Primal: A Book Review

Several weeks ago I received an invitation to review Mark Batterson's new book Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity. I was eager to get a copy of Batterson's book. If you don't know him, Mark is the pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. NCC is a unique ministry that meets in movie theaters in strategic metro stops around the DC area. Batterson is a creative thinker, communicator, and writer. His previous books are In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase. He also writes a very popular blog called Evotional.com.

I have not read Batterson's prior books, but knew some friends that enjoy them very much. I have read Batterson's blog occasionally and also have been very encouraged by his creativity in ministry and missions. As a writer, he shows an incredible passion for missions and helping NCC to be active in giving to missions. The church opened a coffeehouse named Ebeneezers in DC that donates all it's profits to missions causes.

Primal is a unique book. Batteson writes that he got the inspiration for the book by walking through the catacombs under the Church of San Clemente in Rome. His experience going through this ancient place gave him an appreciation and a passion to see Christianity return to its more "primal" roots. One great quote he said was "as I tried to absorb the significance of where I was, I couldn't help but wonder if our generation has conveniently fogotten how inconvenient it can be to follow in the footsteps of Christ." He believes that we have become adept at adding layers to what it means to be a Christian and that much of modern-day Christianity resembles little what the early church lived and faced. I can certainly appreciate his feeling. Very few of us today have truly counted the cost or paid a significance price to follow Jesus. As a result, we have adopted a cheap grace and a costless religion.

Batterson structures his book around the Great Commandment. He believes the essence of Christianity is found in learning to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Batteson says that "my aim in this book is to take you to new places intellectually and spiritually so that you discover new ways of loving God." It's an admirable aim. His writing is certainly encouraging. His style is full of inspirational stories. There are many moments where I was personally challenged to have a much deeper faith. Batterson's faith is contagious and his words are challenging. The best section in the book is the last one on "The Strength of Christianity." He encourages readers to dare to dream big dreams and do big things for God. He claims that "most church problems don't come from the abundance of sin but rather from the lack of vision." He also does a good job of helping Christians to think with an "abundance mentality" and to focus on the great things that God may be calling us to do.

Overall, the book is a positive read. However, there is little doctrinal depth to the book. Few references to God's Word are employed. Batterson is one of the latest Christian authors to call us to downplay doctrine and spend more time doing stuff. Part of this probably comes from his admission that "our family went to half a dozen different churches when I was growing up, and here is what I learned: all of them get some things right, and all of them get some things wrong." While this statement is certainly true, it leaves the reader with the impression that doctrine isn't important. It's a revamping of the philosophy that "It doesn't matter what you know, it only matters what you do." However, I believe it does matter what you know. It is possible to be doctrinally sound and culturally relevant. As a matter of fact, sound doctrine doesn't downplay missions, it gives it real meaning. Right actions come from right belief. However, many of the popular pastors of our modern-day church (Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Rob Bell, Brian McClaren) have espoused a philosophy that shuns doctrine in favor of a lighter brand of Christianity that is more appealing to the culture. However, does this really help accomplish Batterson's goal of reminding us how we've "conveniently fogotten how inconvenient it can be to follow in the footsteps of Christ"? Batterson attempts to tell the reader that he isn't suggesting backing off of doctrine. He says we should be passionate about the "nonnegotionables" which to him are the Diety of Christ, Christ's sinlessness, His substitutionary death, and His resurrection. Are these the only nonnegtionables? What about the exclusivity of Christ (John 14:6), or justification by faith alone (Romans 1:17)? He admits in a footnote that there are some disagreements on this. However, I believe that we have to be very careful about watering down doctrine in order to gain a hearing in the culture. After all, when you publish in writing what you believe are the nonnegtionables, you better be sure to be clear about that.

In conclusion, I was very encouraged by Batterson's book. He's an ultra-creative and vivid thinker. He has a great passion to take the gospel to the lost and to build bridges of cultural relevancy. He's put together an extremely creative church model that has taken the church to the marketplace. I hope that the longer he serves as pastor, the more he will become passionate about the whole truth of the gospel. I hope he becomes more like Mark Driscoll or Mark Dever in his approach and less like Bill Hybels or Robert Schuller. Batterson is an emerging church leader on the evangelical landscape. I look forward to see what he comes up with next.

This book was provided for review by Multinomah Publishers. You can find more about the author and other books at the Random House website.

