Weekly Devo Thought Wk 3-4

GCI's annual youth event - War Cry is coming up July 6-10 and you can still walk up and register at Liberty University. This has been a unique event in that we are developing a band that represents what I believe is close to the heart of God - all peoples, tribes, nations, and tongues. With that in mind, we have put together a band to represent all different musical styles and tastes. When we come together and use our unity we get exponential results. Scripture speaks of the power of unity in the body and that is what he hope to accomplish, musically. It should go without saying that the enemy would love nothing more than to see this endeavor fall flat on it's face, so I covet your prayers over the band and the upcoming trip.

Remember to do what you do and do it well, but also make room for other expressions. More to follow - peace.

Devotional Wk. 1-2

Hello, gang. You know how we like to talk about the Sovereignty of God until it comes time to actually put it to the test? Well, I am in that place right now. I sit in a hotel room in Atlanta, GA facing the biggest audition of my life a scant few hours away and I have my doubts. At the end of the day, though, doesn't it say in Matthew 6 that "or how can you, by worrying, add one length to hair on your head? Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring enough trouble of it's own." (I paraphrased). Now, this doesn't mean I haven't done a little prep work, but it's nice to know that He is the Creator of the Universe and He has His best plan mapped out for me. So if I do well, He gets glory. If I don't, then He has some other way to glorify Himself. So nice to know that all I have to do is love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and then just relax and enjoy the ride. Wonder if He has Hollywood in my future? Chat it up - let's hear how you appreciate and apply the Sovereignty of God.......

New Small Group Cycle

Welcome to the weekly devotional thought small group at Manna Church. Would love to know who is following and who will be contributing this time around - let's sound off in the comments section - name and how you found us.

Direction

This will become the Weekly Devotional Thought blog in the Manna Church summer small group cycle and my christophermfletcher.wordpress.com blog will be my personal blog.  Don't get confused. 

Pace

Ideas are good.  Creativity is great.  I think that each of has more creativity than we give ourselves credit for AND we could use more of YOUR ideas.  But if you don't have time to think about the next best thing, you won't ever have these great ideas.  The trouble lies in your pace.  If you only have enough time in the day/week to get the pressing things done, then maybe you are doing too much.  If you never have time to crack open a book, or sit at your desk for 10 minutes and try to figure out how to do this job better/faster/stronger, then your pace is too fast.  Acknowledging that I am right will do little to solve the problem, either.  I know I am right, and you know that I'm right.  It is going to take the woman or man with enough guts to force themselves to start thinking past today and stop just doing the same things over and over again.  Try new stuff.  Fail at it - even.  The best ideas seem to come after a lot of other mediocre ideas have been tried and flushed.  Why not slow down and try something new?

It is my job......

Good customer service training teaches you to respond to a problem by assuming that it is your job to fix that problem for your customer. Sometimes, this means that you solve the problem yourself. Other times, you direct the customer to the person who can solve their problem. Take note - if you presume that it is your job, be careful to solve the person's problem the first time. If you cannot adequately solve the issue, best to not attempt and fail, but put the person through to someone with the knowledge to solve the issue. Example - I had to update the data plan on my iPhone by calling my service provider. As a member of a corporate account, I have to have the password and social security number on the account in order to authorize changes. I spoke with a customer service provider who asked for the prompts and I informed him that I did not have the information that he needed. He stated that he saw the problem, it was a simple fix and he felt "it was his job to correct the issue." Trouble is, he didn't have the technical know-how to fix the problem the first time. His "simple change" lead to a snowball effect that rendered my phone useless for a 12 hour period. The following morning, I re-contacted my service provider and ran into a lady who stuck with the party line "I am sorry sir, but without the necessary information, I cannot confirm that there is a problem with your phone, nor advise you on how to fix it." This is AFTER a 45 minute wait, mind you. Lesson learned? Of course. Presume it is your job, but take care that you consider the ramifications of your decision. If you are not informed, best to direct the person to knowledgeable party. Had the first customer service provider simply informed his supervisor and appealed on my behalf, I would have left the short conversation with positive feelings toward this service provider. As it stands, I am more annoyed than anything.

If it ain't broke.......

You know the end - "don't fix it." I think this phrase is one of the worst that I have ever heard. Does it have merit? Sure, in some cases, but not in most. Think about it - if the event that we did last year wasn't broken, why fix it? If the outreach wasn't broken last year, why fix it? If we adopt this as our mantra, what changes?

