Diary of a Young Pastor

Dr. Lyon has a video up on the Board of General Superintendents in which she speaks to the Wesleyan Church on the need in Haiti.  Sadly, it is put up in a custom flash player (as a .flv file type), and isn’t much use for the local church as is…

So, I decided to pull it, convert it, and make it available to the world! Below are two links for the converted file – one is a .mp4 file (for use on Mac software) and the other is a .wmv file (for you Windows folks).  I also threw it up on Youtube.

Fellow Wesleyans: this would be a great video to use during announcements this Sunday!

Right-Click the link to download the appropriate file:

Download the .MP4 file

Download the .WMV file

It’s also on Youtube:

~Matthew

This commercial drives me up the wall every time I see it. Thanks to Consumer Reports for picking it apart and introducing the world to the reality of Latisse:

….of myself in 30 years!

Each quarter, the pastor’s report we fill out asks us what we’ve been reading.  Here’s my list of books I’m working through:

Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung

One of the best books I’ve ever read was co-authored by Kevin DeYoung (Why We’re Not Emergent (by two guys who should be)). I was quite excited when I found this work.  The theory is that we often times think our lives are a series of paths that we must choose the “Best” route or else we will fall out of God’s will. We use God as a magic 8 ball expecting him to show us the right way to go, and stand still – motionless – until He reveals the right way.

Kevin DeYoung argues that this approach is not the biblical way – God has already shown us His plan for our lives: to love Him with our whole hearts and to obey.

This book will become a sermon series one day.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

This book has been on my reading list for a while now. Theory: God’s sacrificial love for us is “crazy”. What’s our response to that love?

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

This is my “non-religious” work for this quarter. I’ve heard a lot about this book in the mainstream media, and I spotted it at a second hand store for a quarter. I had to pick it up.

I’m a couple chapters in and am enjoying it so far – However, all that I’ve heard about this book is how it will turn your stomach – not sure how I’ll feel when I reach that part…

I’ll be giving away a copy of the book that challenged me the most after I’ve completed this quarter’s report – keep reading for details.

~Matthew

So, I was trying to change my blog’s server and…I lost it all. Thinking of this as a “fresh start”.