Monday Morning Clarity (one day late)

Christmas is fastly approaching. I know that many of you have already finished your Christmas shopping while many others haven't bought anything yet. My dad announced to my wife and I at Thanksgiving that he had one more present to buy and he would be finished. That's dedication! My wife and I went this past week to the Galleria Mall in Birmingham for our annual trip to get the mall Santa picture. I was reminded once again how hectic Christmas has become. Toys R Us resembled a battle zone with armored carts bumping into each other and people lining isles to get those Legos and video games. I was glad to be back in God's house Sunday morning for some sanity and the chance to refocus on the worship of our Savior.

• The Christmas season has affected our attendance with lots of families having to take the weekend to go and visit extended family. Crowd was down a little this past Sunday. However, the spirit of the crowd was strong. Sixth Street is a special place because of the people who love the Lord and love their church.
• Elisa Bowles did an awesome job Sunday morning on "O Holy Night"! That's one of my favorite Christmas songs. It's also not an easy one to sing, but Elisa knocked it out of the park.
• It's great to have some of our college students like Kendall Graveman and Morgan Jones back home. Some of our students will be going to Passion Conference in Atlanta in January. I'm stoked! Passion has long been one of my favorite events.
• Speaking of Morgan Jones, she is going to Honduras after Christmas on a mission trip with our old pal Dan Moran. I am trying to give Morgan a crash course in "How to Survive a Dan Moran Mission Trip." Please be praying for her and the people of Honduras. I am thankful for any church member who has a heart for missions.
• The Children's Choirs did a great job Sunday night on their musicals! These are by far one of my favorite things. One of the reasons I love them is because they are messy. Kids forget their lines, the motions to the songs are never in sync, they speak their lines too fast and without any inflection, and usually someone is picking their nose or putting their hands down their pants. However, in all this, these children present the gospel in such a simple way. And they really believe what they are singing! I wish we all had a little more childlikeness in us from time to time.
• Thanks to Carrie Keel and her team for their leadership so far in our Children's Choir! We've had record enrollment and the kids are having a good time.
• Don't forget the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering! I know that the economy is down and times are tough. However, let's be sure to be faithful to the task of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ above and beyond spreading the commercialism of Wal-Mart and Amazon. We have hundreds of missionaries that were denied appointment this year because of the lack of funds. The Lottie Moon Offering helps Southern Baptists to be the most dominant missional force among all denominations. Please consider making adjustments to your Christmas list this year and be generous to this important cause. Sixth Street has a goal of $10,000 and we've already collected $6,200! Let's close it out Sixth Street!
• I'm working on my sermon plan for 2010. This is the first time I have been responsible for setting out a long-term sermon plan for a church. It's an adventure. Pray for clarity and that I stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit as I go through the planning process.
• I want to challenge all of Sixth Street to be faithful in God's Word in 2010. Perhaps you can dedicate yourself to read through the Bible this year. Perhaps that's too ambitious and you can just work through the New Testament. Find a good Bible reading plan. Some good plans can be found on the ESV Bible website. Also check out bibleplans.org. Another great online site is youversion.com. Here you can not only select a plan, but you can jot down notes and interact with others who use youversion. I will be using youversion quite frequently during 2010 and would love to interact with you. Find something and let's dive into God's Word in a deeper, more faithful way in 2010.

Wow. That's a lot of stuff to get out of my head! See you Sunday!

Remember This?

Maybe they were right after all. As much as I hate to admit it, I have to give props to the Tide and especially Nick Saban. They have done everything they need to and deserve to play in Pasadena. Good luck Bama.

Jesus Wants the Rose by Matt Chandler

This past year, my friend Jason introduced me to the teachings of a young pastor in Texas named Matt Chandler. He's 35 and a passionate teacher of the gospel and one of the most doctrinally and practically grounded pastors I have ever seen.

He's also recovering from surgery to remove a tumor from his brain last Friday. All seems to have gone well, but continue to pray for a smooth and complete recovery.

This is a short video from the Desiring God conference and a snipet of the kind of incredible teaching Matt has. We need more men like this, young and old, to declare the gospel. Pray for me that I can be as faithful as him.

Monday Morning Clarity

The Christmas holiday season is underway in a powerful way at Sixth Street. What a great Sunday yesterday! Great music, hopefully inspiring message, and the gospel presented through music.

