Rethinking the approach, not the message.

Man I love people that have a sense of humor. People take themselves too serious sometimes. I came across a story about a campaign taking place in a suburb of Chicago. (notice, they are rethinking their approach, but the message is still STOP)

“I thought it might make people smile and take notice,” Mayor Dave Heilmann said as he launched the campaign Friday. “You’ve got people on their cell phones, their BlackBerries and iPods while driving. Those are all distractions. Hopefully, when they see a sign they’re not expecting it might make them stop.”

And that got me thinking again…

Why don’t we take that same creativity and put it to use in the church? How many cars stream past our churches on Sunday and never think twice about stopping and seeing what it’s all about. We’re so worried about petty differences and what color the new carpet will be that we’ve stopped truly caring about reaching people. Granted, I know that there are many churches who are truly reaching out with the life giving message of Jesus Christ, but for the most part – we’re missing the reality of what Jesus called us to do, and who He called us to be.

If you know me, you know that one of my big beefs with the church right now is that so many pastors and preachers and trying to make the Message (The Word of God) relevant. They forget that it’s not the message that needs changing, but it’s our approach – how we communicate that message. The Word of God is ALWAYS relevant, it speaks to every issue in our lives, but we don’t want to admit to the fact that WE might be the ones who aren’t relevant.

As a pastor and communicator, the one thing I always try to communicate is that I’m no better than anyone else, I’m human, I sin (often) and I wrestle with the same things that everyone else does. When I first moved out to Phoenix, I heard from people in the community “you aren’t a typical pastor” and at first I took offense to that, but as I spent some time thinking about what they were really saying I realized what a compliment that was.

We serve a creative God, we are creations of a creative God. Within each one of us lies that spark of creativity, and it just needs a little breath to fan it into flames. I pray today you’ll color outside the lines a little, open your eyes as you’re driving around – and realize just how creative our God is. (that’ll preach!)

Click on the thumbnails to see the larger pics.

Unbelievable!!

I love Jazz music, I have for some time now. I just came across this guy named Raul Midon. He’s been blind from birth, but knows how to make music! He takes his guitar and just “owns it” Check this video out and go drop by his site to find out more about him. Absolutely ridiculous. Love it. Raul Midon

Franklin found the buried treasure… ARRR!!

So this is what happens when your wiener dog is the size of a milk bone box. The box was by the trash can and Franklin didn’t get the interoffice memorandum that there were no more bones. He decided to investigate matters for himself. This picture speaks for itself. (click on the picture to see the large version)

Swimming upstream

I have a great amount of respect and admiration for Dr. Chuck Swindoll. He’s one of my favorite author’s and one heck of a preacher. I had to post one of his recent devotionals for you, so good. Take a moment and read this:

PROGRESSIVENESS
by Charles R. Swindoll

Psalm 103

We salute visionaries of yesteryear. We shake our heads in amazement as we imagine the herculean courage it took to stand so confidently when the majority frowned so sternly. Looking back, we laud those who refused to take no for an answer. We quote them with gusto. We even name our children after them. Yesterday’s progress earns today’s monuments of stone.

But today? What do we do with such creatures today? We brand them as irritating malcontents, reckless idealists who simply won’t sit down and be quiet. Today’s progressive dreamers are seen as wild-eyed extremists. Since they hate the status quo mold, most of them have a tough time going along with the system. They, in fact, loathe the system. But what they lack in diplomacy they make up for in persistence. Cooperative they’re not. Resilient they are.

Give most of them a couple hundred years and they’ll be admired, lauded, and knighted. But at the present moment, they just seem nuts.

