place of nathan.

1. it is good to be with friends.Yesterday i met with my buddy Todd and we had a great conversation. Last night we had Hope Group, and our friends Isaac and Erin were kind to open up their home and host our Hope Group while our kitchen is under such heavy renovations (and half our kitchen is currently located in our living room!). Emily and I enjoyed the company. And, btw, Erin, who fell down her steps about a week ago and was told she broke her tailbone, found out yesterday that she in fact, had not broken her tailbone, but it was just very bruised. So i guess Erin didn’t fall and break her butt after all.

2. sometimes it’s good to be busy. Last night Emily and I seemed to be rushed from the moment she got home to the moment we went to bed, but it actually felt good to be busy last night. It wasn’t like we were completely rushed, we just kept moving and kept busy.

3. puppy chow–yum. Emily made puppy chow last night for her to take to work today. There is a guy in her department who is moving to a different department of the company, and so all week the employees are taking turns bringing food in to say goodbye. And, btw, Emily has been giving a promotion to fill the position this guy is leaving. Her new title will be Relationship Manager. i like puppy chow. did i mention that?

4. renovations take a time and dedication. When Emily and i started working on the kitchen two weeks ago, we didn’t think it would take us very long to complete it. Boy were we wrong! It has been so much more work than we had anticipated. Paint, paint, paint. Wait for paint to dry. Wait for weather to warm up. it’s just a long process. we are looking forward to this weekend to really spend a lot of time on the kitchen.

5. it feels really great to be productive. Last night when we went to bed, it felt really good to know we had done all we could that day. we spent time painting and cleaning up the kitchen (which is an annoying job right now!), and it just felt good to get as much done as we could. we are going to try to be more productive.

What did you learn from your last night?

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I remember when i was in late elementary or junior high, my family went to our fellowship’s campground, Oakhill. They had a three-teir swimming pool there. One time we went up to swim, and there was a tarp all across the entire fence of the pool, making it impossible to see in. I asked what that was for, and was told something like, ‘The camp rents out its facilities to other churches, and this week the church doesn’t believe in mixed bathing.’

Mixed Bathing? I thought to myself, ‘I don’t believe in bathing with girls either, so what does that have to do with a pool?’ I asked a couple of clarifying questions, and sure enough, the guys and the girls swam separately.

Now, i took a bath once a day. I knew what happened at a bath–you were naked. So this church believed in swimming naked? That is what i thought for years. I thought it was really odd.

I say this to talk about church jargon. I think there are a load of words we use in church circles which are completely misunderstood by anyone who isn’t already in ‘our circle.’

How many times do we say something which makes perfect since to us, but to an outsider is really weird and sometimes scary.

As a junior high student, i would never have gone swimming with that church–because i thought all the guys went swimming naked together. I was pretty confident in junior high, but i don’t think i would have been interested in naked swimming.

What common church terms and phrases do you hear that is crazy to an outsider?

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Last weekend, Emily and I purchased a new gas range, and it was delivered this week. We are pretty excited about it! the old gas range we had was pretty uneven, and it was hard to find “Low” without the burners going out.
After reading the owners manual front-to-back as any good range owner would (well, not really all of it, more like 2 pages of it), i read the range would smell a little bit the first few times it was used, or else we could do a self-clean and it would take care of the smell. So this morning we turned it on self-clean, and oh my goodness it wasn’t a little bit of smell, it was a horrible, house-clearing stench. My wife locked herself in the bedroom and read and talked on the phone while the house stunk. we had windows and fans going, but it was bad.

But now that we’ve endured through four hours of horrendous stink, the oven should be good-to-go now. it shouldn’t smell whilst we’re baking, so i guess the investment of a few hours of stench was probably worth it.

I think sometimes our walk toward God can sometimes seem like that. We go through a rough time–when things seem to really stench. At the time, it seems like it will never end, but looking back, going through the stench yields something better on the other side.

Have you ever gone through such a stench that was better on the other side?

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This is a paraphrased (except where quoted) excerpt from Perry Noble, taken from a session at this week’s Unleash Conference:

“Church is an incredibly confusing place if you don’t know the rules.” When you don’t understand, the rules are confusing.

The problem with most churches is this. They say, “If you don’t know the rules, to Hell with you.”

What do you think? Do you think Perry is right that most churches kinda have this attitude? If so, what practical steps can churches take to help people know ‘the rules’ and feel more comfortable?
what are ‘the rules’?

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5. Make a list before you leave for Home Depot. Enough Said.