• Big thanks to Marie Tidwell and her team for the awesome job they did decorating the church campus last week. They spent many late evenings putting up wreaths, spraying snow, and decorating the trees. It looked awesome and created a very festive spirit allowing us to worship the gift that God has sent.
• The adult choir hit a home run last night with their Christmas musical. I heard several comments from attendees that this was the best program that Sixth Street has ever put on. It was awesome to see the name of Jesus lifted up and the gospel so clearly declared through music. Not only did it sound good, it was biblical and evangelistic too. Thanks to Kevin, Angela and the tech crew, and all the choir for giving Jesus your best.
• Yesterday, we looked at the character of Joseph and what happens when God's plan interrupts your plans. Ultimately, we saw that 1) Our present circumstances do not always tell the whole story. 2) My reactions to divine interruptions expose what's in my heart. 3) God's plan usually seems impossible, at first. 4) God will work through our faith to bring glory to himself. The summary was "What we may view as an interruption, God may view as our destiny."
• Last minute preparations are underway this week for our Children's Christmas musical Sunday night at 6 PM. Please make plans to join us. I know the kids have worked real hard and will do a super job!
• Don't forget our emphasis on the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. There are as many as 600 SBC missionaries that may not get to go to the field this year because of budget shortfalls. Our church goal is $10,000. It's ambitious, but I believe extremely achievable. Please take some money you might spend on another Christmas present that might not get used and give it instead to support the mission of making disciples around the world. As of today, we have collected $6,261. Help us reach the goal!
  
• I had some wonderful gifts yesterday from some church members. Reminds me that being a pastor does have it's privileges. I am humbled and honored to serve alongside some great people.
• Our church council met last week for the first of several meetings to formulate our vision and strategy to make disciples at Sixth Street. I hope that soon in the new year, we will have a vision and plan to help us turn the corner.
• I have seen a lot of new visitors the last few weeks. Some of this is due to the holidays, but I hope we will continue to be a church that lovingly welcomes all people with the life-transforming truth of the gospel.

Verse of the week - "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder,and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Why We Love the Church - A Review

Recently I saw this book in the bookstore and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I read it in about a week and was encouraged and strengthened by it. The book is written by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, two young evangelicals that are definitely not the norm among today's younger evangelicals. These two guys wrote the book Why We Are Not Emergent by Two Guys Who Should Be which won a Christianity Today Book of the Year award. DeYoung is a rising influence in the evangelical world. He is the pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan. He has a solid Reformed background and is passionate about providing sound, biblical teaching to a congregation made up mostly of college students and young professionals. Kluck is a member of DeYoung's church and an award-winning sportswriter. He's written for ESPN The Magazine, Sports Spectrum, and ESPN.com Page 2. Both of these guys provide a fresh, authentic voice in their writing that is doctrinally solid, culturally relevant, and refreshingly honest.

Why We Love the Church is exactly what it sounds like - an attempt by two young evangelicals to present their case for the local church despite all it's flaws and failures. They reveal their frustration with the popular trend among evangelicals, especially the emergent crowd, to publish their manifestos on all of the reasons why the church is broken, where the church has failed, and how to fix it to make it more relevant and missional. The Christian book market has been flooded in recent years with books by George Barna (Revolution and Pagan Christianity), Jim Palmer (Divine Nobodies and Wide Open Spaces), Dan Kimball (They Like Jesus but Not the Church), and the constantly off-beat Brian McClaren (A New Kind of Christian, A Generous Orthodoxy, and The Secret Message of Jesus). These guys are full of all kind of advice about how the local church is too concerned with self-preservation, blind to social justice issues, and not good on helping people find real answers to real questions. They propose a new brand of Christianity that unfortunately lacks any theological depth, is open to a gospel without the language of sin and repentance, and measures success more by our attempts to save the planet or eradicate AIDS than it does on lives transformed by the gospel and growing through the faith "once for all delivered to the saints."

I was extremely encouraged by DeYoung and Kluck. DeYoung writes with a theological depth well beyond his years. He is still young enough to know the issues that this generation struggles with. He is honest that the church has not done a good job of answering the questions that this younger generation is asking. He paints a broad picture of how most young adults see church:

"In their experience, church is where a lot of people show up and don't do anything, where evangelism and the seeker are all that matter, where every Sunday must be a celebration, where suburbia is king, where pastors are godlike CEO's, where another building is always under construction and another capital campaign is coming soon."