Sadly, due to pace, a lot of churches adopt this as our party line. "Well, we are busy getting ready for the next thing, so I'll do EXACTLY what I did last year." BUT....... we want to make sure that we have a flashy design and that we inform the church body "better than last time." And we think that this will solve our problem and wonder why attendance at said events stagnates/declines. If I slap a new design and label on an old and stale cookie, who is going to eat the thing? Why would you do things exactly the same? Think on it - do less, do it better, and think about marketing AFTER you have a killer product.

Posting on Manna Church Leader's Blog - www.mannachurchleaders.wordpress.com

All Access 2009 ARC Conference

I have been at the ARC All Access 2009 Conference this week (Mon-Wed) hearing from some of the top leaders in up and coming Christianity. The focus of this conference can be summed up in three points - Love Life, Love People, Love God. Chris Hodges of Church of the Highlands in Montgomery, Alabama spoke on this topic this morning and it really started me thinking. Viral marketing teaches us to focus on our product and market a great product. THAT is precisely the message of the 3 loves - focus on the product. Start with the essentials and THEN figure out how to market. Simple, simple, simple. If your product sucks, then you are spinning your wheels no matter how slick the package. Don't waste my time Tweeting about a crappy product.

Rest day, today. Tons of meetings until my theory class tonight. Thinking of a run tomorrow even though the group is canceled. Anybody up for one??

working on May's celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - researching and writing and scheming video - any good leads?

Reminiscing over some Jean-Paul Elliot. Ya'll don't know nuthin about that. Hollah

test. First update from ping.fm - highly recommend it

Keeping it real

A genuine man is hard to find, nowadays. You meet them everyday - we all have our moments when we yield to the pressure to conform. It humors me every time I walk through our pitiful mall here in Fayetteville, NC and look into Hot Topic. Angst ridden young folk streaming into a franchised store to pay $45 for a "non-conformist" shirt and $18 for an "indie" cd that could be purchase for $9.99 on the "corporate" iTunes service. We all get a good laugh at this one, but what about when it comes to our faith? I don't know how many times I meet someone for the first time, in church, and they feel compelled to behave in a manner in which they would not behave outside the walls of a church building. Peer pressure in church is weird - no need to be "super Christian." The nature of our faith is based on the fact that we are all sinners damned to an eternity without Jesus until He wooed us with His saving Grace and brought us into a saving knowledge of Him. We trust Him as our Savior and we begin the PROCESS of sanctification. When we act in a non-genuine fashion, we set some imaginary bar (that we, ourselves, are not reaching) that non-Christians see/feel/react to and turn them off to our list of do's and dont's. Is that our faith? Not mine - just be real. Act in church like you act outside of church and if your non-church behavior embarrasses you, then evaluate the behavior. Let's discuss - and remember my rules - 1. Be nice 2. No anonymous posts - it's just not genuine, and kinda lame.

Family Guy Fervor

Ok - I admit it.  I watch Family Guy.  I can feel your piercing and holy glare as you think, "How dare you?"  So now that we have that out of the way, I received an e-mail today from a family focused group that urged a boycott of the show due to what they deemed "anti-christian" content. I agree that Family Guy does toe the line and, at times, cross it, but as I considered the material in question, I couldn't help but wonder.......  At the bottom of the e-mail from this group was the bold banner "TAKE ACTION! URGE THE FCC TO BAN THIS SHOW."  Their bone of contention was over a line where a character states that "Jesus hates many people and especially homosexuals."  

Further consideration of the group's request for "ACTION" made me wonder what action I should undertake.  Should I write what will surely be an unread letter decrying how my faith is being portrayed by a cartoon?  Or should I direct my frustration towards those who are actively living their faith in a way that portrays just such a message to the world?  When shows such as Family Guy put a mirror in the face of Western Christianity, why is it that our immediate reaction is to lead a boycott of show just because what we saw was ugly??  Ever stop to wonder if this ACTUALLY is what people think about Jesus and Christianity??  Have you ever shown someone the love of Jesus with no strings attached?  Are you part of the problem??  Not trying to talk you into watching Family Guy, I just wonder if we ought be more outraged at how those on our team (Christianity) are portraying our faith as opposed to wasting time and effort hoping to get what is a wildly popular show off the air.  Maybe our crumbling societal values are just a reflection of the church.  I better stop - you are getting mad.

New directions

Ever feel like you are alone in voicing the need to take a project, ministry, or personal endeavor in a different direction?  It takes a certain level of bravery and daring just to admit the direction in which you are headed is not the right tack and to begin the process of changing is a hurdle at which many balk.  Remember that ships aren't turned on a dime or they risk turning over. Change is good, but at times, it takes a quiet careful drive to enact sweeping change.  Lay out a plan and implement it - don't lose heart during the daily toil.  Win others to your side and send them out to perpetuate the cycle.  Sometimes, the accomplishment is in the journey.  