4. Having a mess in the kitchen is rather annoying. most of our kitchen is currently located in our living room. our baker’s rake is situated in our hallway. it’s annoying.

3. Even if you go to Home Depot and get everything on your list, you’ll probably have to go back again very soon. (Last night, i went to home depot to get a water line cap. Then when i got home, i started installing our new gas range. the incoming gas line was too large for the adapters i was told was a ‘Universal Kit’, so i had to go to Home Depot a second time to get a reducer (and while i was at it, i also added a shut-off valve to bring the install up to code). So once i got home from the second trip, i realized i should cap the water line before Emily got home–only to realize that the cap i purchased wouldn’t work, so i had to go back a third time to get the right cap. all is well now. )

2. Renovating seems to preoccupy me, so i’m not working out as much any more.

1. Next time, buy a house closer to Home Depot.

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This past week, i came to the realization that i have almost no contact with people who are not Christians.

I used to be absorbed into the culture of the world. It wasn’t that I participated in the culture–because I didn’t. i was in the world, but not of the world. i saw the world at its worst.
But that was like five or six years ago. Today, I work in a church, go home to a loving, churched wife. My wife’s family is all practicing Christ-followers. So is my family. All my friends are also Christ-followers. All.

I have no Non-Christian friends any more. It’s been saddening to me to think about the past few days, but it’s true–what kind of impact can i have on the world if I’ve become so withdrawn I don’t have friends who live there?

Wow…it’s been an eye opener. And i still find myself scratching my head, trying to figure out how i am going to make new friends. I haven’t ever gone out of my way to make a friend. they just happen. So how the heck am i supposed to make friends with someone? Do you have any suggestions, because i’m truly open…

And even more than your suggestions, I ask for your prayers, that I can meet someone with whom i can cultivate a friendship.

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[EDIT:] I just received word that this story has been bumped to next Tuesday, March 20. [/ EDIT]
So i’m really not much for CNN, (or really, any news in general), but my friends at Next Level Church in Fort Myers, Fla. are scheduled to be featured on Paula Zahn Now tonight (Tuesday) at 8 p.m. (EDT).
Next Level Church is in the midst of their My Great Sex Life series, talking about God’s take on sex.

This past weekend, CNN flew in a camera crew and were present at their service on Sunday. It seems Fort Myers, mostly a retirement community, is up in arms about a church talking about sex.

I say, talk about it. the church should be talking about the truth in the Bible.
Read Mike Ash’s take on this here.

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This weekend, New Hope kicks off the four-week series Risen to Reign. I tell you, we’ve never done anything like this in our weekend services. I mean literally, NEVER.

This series will introduce more than one thing that’s never been done at New Hope–possibly never done before in DeKalb County. The first week, How’d it Begin?, will introduce one such element. (But I’m not telling you what it is!)
The coming weeks will be even more…seriously…don’t miss out!

I’m really looking forward to this series. Invite and bring your un-churched friends this weekend…it is going to rock! Saturday @ 6 p.m. or Sunday at 8 and 10:30 a.m.

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dude. Terry Storch, a legend in Church blogging circles, is blogging again. sweet!

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Have you ever been pulled between two opinions, and didn’t know which way to go? Both opinions seem reasonable, and it’s hard to make up your mind? Sometimes it’s just easier to be indecisive.
This weekend (March 10 & 11) at New Hope, we’ll talking about just that–indecisiveness. Is it okay to be indecisive? How do we make wise decisions?

This and more this weekend…looking forward to it!

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Do you remember Rax Roast Beef restaurant?

When i was a kid, there was a Rax in Auburn. Before Starbucks, there was Fazolli’s. Before Fazolli’s, there was Rax.
It had a cool bi-level eating area by having an elevated (instead of a lowered sunroom) eating area.

My wife and I have talked about Rax a few times lately, probably because when I was a kid, Rax was my favorite place to eat, and now I get to enjoyed going on dates with my wonderful wife to the same building.

I remember drinking out of an Uncle Alligator cup. it was a lot of fun.
Today, i enjoy the same building, but in a much different way–relaxing drinking coffee from a paper cup.

I think sometimes in our walk with God, the things we come in contact with are much the same way. Things change.
Sometimes seemingly important things change and we go all crazy, when in reality (the big picture) it wasn’t anything important at all.
Today, I wouldn’t like drinking my coffee from a plastic Uncle Alligator cup. Nor when i was a kid, would I have wanted to drink the fruit punch from a paper cup.

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