He also is honest to show the reasons why people are leaving the church. The church has become inauthentic, outdated, and in some cases abusive of authority. However, DeYoung's answer is not to leave the local church in favor of a discussion group at Starbucks. He actually suggests that some of the angst with the church may be self-induced by a group of people that have lacked real discipleship, have never heard the truth of the gospel that calls for self-denial and mortification of sin, and have always been the center of attention. Perhaps the problem is a combination of the misguided mission of the local church and the spiritual immaturity of a younger generation that has never truly understood the gospel. Perhaps the answer is not less doctrine, but true doctrine. Perhaps the answer is not to rewrite the gospel of redemption, but to preach the truth of biblical redemption.

DeYoung's co-author Kluck has a satirical wit and candor combined with a passion for the local church. He uses illustrations from today's movies and television to point out that what people are really looking for is the local church and what it provides.

DeYoung and Kluck have written a brilliant book that many church leaders should read. Before we jump off the emergent diving board with McClaren, Tony Jones, Dan Kimball, and George Barna, we should possibly make sure that pool has enough water to catch us and keep us from sustaining permanent damage. If you are a pastor or church leader, get a copy of this book and read it now.

Kevin DeYoung's blog is also an excellent read and can be found here.

Monday Morning Clarity

Hoping you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. My family and I went to MS to spend 4 days with my extended family in Columbus. We had a great Thanksgiving day at my grandmother's house. It was our first Thanksgiving without my grandmother and I think she was in our thoughts throughout the day - as we made the food, while we ate without her there, as we cleaned up. We truly miss her.

On another note, we had a great holiday weekend watching MS State blow away the Rebels from "that school up North" in the Egg Bowl. Go Dawgs! I couldn't score tickets to the game, but watched it with my brother, my dad, my wife, and my sister-in-law. It was a great game and awesome to see the job that Coach Dan Mullen has been doing finally pay off.

Here are some other random thoughts from the weekend:

• We started our emphasis on the Advent season. Thanks Myron and Holly for kicking us off! Advent means "coming" and is a recognition of the coming of the Messiah. As believers we celebrate Advent as we remember his coming as Savior and his future coming as Lord. Each week we will have a family do a selected reading on Advent and light the appropriate candle. My hope is that this will be a reminder to us all about the anticipation for the real reason for the holiday seaon.
• We also started our "Characters of Christmas" series by looking at Simeon and what we do while we wait on the promise of God to be fulfilled. My hope is that each week we will look at a character and see what their life teaches us about God's plan. I hope it is an encouraging and practical look at Christmas.
• Don't forget that this week is the Week of Prayer for Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Our SBC missionaries need our financial support, but more importantly, our prayer support. God can work around any limit we may have on resources, but he allows us to be part of the process through our prayers.
• Speaking of the SBC, be praying for the Great Commisssion Resurgence Task Force that is meeting this week in Atlanta to help set the tone for much of Southern Baptist life in the next few years. Pray for wisdom and insight for these godly leaders. Go to pray4gcr.com for more info.
• The Sixth Street Adult and Children's choirs are putting on the finishing touches for their Christmas musicals. The adult choir will be this Sunday night at 6 PM and the children's choir will be next Sunday at 6 PM. Thanks to Kevin and these awesome leaders for their hard work.

Verse of the week - Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Advent: The Light is Coming

Starting this morning at Sixth Street, we are doing two emphases to celebrate the Christmas season. First of all, we will be lighting an advent wreath and observing Advent moments with families from Sixth Street in our worship service. "Advent" simply means coming and is the time liturgically when the church as recognized a time of expectant waiting in preparation for the coming of Jesus on Christmas. My hope and prayer is that we will create a holy sense of expectation about Christmas that will cut through the commercialism and consumerism that bombards us. I hope that we will be more expectant of the celebration of the Messiah as we are about Black Friday deals.

We will also be starting a new series called "Characters of Christmas" where we will look at 4 of the characters of the holiday season and what their lives teach us about God's plans and purposes for our lives. Today we will look at Simeon and "When You Finally See God's Promises". I hope it will be a special holiday time for us as a church.

Book Review - The Well-Behaved Child

Well, I am finally able to catch up some on my much neglected blog and get some things I have been trying to get to finally done. Several weeks ago, I received a copy of John Rosemond's book "The Well-Behaved Child: Discipline that Really Works" to review for my blog. I was especially interested in this book because I have three boys at my house that we affectionately call "Hurricane Haines". Since our move to our new home, we have seen more discipline challenges with our boys and many days we have wanted to pull our hair out. My 10-year old is quickly developing selective hearing and a pre-teen attitude. My 8-year old is quite the dramatic one. Even my 5-year old has begun to lie more than usual when he does something wrong.