New blog post

New blog post on Around the Word 180 blog.  Everything coming together this weekend.  I am acting as the site pastor at Executive Place site at 9 and 11 am and preaching at the 11 am service. Check out the blog post.  Peace 

C

A commitment to excellence

Please check out my friend, Matt Harmer's blog. Also note the pithy (click the hyperlink if you don't know what the word means) response from yours truly.

Prayer Points

Here are the prayer points for the week. Don't miss my small group discussion on leadership - still have a few copies of the book left and am giving it away for free tomorrow night. V2 - 6:30 pm at Manna Church's Cliffdale site. Pray on

1. May we wholeheartedly submit to the will of God so that we can be a light in darkness in our home, our market place and our work place.

2. May God grant us favor with all the vendors we will encounter in the construction of our Hope Mills site.

3. May our conscience mind not be trapped in a continuous play back loop over the current national financial situation. But may we focus our minds on how we can serve our God no matter the financial situation.

4. May God encourage us to use the power of the Holy Spirit in us by faith to publicly pray for the sick at our workplace this week.

Prayer Points

Don't get stuck on these - read the "Spiritual Metabolism" post, THEN come back. If I haven't convinced you that it's time to read scripture and pray, then go slam your hand in a door cuz you are dense. (sarcasm) Cheers

C

1. Pray for growth and commitment for the 120 people who attended the "The Next Step" mission interest meeting.

2. Pray for another "Small Group" that someone in your "Small Group" is aware of.

3. Pray that God will provide wisdom and discernment for the mayor of Fayetteville, Anthony G.Chavonne and Fayetteville's council members -

Wesley A. Meredith, Mayor Pro Tem; Council Member District 9;
Keith A. Bates Sr., Council Member District 1;
Charles Evans, Council Member District 2;
Robert A. Massey Jr., Council Member District 3;
D.J., Haire Council Member District 4;
Robert Thomas Hurst, Jr., Council Member District 5;
William Joseph Leon Crisp, Council Member District 6;
Valencia A. Applewhite, Council Member District 7;
Theodore W. Mohn, Council Member District 8

4. Pray for our deployed soldiers and their loved ones.

5. And while we have the ear of God, let's remember to keep Rick Lacoma lifted up as he recovers from his surgery (Thursday AM).

Spiritual Metabolism

A metabolism - we all have it. Some hate ours, some love theirs, but try as we might, we cannot magically turn it on and off. Want to get your metabolism up?? Eat. Not anything - low glycemic index foods that will stoke the fires of your fat burning, carb burning, efficient machine that turns your body from a sedentary being to a well-oiled athletic champion.

As a worked on my metabolism/well-oiled athletic machine this morning (sarcasm), the parallels started to emerge between my physical and spiritual metabolism. We are reading through the Scriptures on 180 Days at Manna Church, and the more you train yourself to daily search the Scriptures, the faster you burn through them, the more you crave them, the more enjoyable the daily "exercise." As perhaps the least "spiritual" person that you or I know, I am not spouting "Christianese" at you in an attempt to coerce you into wading through some boring collection of stories - it's not. It is alive and full of insight on every aspect of life. As a Christian, a daily life of prayer and Bible reading are just part of what you should do. But don't take my word for it - I can only encourage you. You can choose not to partake and end up a spiritual couch potato - doesn't matter to me. I only know one gear - all out. So join me - life is better in the fast lane.

Great post

Read a great post on Sickness becoming our sabbath. We tend to think of taking Sunday off as "sabbath." Yeah, we don't work on that day and so we have taken off a day and rested, right?? My iPhone has turned into my day off buster. I won't re-hash the post - it is well written. Check it out.

The world is shrinking

At a conference in Charleston, SC and had a meeting with some pastors from other churches to discuss an upcoming event in which I have a part. As the meeting came to a close, we started discussing our next meeting and began to toss around ideas of a meeting via skype or utilizing i-chat. At this point, it hit me - how small this world of ours has become. What is stopping you from reaching folks clear across the globe?? With most every laptop purchase comes a built-in camera - why not start that podcast or video blog and share your passion with others. Use what God has given you to change the world and impact those around you. They say that in America, anyone can be whatever they want as long as they put their mind to it and stick with it. Using Web 2.0 tools, "sticking with it" just got a whole lot easier. So get on Twitter, Facebook, Skype, iTunes store, etc. and live your faith on your sleeve. Change the world and reach those who are willing t0 listen.

