5 Lists of 3. Simplifying the Process of Spiritual Formation

Captain Jack Sparrow held one of the Pirate Lord's eight pieces of nine. I just get a kick out of that term. Today, I give you five lists of three.

These are five different lists which each seek to describe (not necessarily define) the process of spiritual formation. These lists are not meant to be comprehensive, nor are they solely instructional; but hopefully they provide some opportunity for reflection. Here we go:

1. A Church's Approach to Spiritual Formation:

• Teach Biblical Content
• Encourage Spiritual Disciplines
• Empower Christlike Mission

2. A Group Approach to Spiritual Formation:

• Partnering for growth together
• Serving the church together
• Engaging the world together

3. A Personal Approach to Spiritual Formation:

• Be a disciple
• Be invitational
• Be missional

4. A Progressive Approach to Spiritual Formation:

• Leave Life (for Christ's)
• Live Life (of obedience)
• Give Life (for others)

5. A Progressive Approach to Spiritual Formation (2):

• Obey
• Love
• Bear Fruit

What do you think? What would you add? What would you subtract? What would you change? What needs further clarity?

9-9-9: Food

9 Foods I Love to Eat:

1. Fried Chicken
2. Olive-Loaf Bologna
3. Shrimp
4. Prime Rib
5. Fried Okra
6. Frozen Twinkies
7. Bacon
8. Oreo Creme
9. Cheese

9 Foods I Don't Eat Much:

1. Eggs
2. Rice
3. Gravy
4. Baked Beans
5. Liver
6. Fettuccine Alfredo
7. Beets
8. Cottage Cheese
9. Prunes

9 Foodish Sounding Things I Wouldn't Eat:

1. Toe Cheese
2. Leech Sushi
3. Goiter Gravy
4. Skunk Stew
5. Earwig Crunch
6. Cream-of-Cyst Soup
7. Deep-Fried Larva
8. Autumn Leaf Salad
9. Chocolate Covered Scabs

9-9-9: Places

9 Places I've Lived

1. Sherman Manor


2. Clare, MI


3. Covington, KY


4. Brock West


5. Cedarville, OH


6. Muskegon,MI


7. Marlboro Road


8. Huntington, WV


9. Perry, MI

9 Places I've Visited

1. Disney World


2. Cape Cod


3. Outer Banks, NC


4. Mammoth Cave


5. Ford Field


6. Savannah, GA


7. Field of the Wood


8. Niagara Falls


9. Hilton Head, SC

9 Places I'd Like to Go

1. The Superbowl


2. St. Andrews


3. Grand Canyon


4. Anfield


5. Anywhere Warm


6. Philadelphia


7. Ireland


8. Augusta National


9. Seattle

9-9-9: SPORTS

9 Teams I Prefer to All Others:

1. Michigan State Spartans

2. Detroit Tigers

3. Detroit Lions

4. Liverpool FC Reds

5. Detroit Red Wings

6. Sailor Soccer

7. Cedarville Yellowjackets

8. Detroit Pistons

9. Cincinnati Reds

9 Teams I Love to Hate:

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2. Chicago Bears

3. Minnesota Twins

4. Colorado Avalanche

5. Manchester United Red Devils

6. Green Bay Packers

7. Chicago White Sox

8. Dallas Cowboys

9. New York Yankees

9 Athletes I Admire:

1. Steve Yzerman

2. Barry Sanders

3. Lou Whitaker

4. Steve Smith (MSU basketball)

5. John Stockton/Karl Malone

6. Greg Maddox

7. Isaiah Thomas

8. Brandon Inge

9. Andy Pettitte

Today's Picture

Today's Pictures. Plus, Stuff I Like

Following are a couple links to stuff I like. Feel free to leave comments at the end...

If you need to dispose of a dead body, the new iPhone can help you find the perfect place. If you were working for the mob, where would you stash your "jobs"?

This mayor of a Utah town spent two years writing articles under a false name to try to make people feel better about his town. Is this okay? When is "spin" appropriate and when is it just lying? Did you know Ben Franklin did something similar?

How far would you go to find a lost wedding ring? Would you go to the city dump? I wonder how many couples have funny stories about lost rings? I once broke my wedding ring in half on a youth missions trip...

Today's Pictures

Three Stages of Pastoral Ministry

i don't remember where i first saw this, but i scribbled it down on a piece of paper when i did. i stumbled upon that piece of paper today. it made me chuckle (things are funny either because they are true, or because they are not; i'll leave it to you to decide which this one is).

There were three phases to Jesus' ministry which closely mirror the three stages most pastors go through at a church:

1. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"

2. "By whose authority do you do these things?"

3. "Crucify him!"

Community Service vs. Community Transformation

I love a good Venn diagram. Venn diagrams on napkins are even better. This is a good Venn diagram on a napkin. It's from my friend Peter Horn. You can read what he wrote about it by visiting his blog at: PeterHornOnline.com.

5 More Clues to Being a Super-Star Parent

We all (those of us who are parents) want to be better parents. Part of good parenting is being able to effectively communicate with our children, particulary in moment of correction. Learning to appropriately respond to correction may, for our children, mean the difference between a wise life and a foolish life. How we communicate correction to them will significantly impact their ability to handle correction.

I found these suggestions in this blogpost at DesiringGod.org. It is originally intended for fathers, but the wisdom of these words are good for all parents. Try to consider these good words next time you find yourself needing to effectively communicate with your children:

Don't waste words. Don't add a lot of apologies or unnecessary detail that make you look timid.

Don't threaten.

Be clear about expectations. When you tell someone, especially a child, how to behave or what to do, make sure you both are very clear about what you expect.

Be clear about consequences, particularly if your expectations involve an area with which that child has struggled in the past.

Take clear, decisive action. . . .

Of course, just like your kids, you will fail to do these things sometimes... When you do, admit it and move on!

5 Habits That Keep You From Being Content

Contentment is one of the most important virtues we can cultivate in our lives. Temptation, sin and addiction all spring out of a lack of contentment. When we are not willing to be satisfied by the resources God has provided, we will soon find ourselves chasing after the things He knows we do not need.

A few days ago, I came across a blog which listed five things that are destroying your success. Success is one of those things that everyone defines differently, but I noticed that the five items listed are also five habits that can lead to a discontented life. So I've repurposed the list, and below are five habits that will keep you from being content:

• Constantly criticizing people
• Blaming other people for your failures
• Dreaming about other successful people
• Not taking the extra step to get closer to your goal
• Letting other people make decisions for you

you can read the entire blog post here.