Rosemond's book was a very easy and encouraging read. It's obvious that he has been working through his techniques for many years. By his own admission, this book is a compilation of his parenting seminars that he has been giving. It's called a "workshop in a book." Rosemond's advice is full of very practical, helpful advice. It's obvious from his stories and the opening chapter that we have an entire generation of parents that have no idea how to parent or discipline because they never had positive, corrective discipline modeled for them by their parents. One doesn't have to look far to see the disastrous situation that our children are growing up in today's society. Rosemond sets down the tone and direction of the book in the first chapter when he answers the question "Why do children misbehave?" Pulling no punches and trying not to be politically correct, Rosemond answers "Because children are bad." He convincingly shows us that it is our job as parents to take these bad children and teach them what is expected of them in life. Rosemond shows a great deal of understanding about sin and its nature in children. Without being too preachy, he shows how children are living out their sin nature and it's consequences. It's a refreshing voice that immediately put me on his side and ready to hear his answers.

Rosemond's book is divided into 5 sections, each offering seven topics. These include "Seven Fundamentals of Effective Discipline," "Seven Essential Tools," "Top Seven Behavior Problems of all Time...Solved," and "Seven Tales of the Strange and Unexpected." Rosemond's advice is biblically sound, honest, and drawn from real-life, pragmatic examples of families he has used these techniques in, including his own. His seven tools are very practical and doable. They also help put the authority back into the hands of the parents instead on in the children. I have tried to institute some of the techniques with my kids and seem some success. Alison and I will be going through this book together to put many of these plans in place.

I highly recommend "The Well-Behaved Child" to any and all parents in my church as well as my friends and family. Read it before it's too late!

This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers

Monday Morning Clarity

After being out with a busy week at the Alabama Baptist Convention last week in Huntsville, it made for a short week. However, we had another great Sunday at Sixth Street yesterday. The crowd seemed a little smaller than the last few weeks. I wondered if the weather had something to do with that. I felt like there was a great spirit among everyone that was there. Here are some of my thoughts about the day and the upcoming holiday season.

• We finished our series on "The Walk" yesterday by looking at Ephesians 5 and how to imitate God. Paul made "Walk this Way" cool long before Aerosmith when he said for us to walk in love, walk as children of light, and walk wisely. I heard several positive comments about the practical application of the message. That always means a lot.
• Had a great lunch with our friends Byron and Christy Meadows and their family yesterday at Mama Ella's. This has become our most popular choice for Sunday lunch. Great food and lots of it.
• Speaking of food, we had another great time at the SSBC Thanksgiving Meal last night in the gym. The turnout was awesome and the food was even better. It's always good to fellowship around the table with other Christians. One thing that Baptists do real well is eat. I was also encouraged to see such a great spirit among our people. It was difficult to interrupt them to do the devotional because everyone was so engaged with each other. That's the power of biblical community.
• Speaking of community, I am hoping that one of our major areas of focus for 2010 is to develop a healthy, spiritually sound groups system that allows everyone in our church to have a place to live the Christian life in community with other Christians and not just attend a class to hear someone teach. People in the church today are starving for real, genuine, deep, and Spirit-filled relationships with other believers.
• This is Thanksgiving week which means I am going to my Mama's house for the holidays. We are excited. Thankgiving is a special time for us, but it will be more so this year because this will be the first Thankgiving without the family matriarch - my grandmother Mama Alice. We are doing Thanksgiving at her house this year in honor of her. In addition, we are celebrating with both my mom and my dad's family and their spouses. I'm looking forward to a great day. I have a lot to be thankful for.
• Sunday morning will start our Christmas series called "Characters of Christmas". We will be looking this week at Simeon and "When You Finally See God's Promise." Hope you will be there.

A Monday Morning Clarity on Thursday

Greetings everyone. I am sorry that I didn't get an update in the first of this week. I went to the Alabama Baptist State Convention in Huntsville and Pastor's Conference on Monday. Unfortunately, I packed up my computer and stuff and left it on the coffee table when I left, so I was "unplugged" for the week. It was a great time though and my first convention as a senior pastor. I had the privilege to sit with and speak some to Dr. Rick Lance, our State Board of Missions President. He is a godly man and great leader and we are blessed to have him leading the Baptist cause in Alabama.