Weekly Devo Thought

2 Sam 18-22

Today's reading began with the death of Absalom, king David's son.  It really is a striking tale - that of David and his parenting.  When David's daughter, Absalom's sister, Tamar is raped, David does nothing and this leads Absalom to commit murder.  Not excusing Absalom in all this, but David's weak leadership left a vacuum that was filled by his hot headed and rebellious son. 

Another point of note in the reading is the account of the 4 giants that remained in the land and were killed by David's mighty men.  David killed the giant Goliath, but did not kill his brother Lahmi.  The definition of the name Lahmi is "lust."  Odd that David was unable to defeat both the literal, physical giant and the sin pattern with the same name.  His sin with Bathesheba angered the Lord to the extent that the "sword was not removed from Israel in his time."  David squandered the opportunity to build the temple he desired to build for the Lord because of the battle he lost to lust.  Spoiling the rest of the story, but lust proves the undoing of his son Solomon, as well.  Solomon's many women lead him astray and the wisest man who ever lived ends his days worshiping the pagan gods of the region.  Lahmi's victims are a whose-who of the Bible - the strongest man who ever lived (Samson), the greatest king in recorded history and a "man after God's own heart" (David), and the wisest man who ever lived (Solomon) were all defeated by the giant of "Lahmi" (lust).  Not sure why I went on that rabbit trail, maybe that was for someone.  Don't be another of his victims. 

Prayer Points

GIC week is done and all went swimmingly well. Here are the prayer points for this week.

Small Group Prayer Points for Tuesday, 24 February through Monday, 2 March.

1. Wholeheartedly thank our God for his kindness in providing an excellent GIC for our ministry partners and our Manna family.

2. Our God will bring to fruition all the plans he planted in the hearts of Manna members during the GIC.

3. "The Next Step" meeting on Saturday, 28 February from 9:00AM to 12:00PM in the Chapel will be filled to capacity with Manna members who are wholeheartedly committing themselves to the area God has called them.

4. Our Manna members will continue to "plow" through the "Around the Word in 180 Day" reading campaign and that those who have dropped out will refresh themselves and join in with us where we are, "forgetting what is behind and straining ... toward the goal to win the prize ... "

Wk 2 - Weekly Devo Thought

All,

Please pray for the following points - GIC is ongoing - www.mannachurch.org for a complete listing of events

Manna Prayer Points for our Small Groups

    1. Manna Members will set there hearts on knowing their God

           (a.) Continue to persevere with the "Around the World in 180 Days" bible reading program

           (b.) Actively support our international, regional and local ministry partners by attending and participating in the Global Impact Celebration from Wednesday, 18 February through Sunday evening, 22 February. Below is the schedule for your information.

            Kick-off event                            7:00PM               Wednesday night (Cliffdale)

           The CHAT                                  6:30PM               Thursday night (Cliffdale)

           GIC Banquet                              6:30PM                Friday night (Cliffdale)

           Men’s Breakfast                         8:00AM               Saturday ( EP)

           Ladies Brunch                          10:00PM                Saturday (Cliffdale)

           Youth event                                6:30PM                Saturday (Cliffdale)

           Sunday Service                          Regular Times and Locations

           Finale Commitment Service      7:00PM                Sunday night (Cliffdale)

                               
    2. Improve the "Morale Climate" in the city of Fayetteville 

          (a.) Reduction of crime through out the city. Below are some crime statistics. 

                  (1.) Crime of all types increased significantly from 2007 to 2008

                            Homicides: 23%
                            Rapes: 16.3%
                            Robberies: 31.3%
                            Aggravated Assaults: 20.9%
                            Burglaries: 9.5%
                            Larcenies: 5.9%
                            Vehicle Thefts: 8.1%
                            Citations: 22.9%
                            Arrests: 11.5%
                            Calls for Service: 5.5%

                  (2.) Increasing high drop-out rate of high school students 

                  (3.) Growing youth drug culture 
                            
           (b.) Reduction of suicides through out the city

                  (1.) Last year there were a total of 21 suicides for all of 2008

                  (2.) As of the end of January, 2009 there were 7 in the city

     3. Cumberland County can be blessed with jobs through business moving to the county and entrepreneurs beginning new businesses 

            (a.) Unemployment rate in Cumberland County:

                        4th Quarter 2008: 7.6%
                        3rd Quarter 2008: 7.1%
                        2nd Quarter 2008: 6.0%
                        1st Quarter 2008: 5.6%
                        4th Quarter 2007: 5.1%
                        
