Click on that and don’t look back. That’s where I be from now on.

…or iCampus if you think that’s cooler.

Anyway, how crazy is it how the Internet works? And what it works for.
This technology costs next to nothing, completely free if you only use it at coffee shops!, and is yours for the taking.
What do we typically use it for though? We look at Facebook pictures for hours and catch up on who’s dating who. We find our true love at eHarmony. We get directions that are probably inaccurate from MapQuest. We buy things. We sell things. We look at porn. We chat with strangers; maybe even secret strangers. We stalk. We steal music & movies. We keep up with the Jones’ and make sure we are in the know of every person we know. And their dog too.
Overall, the Internet could be the most epic waste of time that has ever been invented.
But maybe not. There is hope for it. And there is hope for the people (you & me both) that are caught up in all the bad things the Internet has a grip on.
NewSpring Church is about to be on the Internet. And not just giving directions and times to it’s services. And not just making the service downloadable (for free!). But they are making church come to you.
You, the Internet junkie. The porn addict that is too afraid to show your face in church for fear of being struck by lightning. The sick, that can’t physically make it to a building every week. The lonely, that has nobody. The uninvited, that doesn’t feel welcome but is interested. The cynic, that wants to prove the Church wrong.
Church online is for all these people and more. I cannot wait to see what types of stories are going to come in on changed lives because of online Church.
February 1st is the anticipated launch date of NewSpring’s Web Campus and as a volunteer I am excited to see what God has planned for this next step of His Church. We are dedicating focused prayer to God for 2 straight weeks until Feb 1st. Read here to get more details. Jump on board. Check it out in a couple weeks. I’ll post a link to the Web Campus site when I know it. Pray! Anticipate!

“Is that what it takes? DO we have to stare death in the face to make us stand up and confront Resistance? Does Resistance have to cripple and disfigure our lives before we wake up to its existence? How many of us have become drunks and drug addicts, developed tumors and neuroses, succumbed to painkillers, gossip, and compulsive cell phone use, simple because we don’t do that thing in our hearts, our inner genius, is calling us to do? Resistance defeats us. If tomorrow morning by some stroke of magicevery dazed and benighted soul woke up with power to take the first step toward pursuing his or her dreams, every shrink in the directory would be out of business. Prisons would stand empty. The alcohol and tobacco industries would collapse, along with teh junk food, cosmetic surgery, and infotainment businesses, not to mention pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and the medical profession from top to bottom. Domestic abuse would become extinct, as would addiction, obesity, migraine headaches, road rage, and dandruff.”

– Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

So it took a while to get those last chapters up. They’ve been chillin’ in the MoleSkin for several weeks now. Wild Goose Chase was another “get fired up” book by Mark Batterson and I love it. Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll ever get tired of books like that. I could always use a kick in the teeth to get me jacked up about stepping up and taking my next step in my Christian walk.

The way I handle my money is one of my many, many next steps. NewSpring gave away The Blessed Life a couple weeks ago to the entire church. I am a tither but sometimes I’m not joyfully giving like the Bible commands. Sometimes I give just to be given back to. It’s time to get my mind right. I hope this book will point me in that direction clearly and intensely.

• You should not be more afraid of missing opportunities than making mistakes.
• If we are trying to fulfill our ancient commission, we need to get out of our comfortable confines of our Christian ghetto and invade some hellholes with the light and love of Christ.
• Selfish goals always result in shallow victories.
• Vision is the cure for sin.

• Failure handled improperly can be devastating, but failure handled properly is the best thing that can happen to us.
• Sometimes a closed door is the very thing that gets us where God wants us to go.
• Disorientation is natural and healthy. It is a normal part of chasing the Wild Goose. We won’t know exactly where we are going much of the time, but that disorientation develops our dependence upon God. And it is out dependence upon God, not our best-laid plans, that will get us where God wants us to go.
• Getting where God wants me to go isn’t nearly as important as becoming who God wants me to be in the process. And God seems to be far less concerned with where I am going than who I am becoming.
• You have two options when you don’t like your circumstances: complain about them, or make the most of them.

• A part of spiritual growth is recognizing how we have been conditioned and allowing God to recondition the reflexes that need to change.
• You won’t be able to chase the Wild Goose until you get past your guilty feelings.
• You can’t appreciate the full extent of God’s grace until we realize the full extent of our sin.
• Nothing reconditions our spiritual reflexes like prayer.
• Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it.
• There is no greater moment and no greater feeling than all of our guilt meeting all of God’s grace.
• Nothing is as freeing as confessed sin. Nothing is as isolating as a guilty secret. If you keep your sin a secret, you will be in a cage of guilt the rest of your life.

Yes and Yes. Go buy.

If you keep winning then you aren’t tying hard enough;
you aren’t maxing out if you never lose.
But what about when you always lose? When is it time to hang up the cleats?
How much is enough?
How long do you lose until you lower your standards and give up on what you thought was your dream?

Proverbs 24:16
for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

Are you righteous or are you wicked?

Luke 8:24-25
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

Is going to Jesus in times of trouble equivalent to having faith? Apparently not. Don’t you know he can handle life with his eyes closed?

Keep getting up. Where is your faith?