• It was another great day at Sixth Street. The music was inspiring and the seats were packed. I was especially moved by the response of our men during our prayer time. It was awesome to see men on their knees interceding for themselves and their families. I want out children to see our men as godly men of prayer and the word. Expect more of this in the future.
• I had to suck up some pride and preach despite the tail-whooping that the Crimson Tide put on my Bulldogs last Saturday. However, I made my way through it. We looked at "The Walk" and Paul's command in Ephesians 4 to "put off" the old nature and "put on" the new nature. I have loved preaching this series.
• Mrs. Anna Middlebrooks did a great job Sunday night leading our missions study of the Berber people of North Africa. I pray that we will be a church with a heart for the nations and especially for the unreached people groups around the world. Thanks Mrs. Anna for your hard work on this.
• I have picked up and started reading this week Mark Driscoll's book "Death by Love". It's a great look at the substitutionary atonement of Jesus. Hope to finish it soon.
• Look for a big push next Spring called "Across Alabama" that we will take part in. I am working with some of the other SBC churches in Alex City to go "Across Alex City" in prayer walking and gospel distribution next March. It should be an awesome time.
• Take some time this week to begin to prepare your heart for the upcoming holiday season. We have much to be thankful for and a great Savior to celebrate.

Quick Update

It's been a couple of weeks since I was able to do a Monday Morning Clarity update. The days have been filled with moving trucks, packing boxes, unpacking boxes, "Where does this go", and the business of church. It's been a fast and furious couple of weeks.

• First, we closed on our house here in Alex City and the moving truck delivered our things last Thursday, November 5th. We are so excited to be in our new house. As you probably know though, it is a little overwhelming. We've seen how much we accumulated that we really didn't need. I see a Yard Sale in our immediate future.
• Two great weeks at Sixth Street. We closed out our series on "Amazed by Grace" on November 1 by looking at Titus 2 and Motivating Grace that helps us to live properly. It was probably one of the times I felt the most freedom of the Spirit to preach. This past Sunday we started a three week series called "The Walk" by looking at Galatians 5 and being led by the Spirit. I have received a lot of positive feedback from these messages. Praying God uses it to really help some people.
• The crowds have appeared larger the last couple of weeks and a good energy has been circulating prior to worship. I hope this is a sign of greater things to come.
• We have a lot of families that are having marriage difficulties lately in our church. The family is so critical to the culture and the church. I believe that this is a sign of the potential that is here at Sixth Street. We need men who will stand on the wall to fight and drop on their knees to pray for their families. Stay strong Sixth Street!
• Steve Norris did a great job leading our series off with the Steven Curtis Chapman song "The Walk" this last week with accompaniment from Eric and Justin. What's more impressive is that they learned it and pulled it off in about 6 days. Great job guys!
• We got a new addition to the Haines household last week. It's a Maltepoo named Papi. He's seven weeks old and is getting spoiled. We should be getting our lab Maggie back in a couple of weeks and we'll see how well they get along.
• Nathan and Drew both had their names in the local paper recently for Honor Roll. Nathan made A/B honor roll and Drew made A honor roll. I like the fact that in small towns they still print those in the local paper. Made us proud!
• I've been reading a lot more lately. I have 2 new book reviews to put up soon. I am also about to finish Tony Dungy's book "Quiet Strength". I have always like Coach Dungy and got to hear him speak at Catalyst.

Verse of the week: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Eph 5:1-2

Need some of this Saturday...

Let's go State! Maroon! White! Fight, Fight, Fight!

Sermons Online

I don't really know how many of you actually read and follow my blog outside of my mother (Hi Mom!). However, thanks to the incredibly gracious and hard work of the tech team at Sixth Street, especially Angela Mullins, you can now listen to my Sunday morning sermons online. That's right! I now at least online like many of the great communicators I enjoy listening to like John MacArthur, Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll, Andy Stanley. While I don't pretend to hold a candle to the oratory abilities of those guys, it is at least cool to know that I can pretend to be important because we are accessible online.

If you would like to listen to my sermons, they are available on iTunes under "Sixth Street Baptist Church" as well as off the Sixth Street Baptist Church website here. Listen to them if you have a chance and let me know what you think.