I can scarcely think of a half-dozen churches, for example, that would even consider having Martin Luther candidate for the pulpit. And it’s doubtful that any businesses would hire Thomas Edison or Leonardo da Vinci. Which evangelical seminary would chance turning over its students majoring in systematic theology to a firebrand like John Knox? And who, today, would choose to go into battle with a blood-and-guts, straight-shooting commanding officer like George Patton? For that matter, how many votes would a crusty, outspoken, overweight visionary like Winston Churchill or a rugged Andrew Jackson get in our day of slick government and made-for-TV bureaucrats and politicians? You think we’d respect their progressiveness and value their vision? Don’t bet on it. People didn’t in their day, either.

Are you an eagle-type, soaring high beyond your peers? Do you find yourself bored with the maintenance of the machinery . . . yawning through the review of the rules . . . restless to cut a new swath . . . excited rather than intimidated by the risks? If so, don’t expect pats on the back or great waves of applause. Chances are you may even lose a few jobs, fail a few courses, ruffle tons of feathers, and be the subject of the town gossip. Mavericks who don’t color within the lines are also notorious for not staying within the fences. And that makes folks terribly uncomfortable.

But take heart! You’re in good company!

Today’s alleged heretic may well be tomorrow’s hero.

Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, Day by Day with Charles Swindoll (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2000). Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Stay tuned

Just a reminder to stay tuned as we are working to get baileyministries.org updated and ready to rock and roll again. Keep your eyes open for the new and improved site! The current site is still working – and the booking form is still operational as well. Feel free to check it out. Until it’s updated, feel free to stop by myspace.com/baileyministries

Until next time sports fans…

Magnificent Obsession

“The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him.” ~Henry Varley

This Time.
This Generation.
Game On.

The Big TWO NINE

Wow… what a week it has been. I turned 29 last week and naturally I’ve spent a good deal of time looking back over where my life has been this last decade. It’s amazing to me to see how far I’ve come – mentally, emotionally, spiritually – a lot of growing up I guess you could say. I realized that I am finally old enough to have some of those “good ole’ days.” Naturally I’m a nostalgic person, and I’ve found myself missing some of those former days. I’m not quite sure why. I guess we all have those moments in our lives where we wish we could go back and change something. Maybe it was a choice we made, a friend we hurt, or an opportunity we passed up. I know it’s dangerous to live your life in the “what if’s” but it’s that reality that a new decade of life has begun for me. My twenties are essentially over, I’m getting older (I’m losing some hair!) I guess this morning my heart is heavy. I look back over these last several years and ask God for forgiveness for all of the mistakes I’ve made and the people I’ve hurt. I certainly don’t claim to be perfect, being a pastor I’m reminded of that every day. It’s crazy to be old enough to realize that there are people who have pieces of me and my heart. I used to think that you could get those pieces back, and you could somehow glue it all back together, but I’ve realized you can be whole, but you do it with what’s left of your heart. Wherever I travel, whenever I get a chance to speak – I always remind people to be careful what parts of yourself that you give away, because you can never get them back.

I’ve heard a quote “when your memories are bigger than your dreams, you’re headed for the grave.” And while I know that’s true in some sense, I still can’t get away from memories that are forever imprinted on my soul. Who knows what the next decade of my life will bring? But I am reminded of what James (and so many of my mentors have told me) “we aren’t promised another moment.” We have to live in the miracle of this moment, it’s the only thing we can do anything about. I know one thing, I want my life to count for something. I want to make a difference in this world, I want God to use my life. This journey of faith is a scary one at times, and I am learning what it means to truly “walk by faith and not by sight.” Boy that’s tough somedays… I pray that wherever life finds you today, you’ll appreciate the gift and the miracle of “today” Live life today, and “wherever you are, be all there.”

Man it’s early, what am I doing up?? Tell me that’s not a sign that I’m getting old!!! Guess it’s time for Starbucks.

Sometimes you just need to laugh

Well, it’s been one of those weeks in my house. I can’t get the Texas Tech game on TV (welcome to Arizona) so I thought I would put on some Billy Madison – hey, I need a laugh. I’ve heard many people say “Laughter is the best medicine” to that I say – “Amen” So I thought I would share a laugh with you. Enjoy.

