Due to the wonderful generosity of some folks at our new church, I got to spend this afternoon in a suite at Kansas Speedway watching qualifying for the LifeLock 400 which also happens to be one of the races in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. I happen to be a pretty big Nascar fan, and I’m a particualarly big fan of Jimmie Johnson and so when I got to watch him zip around the track at 175 miles an hour, and take the Pole for Sunday’s race, it made it a very satisfying afternoon.

One of the perks of having a pass to a suite is that you get to enjoy going down by the pits and watching the cars/crews/drivers come and go. I took a lot of pictures, and I’ve posted a few of them over at my Photo Blog. I’ve placed a couple of them below, but you can click here to see all of them.

Dr. Al Mohler has written a tremendous new article on his blog examining the need for church planting side by side with the need for young pastors to go into existing churches and lead them to growth and vitality. In an era when almost every young pastor I know wants to plant a church (and they should be commended for wanting to do so) Dr. Mohler’s words are significant indeed. If you would like to read the article, you can do so by clicking here.

This week on Weekend Worship we will highlight a wonderful song by Ross Parsley and the folks at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO. Not only is Ross the worship pastor at New Life, but he also served as the Interim Pastor until they found a new pastor after Pastor Ted Haggard’s abrupt departure.

This song is a beautiful picture of the fact that we stand only on the work of Jesus. I love any song that exalts Christ and amplifies my need to trust in Him and this one certainly does that. It’s also extremely high energy which can be an enjoyable part of worship the we baptists all too often miss out on. I hope you enjoy!

The Edge Christian Fellowship is a church here in St. Joseph that is reaching our community in exciting ways. I’ve begun to get to know the leadership at The Edge and have really enjoyed their insight. The forward thinking guys down at The Edge have worked to produce a daily devotional in audio/video format and it is available each day at MorningDevotions.net. One devotion that I found particularly helpful was dealing with the mouth and whether we, as believers, speak in a Christ-like manner, or not. You can view the video by clicking here. I hope it’s helpful to you.

I was reading the last chapter of Jonah today and was struck by the very last verse.

But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

As I read that verse, I couldn’t help but think of the city that I call home. St. Joseph is a metro with 105,000 people. Of those, The Association of Religious Data Archive tells me that only 55% claim any religious affiliation. Of those 55%, it is my estimation that only 40% or so of those (and that is a liberal estimation) are actively involved in a bible teaching church. Taking that into consideration, it occurs to me that I live in a city which is, at best, only 20-30% Christian. It’s funny how we seem to relate missions as something that cannot occur without a foreign language being spoken, and yet for those of us living in the US we walk every day down the streets of one of the largest mission fields the world has ever known.

God’s passion for the people of Nineveh, who were living in spiritual darkness, makes me ask myself “How passionate am I about my city?” I am surrounded by lostness, and I do a good job (as well as most believers I know) of getting worked up about lost peoples around the world. If I don’t get as passionate about my own backyard, am I really concerned about lostness?

Father teach me today to love St. Joseph with the love that you expressed towards Nineveh. Help me to passionately pursue the saturation of the gospel in my city. Show me ways in which I can build bridges for the gospel. Help me to share Your word and experience fruit for the kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Just a few weeks ago I wasn’t sure what this football season (for both college and the pro’s) would be like for my two favorite teams, the Gators  & Packers. A few weeks in and I am a bit surprised, and very excited! What a day for Favre.

Ever wonder why we act like jump up and down, scream at the top of our lungs, whipped into a frenzy,  “charismatic” fanatics on Friday night at the football game but revert to stone faced, hands in our lap, sing if we feel like it, “Baptist” congregants on Sunday morning?

I wonder which message is more praise worthy? I guess, based on our behavior, the Friday Night Light message must supersede everything else. No wonder we can’t find people more interested in our message of grace.

Jim Botts has written a tremendous article, albeit a short one, about what it means to get our hands dirty for Christ. I really recommend that you take a look at it. You can do so by clicking here.

HT: Gary Rohrmayer