Saturday, February 6, 2010

Snow Days


Been a while since I posted to Revshortridge. I have been busy with class work and haven't had the time or brain power to keep up with posting. Hopefully this changes slowly over the next few months. I miss this forum.

This weekend we are cancelling services for the second week in a row due to snow. There just isn't any way to get the back roads clear in time, and power is out in most of the LCC area. I will miss all of you LCCers. Below is a piece I wrote for the newsletter:

This winter has been especially hard for our area. We have cancelled services more this year than we did the entire seven years of LCC combined.
Sometimes it is different to have a break, but there is a lot at stake when we cancel services. For instance:

Our relationships. We need to continue to encourage each other. Use Facebook, Twitter or something. Go to your home group.

Our finances. This year we have been put in a very bad financial situation through cancellations. If we cancel, keep giving. Mail it in or use the online payment link on our website.

Our discipleship. Keep reading your Bible, do a family church service at home. Whatever you do— keep growing.

Our worship. Get some praise and worship cd’s download some Hillsong worship from iTunes. Sing songs from a hymn book. You need weekly worship to be strong.

Our service. Some of our closings are due to sidewalk or parking issues. See if you can serve by keeping LCC open. Call the office to volunteer.

Our evangelism. It is hard to invite someone to church if we are closed. Use the time to connect with some new neighbors, shovel their walk than tell them about Jesus.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving Post


I have been light with posting while I get through the crunch season in my Master's Degree program. I will start posting regularly again in January.

Today is Thanksgiving and I am thankful for Linda, my children, my family at LCC, and the chance to serve Jesus the way I do.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Book on Sex

Here is a link to the book I mentioned today in the sermon on marriage.



Monday, September 14, 2009

Fido and the Rapture


Ever wonder what will happen to Fido and Fluffy when the Rapture occurs? There is a new service for people that want the best in Tribulation care for their pets.

For a mere $110 they will make sure a certified atheist takes care of your pet if the Rapture should occur. Check out the web site here.

I am not sure what this says about us as Christians. Are we unbalanced in caring for our pets or just plain gullible. Billions of people will be left behind and we give the atheists $110 to care for our pets? Our priorities are out of whack. Shouldn't we put $110 into missions or church planting and bring some souls along with us?

Try clicking on this link and designating your giving to missions or church planting.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Life Changing Challenge

Check out the B90x challenge from Elevation Church. Imagine how spiritually fit you could be if you accepted this challenge. Anyone up for it?

Friday, September 11, 2009

Movin' on Out


I was looking at our membership roll at LCC the other day, and felt a bit sad when I looked over the list of people that are no longer members of LCC. Seems like I have lost some of my best friends. Some have moved away, some have moved on to other ministry, some have moved to other churches. I miss every one of them.

Truth of the matter, though, is that healthy churches in our area lose about 20% of members a year. People leaving the church is normal, and in some ways it can be healthy for a church. For an example, check out Ed Young, Jr.'s blog post on the subject.

Church planters and revitalizers: Don't be afraid to let go. God often builds by subtraction.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Class of 2013

Beloit College has for years listed items that relate the the current Freshman class. Their list helps us older folks to keep up with the mindset of the next generation. Here is the list for 2013:

The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2013

Most students entering college for the first time this fall were born in 1991.

1. For these students, Martha Graham, Pan American Airways, Michael Landon, Dr. Seuss, Miles Davis, The Dallas Times Herald, Gene Roddenberry, and Freddie Mercury have always been dead.

2. Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Kevorkian, and Mike Tyson have always been felons.

3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.

4. They have never used a card catalog to find a book.

5. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.

6. Salsa has always outsold ketchup.

7. Earvin "Magic" Johnson has always been HIV-positive.

8. Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible.

9. They have been preparing for the arrival of HDTV all their lives.

10. Rap music has always been main stream.

11. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.

12. Someone has always been building something taller than the Willis (née Sears) Tower in Chicago.

13. The KGB has never officially existed.

14. Text has always been hyper.

15. They never saw the "Scud Stud" (but there have always been electromagnetic stud finders.)

16. Babies have always had a Social Security Number.

17. They have never had to "shake down" an oral thermometer.

18. Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.

19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.

20. American students have always lived anxiously with high-stakes educational testing.

21. Except for the present incumbent, the President has never inhaled.

22. State abbreviations in addresses have never had periods.

23. The European Union has always existed.

24. McDonald's has always been serving Happy Meals in China.

25. Condoms have always been advertised on television.

26. Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice versa.

27. Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.

28. The American health care system has always been in critical condition.

29. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.

30. Desperate smokers have always been able to turn to Nicoderm skin patches.

31. There has always been a Cartoon Network.

32. The nation's key economic indicator has always been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

33. Their folks could always reach for a Zoloft.

34. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.

35. Women have always outnumbered men in college.

36. We have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.

37. Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code.

38. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations.

39. It's always been official: President Zachary Taylor did not die of arsenic poisoning.

40. Madonna's perspective on Sex has always been well documented.

41. Phil Jackson has always been coaching championship basketball.

42. Ozzy Osbourne has always been coming back.

43. Kevin Costner has always been Dancing with Wolves, especially on cable.

44. There have always been flat screen televisions.

45. They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix.

46. Disney's Fantasia has always been available on video, and It's a Wonderful Life has always been on Moscow television.

47. Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.

48. Elite American colleges have never been able to fix the price of tuition.

49. Nobody has been able to make a deposit in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).

50. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.

51. Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.

52. They have never been Saved by the Bell

53. Someone has always been asking: "Was Iraq worth a war?"

54. Most communities have always had a mega-church.

55. Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.

56. The status of gays in the military has always been a topic of political debate.

57. Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds.

58. There has always been a Planet Hollywood.

59. For one reason or another, California's future has always been in doubt.

60. Agent Starling has always feared the Silence of the Lambs.

61. "Womyn" and "waitperson" have always been in the dictionary.

62. Members of Congress have always had to keep their checkbooks balanced since the closing of the House Bank.

63. There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.

64. CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging.

65. Avon has always been "calling" in a catalog.

66. NATO has always been looking for a role.

67. Two Koreas have always been members of the UN.

68. Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.

69. The NBC Today Show has always been seen on weekends.

70. Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.

71. Conflict in Northern Ireland has always been slowly winding down.

72. Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.

73. Nobody has ever responded to "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up."

74. Congress could never give itself a mid-term raise.

75. There has always been blue Jell-O.

Check out the college at http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/