Happy Anniversary Baby, I Got You On My Mind

Twelve years ago today I finally found a mate and took the plunge with my life-partner Alison. She was an answer to many years of prayer and searching. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her that she was for me. She has been a faithful wife, partner in ministry, and keeps me grounded and balanced. She has been a major part of my new ministry in Alexander City and has seemed to have a lot more joy being a pastor's wife here. This last year has seen a major move for our family, a trip to Disneyworld, the loss of my grandmother, and our youngest son John David starting public school. We've also had Drew's Upward basketball and Nathan's great baseball season. It's been a good year though. Happy Anniversary Alison. I love you.

We celebrated our anniversary by closing on our new home in Alex City on Friday. We're having it painted and cleaned up this week and hope to move in Thursday.

Happy Reformation Day!

While most of America will dress up in costumes and seek out candy, few of us really understand the significance of October 31. On this date in 1517, a monk named Martin Luther took 95 theses named "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences" that he drafted in response to the selling of indulgences by Johann Tetzel to fund the St. Peter's Basilica. Although Luther probably didn't mean to start a revolution, his courage helped to fire the first shot in what would become known as the Protestant Reformation. It was a group of men who protested errors of the Roman Catholic Church and opened the true gospel to the world. If you have a personal faith in Jesus Christ, it is most likely a direct result of the stand made this day by Martin Luther.

Here is a Wikipedia article on Luther

Here is a Wikipedia article on the 95 Theses and an actual list of what they said.

Thank you Lord for the courage and power of men like Luther. May we have men with that kind of dedication in our day.

An Awesome Moment from Catalyst '09

Catalyst was once again one of the best experiences I have ever been a part of. By far though, this was the highlight of the conference. Jimmy Wambua was a child who was sponsored in a Compassion International project who shares his story and meets his sponsor for the first time. This was incredible. Jimmy begins to share his story about the 3:45 mark.

Monday Morning Clarity

We had another great day yesterday at Sixth Street. I preached the 4th sermon in our "Amazed by Grace" series entitled "Sufficient Grace". We looked at Paul's reminder from God that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Doing this series has really given me a greater appreciation for God's grace and its power in our lives. I believe that most Christ-followers miss out on seeing the power of God displayed in their lives because of a misunderstanding of the grace of God. It's been refreshing for me and I think the church has really enjoyed it.

• We had another great partnership yesterday with the children's choir and the adult choir. They did "Your Love is Amazing" and Davey and Shelley Macon led in a solo. It's always great to see our children's choir on stage and the parents really show up so the crowd's better. I appreciate Carrie Keel and all her choir workers for their hard work.
• I looked out over our parking lot yesterday before the service and we have some real parking issues. If we increase our average attendance at all, we are really going to have trouble parking the cars, especially when it rains. I hope to get our frontline teams on board by the first of the year helping to solve these issues.
• I have noticed several new people each week, or at least new faces to me. I need to do a better job of encouraging them to fill out a connection card. I think we need to redo the connection card and find another way to disperse it to get information from everyone.
• One of the major tasks for 2010 for Sixth Street is to start talking about developing Biblical community and small groups. I think we have some great couples that are not connected in any way to a small group and that disconnection is showing in the congregation. We are made by God to live life in community with other believers. Expect a major emphasis on this soon.
• We are going to be having some hard talks about finances and budget planning the next few weeks. We need to find a way to balance proper stewardship of God's resources with our plans. I fully expect that the finances will get better, but we need to do a better job all around with teaching stewardship both as families and as a church family.
• We are supposed to close on our new house here soon. My lender tells me we are scheduled for this Friday which would be great! We are really ready to get settled down and get in our own place and establish roots. The move to Alex City has been good for Alison and myself to spend more time together. It's also given us more time with the kids. However, they've gotten stir-crazy without their own house. Pray that all continues to work out.
• Alison started her orientation at Russell Medical Center this week. She's excited and nervous about starting a new job.

Great Prank

This was so funny I wanted to share it with you. Imagine you went to a port-a-potty and then this happened:

10 Books Men Need to Read

As most of you know, I am an avid reader. I am also passionate about men getting the kahunas enough to grow up and start being the men that God has wired them and called them to be - men who passionately lead their family to love Christ and his bride. There are some great books out there to help with this quest. Now I know that most men say "I'm not much of a reader." That's a cop-out though. It's baloney. That's nothing more than an attempt by most men to give an excuse why they prefer to sit in front of a television set in their boxers and with their shirt off watching senseless hours of garbage. God made you with a brain and the ability to absorb great amounts of information. He's also called you to be the leader of your home. So, if you really want to be a godly man or you want to help a guy find his shirt and turn off the tube, here are 10 great books I think every guy should pick up.