            (b.)  Unemployment rate in neighboring Lee County, where Sanford is located, was 10.9% for the 4th quarter of 2008

A word on the New York Post

I will not kid myself by assuming that you all are aware of what went down yesterday, but I will inform you and ask you to, perhaps take some action. Yesterday, the New York Post (hardly a bastion of news-worthy content) ran a cartoon depicting two police officers shooting a monkey and stating, "They'll have to find someone else to write their next bailout plan." Needless to say, this has angered and offended the African-American community greatly as well as those of us who have a moral conscience. This morning, editor-in-chief of the Post Col Allen defended the cartoon and made the claim that Rev. Al Sharpton is just looking for a reason to be offended. I have issue with this cartoon and the weak defense on many levels and I will name a few. 1. Whether you voted for Barrack Obama or not, he is your President and my President and we, as Americans, should not stand for anyone who depicts our President in a demeaning manner OR in any way insinuates his death. Even stupid attempts at humor should be limited in the arena of race, but especially when it comes to our President. 2. Assuming that we all knew that a chimp had recently maimed someone in the northeast, there is no way that I am convinced that this was the reason this cartoon was run. Col Allen, in attempting to defend the cartoon, this morning stated that the aforementioned story was the reason the post was run and that the bailout reference was just a backhanded reference. Mr. Allen - come on. That anyone would be so blind as to assume that the reference was not intended to be a dig on our President or African-Americans in general is ridiculous. If you don't know what does/does not offend or, worse yet, don't care, you should not have anything to do with a magazine. 3. Given our shameful past of representing African-Americans as primates, this joke should not be tolerated. I am a caucasian and this cartoon is an outrage. I feel quite strongly on this point that if we know about injustice and do nothing about it, we are condoning what is being printed. Pass this word around, boycott the post and do not tolerate such foolishness when it presents itself. To agree and say nothing is gutless. P.S. Don't be the fool that disagrees with me - I am not in the mood.

Marathon

Posted a PR (Personal Record) at the Myrtle Beach Marathon.

New post I did for the Around the Word in 180 days blog - check it out.  Stay on the lookout for Week 2 of Weekly Devotional Thought.  Let's start talking it up, people.

Peace

C

Weekly Devo Thought

As part of our decentralized prayer strategy for 2009 (more info), we are devoting time in our groups for prayer.  As this is an online group, we cannot pause, so I will post the prayer points and beseech you to join my in praying over these points this week.  God bless and for goodness sake, let's get some discussion and posting!! HA - P.S. Feel free to contact me with any questions regarding these prayer points and more details

Prayer Points for Manna's Small Groups

    a. Global Impact Celebration
        (1.) Manna members will commit their hearts and minds to advancing the Kingdom
        (2.) Largest attendance for each event to date                                           
        
    b. Around the Word in 180 days
        (1.) Manna members will maintain interest and perseverance to complete the 180 day reading task
       (2.) Continue to share knowledge obtained with family members, friends, workmates and neighbors                            
    c. Hope Mills Site
        (1.) Selection of the "best" contractor
        (2.) Keep within budget and time line

Weekly Devo Thought - Wk 1

Discussion time - Hope you all are joining in the "Around the Word in 180 Days" campaign. (More info) As I read through Deuteronomy the last few days, it has struck me how much "love" is referenced.  Most people would have you believe that the Old Testament Covenant was that solely of works - follow the law, sacrifices, feasts, etc and remain in right standing with God.  While this is true, in the sense that following the preceding list DID leave you in right standing with Him, Moses is constantly telling the people to love the Lord their God and follow his commands.  The last few chapters, before Moses dies, he must command them at least 5 times to love the Lord AND follow His commands.  Not that that should surprise anyone as it did me, I guess I had a different view of the Old Covenant. 

V2 - Week 1

Greetings all - week 1 of V2 small group cycle was tonight and first meeting of "Leadership 101." Great discussion time - just getting to know one another and assigning first week's reading - 1st Chapter in the book.  Speaking of book, I still have 8 free copies left to the next 8 who join the group.  Next meeting is Feb. 25th @ 7:30 pm at Manna Church's Cliffdale site.  Not too late to join!!! 

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog - for followers of topherfletcher and WeeklyDevoThought - welcome back and hope you enjoy.  

We are going to embark in a unique journey - my Spring 2009 small groups will use this blog and I will post daily(ish).  

You can also follow me on twitter - CTopher81.  Can't wait to get this thing underway 

Cheers 

CTopher