TimHowey.Com

Working with Millennials

John Jacobs sent me the following video and asked if our six summer interns at Grace Church fall into the same "Millennials" category. 

That’s the topic of the excellent book Generation iY by Tim Elmore.  There is a shift going on in our culture today that's important to understand.  (Culture is like the wind.  You can either spit into it in frustration, or put a sail up and harness it.)

P.S. After watching this video "re-imag-uation", I feel the need to tell you how smart you are for just waking up today.  You are so smart!

 

SBO & Stop Hunger Now

This week, Grace Church is having our annual Summer BreakoutOut.  (We have so many elementary kids that we are running morning & evening SBOs concurrently.)  We have partnered with Stop Hunger Now to package 60,000 meals for people.

You can find an article featuring this here. I pulled a quote from the article:

“Summer BreakOut is our largest outreach event for kids. Our goal is to give kids the opportunity to experience faith in a whole new way, and the chance to help feed other kids around the world should be dynamic, rewarding and memorable,” Cathy Howey shared.

Which Has the Higher "Wow-Factor"?

Here's a tough one.  Which praise has the higher wow-factor?

"Wow" is all I can say.

Or...

 

Scripture with a Song

We just finished our series on The Beautitudes where children read scripture on stage each service.  Too bad we didn't have a musical addition like this one.

 

 

The Beatitudes -- Message Responses

I received tons of very positive feedback on our discussion of The Beautitudes (Matthew 5:3-12).  Here are some comments.

• From a Student -- I was made aware today at church, that the stuff we weep over is lame.So true! it is crazy to think I whine and cry about things like slow Internet when I could be thankful for what I do have. And prayerful for those who don't get the opportunity to even see or do the things I take for granted.
  
  
• From a Spouse -- I am a conflict avoider. After two hours of being afraid of going to the person I needed to resolve conflict with, I took a deep breath and went in with the right attitude and the result was inspiring.  I explained I was afraid to have the conversation and why I was afraid to have the conversation. [In many] years of marriage I have never had the outcome I had today.  It was calm, loving and I felt heard.  Often, I had felt I went in with the right attitude, but never before did I feel heard or walked away still with resentment. I love how every week there is something that I can take home to make my life, my family, my community and world a better place.  I fall short every day, but I wake up every morning with the right attitude and willing to try again... I can see myself becoming a better person in Christ.
  
  
• From a Third Person -- Thank you for including criticism from other Christians in your definition of persecution. I had never thought of it that way before, but it makes perfect sense. Being attacked by our brothers and sisters can be so very hard, precisely because it comes from those we trust. I find myself being drawn more and more into one of those issues that is dividing the U.S. church these days, and while no one is threatening to saw me in half :) I am facing the risk of the social attacks you listed. By linking them to persecution, I now have a whole new line of thought to explore on how to cope with the situation. And that brings me to my second thought -- I am so GLAD you included the portion about being a peacemaker in the same message! Because when faced with persecution, we have a choice to make about to respond, don't we? I am confident I don't usually fall into conflict-promoting, but I realized that my natural tendency is conflict-avoidance... and that really doesn't solve the problem, does it? I have much research to do now on what true peace-making looks like.

The Power of Introverts

Tom Herzog shared an interesting video with me last week. It's a TED talk by Susan Cain who is speaking on "The Power of Introverts."

My wife has been reading her book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking.

Check it out:

 

The Beatitudes

Our church is going through The Sermon on the Mount this summer (Matthew 5-7).  For the past three weeks, we've been unpacking The Beautitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) and seeing how Jesus was saying, "The Way Up is Down."

 You can catch the messages here.

Here's the TQP version of them ("Tim's Quick Paraphrase"):

• The more you know how far you are spiritually from where God wants you to be, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:3)
• The more you start grieving over what grieves the heart of God, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:4)
• The more your heart is at peace with choosing the lowest/last for yourself, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:5)
• The more you are unsatisfied with anything other than being close to God, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:6)
• The more you get hurt bad by people & get to show them unmerited mercy, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:7)
• The more you become absolutely intolerant of any impure motive in yourself, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:8)
• The more you do the really hard work of initiating reconciliation talks, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:9)
• The more you suffer for taking the high road & doing what's right, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:10)
• The more others criticize you abusively & oppose you because of Christ, the happier you'll be (Matthew 5:11)

 

Prancercise

I run with some guys on Friday mornings. I couldn't do it this week.  But my text exchange with my friend Keith Kennedy led me to learning about "Prancercise -- The Art of Physical & Spiritual Excellence."

• Keith -- There's no shame in running with a cripple. :)
• Me -- You mean shuffle-walk, right?
• Keith -- Right.  Was thinking about doing this instead... (see below)
• Me -- The Prancercise Gallup produced elation in me!

I am speechless with elation...

 

Parentzilla.com & Taming the Cell Phone Beast

Our Executive Pastor Brian Gann found Parentzilla.com this week.  It focuses on strategic parenting in a practical manner.  When you sign up for their newsletter, they provide a "Top 10 List of Ways to Tame the Cell Phone Beast."  I've shared #3 & #2 with you below for a preview. Check it out and sign up today at Parentzilla.com!

#3 - Fight for Your Right to Read Texts - "You might disagree with us and that is OK, but we believe that you should have the right to read your teenager's text messages.  The older they get the more right they have to privacy, but we believe they should earn that right over time.  If you are watching their texts, you have a chance to teach them how to act responsibly." 

#2 - Plug in the Cell Phone By the Parent's Bed at Night - "This is a Parenting Ninja Secret.  To keep their teenager from texting until 2 am in the morning, we know some really smart parents who have their teenager charge their cell phone in the Parent's bedroom at night."

Grace@Home -- Additional Resources

Hey everyone, here are the three books I referenced last weeked as we concluded our our Grace@Home weekend series.

• Missionary Stories with the Millers
• Design for Discipleship (DFD)
• Foxe's Book of Martyrs

I've referenced two other books pretty consistently throughout the series as well.  They are:

• Think Orange by Reggie Joiner 
• Family Ministry Field Guide by Timothy Paul Jones

Lastly, I've also include the list of parent/marriage/family/discipleship resources provided by our Grace@Home team.  You can download it here.