1. Every Man's Battle by Steven Arterburn and Fred Stoeker - This book is the quintessential resource for men who are secretly battling sexual addictions. It's a great, practical help that I have recommended to dozens of guys. It's about time that men and the church own up to and get honest about this problem. Statistics indicate that about 6-8 out of every 10 guys in your church are battling some sort of sexual addiction. It's destroying marriages, castrating the spiritual masculinity from most men in the church and rendering the church void of true manhood, and leaving a generation of boys without godly men to help them become true men of God. Men, don't pretend you don't have a problem with this. I struggled with this addiction since childhood and know full well the power it has over a man. Get honest with yourself and find help and accountability. If you suspect a guy has a problem in this area, confront him and give him this book. Some other great titles that deal with this are "Out of the Shadows" by Patrick Carnes and "At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry" by Steve Gallagher.
2. The Samson Syndrome by Mark Atteberry - This little book was a hidden treasure I found one day on a bookshelf. In it, Atteberry does a great job of looking at the character of Samson and the struggles he faced that are common to most men today. All our lives we are told to be "strong men". However, there are some pitfalls to strong men that we need to be aware of. This book would be a great read for a small group of guys to discuss.
3. Point Man by Steve Farrar - I first read this book before I became a husband and father and was radically convicted even then. It's a great book on designed to encourage men to take the front lines in the battle for their families. Farrar knows how to speak and write to men. Other great titles by Farrar are "Finishing Strong," "King Me," and "Anchor Man".
4. The Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley - Morley leads probably the best para-church ministry designed to disciple men I have ever seen. This book has been around for about 20 years. It's filled with practical and spiritual help on facing the 24 most common challenges that men face.
5. The Secrets Men Keep by Steven Arterburn - Men are great at keeping secrets - not just from their wives, but from each other as well. Most men don't know how to be good stewards of money, be a spiritual leader, how to really love a woman, bond with other men, or measure success. This book addresses those challenges and more. Arterburn is a great leader in the men's ministry movement.
6. Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes - Kent Hughes is a pastor and one of the most gifted biblical expositors of the last 50 years. He's also great at helping provide strong biblical counsel to the issue of spiritual discipline and godly leadership. This book has also been around for almost 20 years, but is not well known in today's modern men's movement.
7. Raising a Modern-Day Knight by Robert Lewis - Lewis has started one of the most successful men's movements of the past 20 years in Men's Fraternity. However, before that, he wrote this book to help men know how to craft and imprint a definition of manhood to their sons. This book is more than just theory. It's the testimony of Lewis and his two friends who took the challenge to impart a biblical manhood to their sons and create ceremonies to celebrate. I have taken lots of guys through this book and it's phenomenal.
8. Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley - Everybody cheats somewhere. You either cheat your family or you cheat your work or you cheat your church. However, each and every day we make choices of what's going to take priority in our lives. However, not only do you make choices to borrow time and energy from one place and give it to another, but someone along the way is going to feel cheated. The reality is that you choose who feels cheated. That's the theme of this small, practical book. I would suggest this book for every guy who's running the rat race, having to be away from the family for days throughout the week, or who is so consumed in work that he's distant even when he's home.
9. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges - Bridges is one of my favorite authors. He brings a lot of Scripture and hope to the task of following Jesus. I have read this book about 3 times. It's awesome. The truth is that holiness is not only possible for us, it's commanded of us. Therefore, we should not make it secondary. This book will provide a lot of help for the task.
10. The Silence of Adam by Larry Crabb - This is another book that's been around for a few years but that most men have never heard of. The reality is that just like Adam, most men are passive at the task of spiritual leadership. They remain silent and unable to adequately define what it really means to be a man. In the process, most men are guessing at manhood, and guessing extremely badly. Adam's silence was deadly and caused an infection to the whole human race. However, men, you can break free from the silence and discover a true biblical manhood. This book will help you.

Of course, on top of all of these books, the greatest men's manual of all is God's word. It is full of stories of true men. Men who led they family well and those who failed and turned it around. It shows us the warrior spirits of men like Joshua and Gideon. It shows us the godly leadership of Nehemiah and Moses. It shows us the missionary spirit of Paul and the wisdom of Solomon. I would suggest a healthy digestion of God's word in addition to any of the books recommended above. Get one of them today for yourself of someone you know.