger Community Church, told us all to shut up.

OK, he didn’t actually use those words, but that’s what he said. Stop Talking. Start Doing. Unending conversations accomplish nothing in the church for the betterment of the world around us. There’s a reason Jesus said “Go” and not “Discuss.” While there is a time and place for earnest, thought-provoking discussion, it should not last for eternity. Brian McLaren made this point in a different way in Everything Must Change, positing that the church is much too focused on it’s own needs (What color carpet would cause the least congregational uproar?) and not on the hurting, dying world around us. In many ways, the church can become all talk and no walk. He who has feet to walk, let him walk.

Then Mark Beeson told us he’s unbalanced. Which, after listening to him describe his driving habits, was easily believable. But he said that a balanced person never moves. You have to lean into life to get the most from it, all the while remembering that leaning means a greater chance for a fall. Mistakes and failures will most assuredly come, but your team, your spouse, your friends, your family, and your God will all be there to help you back up.

My distillation came from a wise, green, midget alien: Do or do. There is no do not

I’m sure it’s a sign of my generation that I first received notice of the tragedy of 9/11 through a campus-wide email while still in college. I was used to receiving strange mass emails from students I’d never met. Usually it would start a flame war that was always intriguing to me, especially if it meant less time writing the paper I should have been working on. I thought the email was some sick prank.

Then I turned the TV on and the world changed.

A few weeks after the attacks, I wrote the following. How far have we come?

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Words have the power to create and the power to destroy.
Words helped to create the Tower of Babel.
Words helped to destroy the World Trade Towers.

The Bible says the earth’s inhabitants once possessed a unified language. Such a united humanity was able to accomplish such a momentous task, to build a Tower to the Heavens. Even God got scared. “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. (NIV).” You can check that story out in Genesis 11:1-9.

You know too well the other story.

I just wish it was a movie, “reel” life, and not real life.
A plane,
buildings crumbling,
people dying,
mourning,
weeping,
praying,
uniting,
caring,
giving,
hoping,
living.

Words destroyed the towers.
Words repeated so often they became meaningless mantras.
Words used to infect the minds of religious zealots.
Words used to turn “civilians, women, and children” into “targets.”
Words that turned “suicide” into “glorious martyrdom.”
Words that turned “hatred” into “piety.”
Words that would not bear their bad seed until the awful morning of September 11th, 2001.

But words will help to create a new America, one much, much more aware of itself in the global scene. One hopefully more aware of other atrocities in other countries in the global scene.

This new America is beginning to understand words long forgotten. We’re beginning to regain a sense of national pride. We’re beginning to have the same definitions for what we call “freedom” and “justice.”

We’re beginning to speak the same language.

Is God afraid?

I don’t think so. I believe He knows what He’s doing, as hard as that is for me to grasp, or even want to grasp at a time like this.

But if I weren’t God, and I were a part of the group responsible for these atrocities, I’d be scared to death. Literally.

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To all the families and friends that still have to live with the memories of what could have been, who involuntarily gave up what they loved most, we will never forget their sacrifice, your sacrifice.

I’ve got a friend who writes books and has a few blogs and is generally knowledgeable about most things and makes a living writing. Maybe not necessarily from his books (he’s a technical writer), but it’s a somewhat envious position. So when he asked if I would contribute to his blog on restaurants, I couldn’t resist. I like food. And eating it too. But I’d never written extensively about food. It would seem that the seemingly random and recent onset of the urge to watch such shows as Hell’s Kitchen and The Next Food Network Star is paying dividends, by widening my culinary vocabulary, as opposed to just offering inane entertainment as Chef Ramsey once again cusses someone out. I only save those words if I really, really, really don’t like the food. Which hasn’t happened…yet.

My most recent review, of the IKEA Cafe and Restaurant in Round Rock, TX, was also my first assignment. From the site: "This month we take a look at cafes tucked away in places you might not expect, like computer/appliance stores, furniture stores, grocery stores, and museums. If you have a favorite non-traditional eating spot, let us know." So there’s the setup. Go read the review for fun. And, if you’re not much of a reader, there’s a great pic of my wife enjoying lunch.

After the last few reviews, I could almost envision myself as a restaurant reviewer. Then again, watching our local news station’s coverage of restaurants that have failed health inspections gives me much cause for concern. Also, I’d have to start using Miracle burn or some such diet supplement if I began eating for a living. Then again, don’t I already do that?

Here’s another link to a recent post of mine at BetaChurch: Nexo: Websites for Groups.

In short, Nexo is like Myspace, but for groups. You can make one for your family, your soccer team, your goat-herding squad, your Monday Night Heroes watchers, or your Thursday night The Office drones. It’s cool is what it is. And free (and ad-free until the fall at least). For more info, see the post at BetaChurch.

The ABC’s of a Church Website: D-F is now online. It’s the second part of a multi-part series of tips for church websites. It’s especially helpful if you’re using Wordpress as your CMS.

My review of El Charrito, a local Mexican restaurant, is now online at the Eating Fred, Texas blog. You should read it, if not for the witticisms ever inherent in my writing, then for the movie trailer that I link to towards the end of the piece.

For background, Fred, Texas is an actual place. The proprietor of the Eating Fred blog wrote a trilogy of fictional books using the place as his main setting. He decided to set up a blog about restaurants with a few caveats: you must like the food and the place must not be a chain. I’ll be doing a few more reviews in the coming months.

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