The best thing you can do as you pursue God in 2010 is to have a consistent devotional life. Many people get overwhelmed as they seek to grow in their walk with Christ because they simply do not know what to do next. EXAMEN.me provides several convenient options that will help develop and guide you in your walk with Christ.
Meditate on scripture with the goal of life obedience.
Pray with focus.
Journal and keep a record of God’s activity in your life.
What are you waiting for? Create an Account or Login today and let EXAMEN.me help you pursue your spiritual goals for 2010.
This short film is the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time. A brilliant story of hope and redemption. I might have even sprung a little leak in the corner of my eye. it is long, but so worth it.
This is a story from a guy at NorthWood. God really used the song “How He Loves” in his life. Here is his incredible story of receiving and giving forgiveness.
This past weekend we used it as an intro and then we played the song. It was a huge blessing to our congregation. It is also a great example of team work. Great job Jordan and Chris.
I have a friend who is successful and influential in his field. He owns a growing company, but he never seems that stressed out about it. I have seen him walk through some serious trials with it all, and he still remains rather calm. In other words he is driven but calm. I get the driven part, but not always the calm. I asked him how he stays laid back in the midst of it all. His answer, “I read Ecclesiastes at least once month.”
So this morning, outside of my normal personal worship routine (which of course is examen.me) I read the whole book of Ecclesiastes in one setting. It was very refreshing. It puts the pursuits in this life into perspective.
In life there is vanity, wisdom, folly, toil, hard work, fleeting joys, and a time for everything. But even through the writer of Ecclesiastes seems to ask many more questions that he answers, I love how the book is ended.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Eccl 12:13-14
This is not a new song, but it has ministered to me like crazy this morning. I played it over and over again to remind my heart and my mind that God alone is the source of my rest.
There are some great speakers who are going to be there. I am looking forward to learning and connecting with friends from around the US. I am also interested in watching the dynamics of a whole lot creative types who are very savvy in social media. Should be Fun!
If you are going, hit me up. I would love to connect. You can also follow me on twitter to catch real time updates.
A few weeks ago I downloaded a new pinball app for my iPhone. As I started playing, here is what happened…
Hit the pinball as hard as I could when it came to near the flappers and happened to luck into a really high score.
After getting a low score the next go, I realized that hitting certain spots in a certain sequence increased your score dramatically.
Started trying to strategically hit the pinball in the exact right spots to obtain the high score.
Failed miserably. I realized that I was no pinball wizard.
I quit playing pinball.
I can’t tell you how many times I have experienced this exact same sequence with new ministries, ventures, or projects. I luck into a little success, only to realize it was just a buzz of excitement, realize it is going to be hard, identify the strategy to success, realize executing the strategy is difficult, and I am tempted to quit.
As a believer, i must remember that Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Job, Paul, and Jesus did not quit. Jesus was the center of a large buzz of excitement at the start of his ministry. He was alone on the cross at the end of it.
If God has called you to do something. Don’t quit. Beg for grace to keep going.
Over the last couple of months, I have had the privilege of getting to know Shawn Wood, the Experiences Pastor of Seacaost Church and the author of two books. He is the real deal. He is one of those extremely talented, super smart kind of guys who you wish you were like, but he is also humble and approachable like an old friend. His second book, Wasabi Gospel, is coming out very soon. I have had a chance to preview it, and I really think you would enjoy the book. You can and should pre-order it today on Amazon.
Review
If you have ever had sushi, then you probably have had an experience with wasabi, the flaming hot green stuff that is always put on the side of your plate. It is a small dallop, and looks innocent enough, but it has extreme power if you put it in your mouth. Shawn relates that experience to seven teachings of Christ. He uses scriptures that are nice and cute and very familiar to a believer, but he unpacks them in a powerful way.
Shawn’s approach to the book is brilliant. I approached the book excited for Shawn to highlight some of the hard teachings of Jesus and really push and challenge me to “Just Do It”. However, his approach is much more effective. Each of the Seven “wasabi” teachings of Christ is woven around the story of Laura, a normal girl with a life full of emotional baggage (just like the rest of us). Throughout the book, she struggles with applying the teachings of Christ into her broken and un-perfect reality. This approach did two things to me. First, it made me think through my own life to see how I am assimilating Christ’s teaching. This challenged me to evaluate myself instead of simply reading the book and saying “Amen” as I came to the hard teachings of Christ. Second, as a pastor, it helped me have empathy for the people in my church (myself included) who are trying to assimilate the life and words of Christ into their lives. To see that it is not that they don’t want to, they just have a lot of questions and baggage to deal with.
Shawn’s writing style is refreshing and very easy to read. He does not belabor points. He gets to the point and uses humor that literally makes me laugh out loud. I highly recommend Wasabi Gospel, as well as his other book, 200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One.
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About Me
My name is Brent Minter. I am a follower of Christ, husband, father, and a Worship Pastor. My life’s pursuit is to lead others in worship, not just from the stage, but in their personal lives as well. This starts with my smoking-hot wife Kari, and our 3 kids. Then it moves to NorthWood Church in Keller, TX, a truly remarkable place, where I design and lead worship services/experiences. I love the interwebs, any music that has soul, theology, hunting, learning, being the only worship pastor in America who still uses a PC I gave in, and scooters. Those who ...
The best thing you can do as you pursue God in 2010 is to have a consistent devotional life. Many people get overwhelmed as they seek to grow in their walk with Christ because they simply do not know what to do next. EXAMEN.me provides several convenient options that will help develop and guide you in your walk with Christ.
I have a friend who is successful and influential in his field. He owns a growing company, but he never seems that stressed out about it. I have seen him walk through some serious trials with it all, and he still remains rather calm. In other words he is driven but calm. I get the driven part, but not always the calm. I asked him how he stays laid back in the midst of it all. His answer, “I read Ecclesiastes at least once month.”
The next couple of days I will be at 
A few weeks ago I downloaded a new pinball app for my iPhone. As I started playing, here is what happened…
Over the last couple of months, I have had the privilege of getting to know 
