Joel Young Blog.com

Blog entries are going to be pretty light this week. I’m going back to my blue collar roots and taking a week of vacation to work on my family’s new home before we move in. I love working with my hands because at the end of the day when my back hurts and my hands are sore I know why. Most of the time I come home at the end of the day and my head hurts, but I don’t know why. It’s funny how reassuring a hard day of work can be and how it can simply your view of things.

Catch you on the other side.

One of the things that I have learned during my time as a preacher is that it is extremely hard to do well week in, and week out. I’m not really sure how well I’ve done or what level I’m at in my pursuit of this, but I know that God is making me a better preacher every time I step out to share the truth of His Word.

Steven Furtick shared a great principle for preaching on his blog the other day that it took me a long time to get through my head. Preachers, you need to read this short but insightful post.

CLICK HERE to check out the post “They’ve heard that before” by Steven Furtick.

As I preach through the books of 1 & 2 Timothy at Horizon it never ceases to amaze me how the simple principles laid out in the book have transformed my thinking. A lot of what is said in these letters is old hat for me. They’re things I already know and have been trying to do my whole life, but as it has many times before God’s Word has renewed itself for me again.

Chapter five of the first letter speaks about honor in relationships and family relations. The thrust of Paul’s words to Timothy indicate that how you treat others and how you take care of your family is the mark of how real your faith is. If faith isn’t revealing itself in your life then it’s probably not there at all. This is a harsh reality when you think about what honor, family, and our attention to similar concepts have become in our culture. They seem to be forgotten principles that need to be renewed in our nation and world before it is too late.

So, from your perspective: what can we do?

Today I was watching the PGA Championship online when I heard something I had never heard before. Tiger Woods was once again leading the field. He has won the last two weeks of tournaments and, in my opinion, is playing the best golf he has played since he’s come back from the knee injury. He was running on all cylinders and it was great to watch. But, while Tiger and his caddy Steve Williams were debating on a club selection for a shot, one of the announcers said that Steve Williams told him in an interview that he sometimes lies to Tiger about a yardage to get him to hit the club he wants him to hit.

Understandably, I almost fell off my chair when I heard this. I would think that of all people Tiger Woods wouldn’t need his caddy lying to him to make sure he hits the right club. I would think that the man who has 70 career PGA Tour wins could pick the right club without anyone’s help. I would think Tiger would want the truth every time. Wouldn’t you?

The more I thought about this, the more I realized how valuable the relationship between Tiger and Steve is. They are very close, both professionally and personally. They both have the utmost confidence in each other’s ability. And, Steve is not afraid to push Tiger to another level of greatness by walking the line.

Here’s the question I have been pondering as a result of this revelation. Do I have anyone around me who knows how to tell me a “good lie”? Do I have anyone around me who knows me well enough, cares about me enough, and isn’t afraid to push me when necessary even when it means telling me a “good lie”?

I’m not at all advocating lying to people for your own personal gain, or to get them to do what you want them to do, but my eyes have definitely been opened to the value of a “good lie” from a trusted comrade. I think we all need those people who, whether they ever have to lie to you or not, we trust enough to allow them to push us to the next level even if it means they are walking a thin line of appropriateness.

This week I’m going to be preaching on distraction. That’s not the message I had been preparing all week, but now that it’s Friday I realize that it’s the message God needs me to preach. The text hasn’t changed, but God has written a new word for this piece of scripture on my heart.

@markymarkmoore: I wish people would be less excited about shark week and more excited about Christ.

A friend of mine wrote this on twitter this week and I believe it sums up perfectly the point I want to make. The things that distract us from the awesomeness of God and the significance of Jesus Christ aren’t always “bad” things, but they can still distract us from what matters most.

I’m going to preach my guts out because this is a HUGE deal.

Ever heard of P90X? Well, if not it’s an intense 90 day workout and dietary regiment that is designed to turn you into a lean mean muscle machine. I have a brother that is obsessed with this thing and it seems to be living up to the hype from his perspective.

Yesterday I read, on twitter, about a plan that the Elevation Church staff has started together called B90X. Here’s how they describe it.

“B90X is a revolutionary system of intense, truth-absorbing, brain-busting Bible reading that will transform your understanding of Scripture from intro to nitro in just 90 days! Your personal trainer, Ruach “The Breath” Yahweh, will drag you through the most intense infusion of His vision that you have ever experienced and you won’t believe the results!”

This is an eye opener for me. I have been preaching through 1 Timothy at Horizon for the last two months and we are finally to my favorite part, chapter 4. Here, Paul advises Timothy, “…train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

How quick are we to realize and even try to whip ourselves into physical shape because we know we should? Being in great physical shape is a great thing. It reflects a healthy understanding for what it means to bear the image of God and preserve the “temple” he gave you. But for me, my focus on the physical, at times, has far outweighed my focus on the spiritual. It’s so easy to see the need for physical training and the results from such training, but it takes a little deeper consideration to really evaluate the state of your spiritual zeal and the need to improve. I think there is always room for improvement. Even in the life of a Pastor who has no trouble being in God’s Word every day.

Maybe it’s time we all jump on the B90X bandwagon and use it to kick-start our progression to becoming lean mean Bible reading machines! I think I’m going to give it a go in the very near future.

Check out the B90X reading plan by CLICKING HERE.

Thanks again Pastor Steven for leading the church through innovation and dedication.

While listening to some sermons this morning I heard JD Greear from Summit Church tell this story.

Our church is made of up nearly 1/3 college students so we are uniquely poor. In fact, I once had an ushers come to me between our two services with an offering bucket that had a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit in it with a little note on it that said, “Silver and gold I have none, but what I have give I unto you.”

Somehow, I feel like he was predicting my future, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.