On the passing of my best friend

Well, I got the phone call today that I have been dreading for many weeks. Mom called to let me know that Grizzly passed away. He had a very aggressive form of cancer that spread so fast. It absolutely breaks my heart. I think we had him nearly 12 years. You have to understand, dogs aren’t normal dogs in our house, they are part of the family. I think Grizzly spent more time snoozin in the Lazyboy than my dad did. Mom called Grizz her shadow because he literally followed her everywhere. Grizz was the sweestest, smartest dog we ever had. He really was part of our family and a part of me is deeply grieved over this loss. Does that make me a little weird for loving my dog so much? I guess it just might… I’ve always said every boy needs a few things to make it in this world: a good Bible, a good gun, and a good dog. Grizzly can never been replaced, and I don’t care what your theological position may be – I believe I’ll see Grizz again when we finally get “Home.” He’ll be able to play catch with his tennis ball and not get tired, and maybe finally I’ll get him in the pool with me (steph scared the poor dog to death by squirting him with a hose when he was a puppy! poor dog had a huge fear of water)

Today’s a sad day in the Bailey family. Thank you God for dogs and what we can learn about life and love through them. I think I’ll write a book “life lessons from a Grizzly”

The world is a much more dangerous place now that Grizz is no longer patrolling the fence lines and backyards of this mean world. Damn those squirrels that now have access to all of our bird feeders!

Sleep well old friend… you will be missed greatly.

Grizzly (11/01/95 – 09/21/07)

Lessons learned from a diet coke bottle

Ok – I’m a preacher, it’s what I do, it’s who I am. I love looking for illustrations in everyday things. So, I’ve had to face some tough facts in recent days… I’ve been trying to fight it… but I’m addicted to Diet Coke. I know I know… that stuff is for old folks (that’s what I used to think!) Growing up, it’s all my mom had around, so I got used to drinking the stuff. I realized while in college that I was consuming my daily amount of calories from many cans of Dr. Pepper… I figured if I was going to drink something with Caffeine, it might as well be Diet Coke – so here I am nearly 29 years old and hooked on the stuff.

When I have a tough day, I will typically grab a 2 Liter bottle of Diet Coke and a big bag of flamin’ hot cheetos (don’t knock it til you try it!) that’s better than it used to be. While in seminary, after bombing a greek test, I’d head out late at night while the “hot” sign was lit up at Krispy Kreme and order a dozen glazed and a large diet coke. It never failed, they always laughed at me and asked “what’s the diet coke for? to balance it all out?” I’d give that sarcastic laugh and take the goods back to the house where I would usually consume all of it before bed. Amazingly I still have my chiseled body (minus a few hairs on my head!)

So, my wife and I will be strolling through the grocery store and she’ll see me grab a 2 Liter of diet coke. She never says anything, but I get this look from her that if I know her well enough she’s saying “good grief. men. it’s not like you have cans of the stuff in the fridge, what’s wrong with them?” it’s a look that puts me in barbaric company. So I turn on David Letterman tonight and crack my 2 liter of Diet Coke. I love drinking from that bottle because I can take a really big gulp every time. You can’t really do that with a little can of the stuff. It’s pure satisfaction.

And that got me thinking again…

When Jesus met the woman at the well in John 4, they were having discussions about thirst, and what would truly quench her deepest thirst. The woman didn’t have the greatest reputation in town, and was probably out drawing water from the well during a time when she knew others wouldn’t be there. She didn’t want to face any more ridicule, she had had enough. She was looking to have some of her most basic (and greatest) needs satisfied. I love what Jesus says to her; “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14 NASB) People search for satisfaction in so many different things these days, but always end up feeling empty and thirsty for more of what the world has to offer. It’s a vicious circle that often leaves people at the bottom of a very deep, dry, and lonely well. Trust me, Jesus is the real deal, the offer is always available, but you have to ask yourself; “how thirsty are you?”

May you drink deep of the water Jesus offers to you today…