Personal Responsibility

Is it just me or does it seem like there is a lack of personal responsibility in society these days? Perhaps this has always been the case and I have just been oblivious to it. Either way, I seem to be seeing it all around as I have conversations with people or hear people's comments about things anywhere from facebook or twitter to the news media. It seems like nothing is ever any one's fault, it's always somebody else's fault. Get caught rolling a joint and it is the fault of the police for targeting certain people. Aren't being fed enough in your spiritual life, it is because the pastor doesn't go deep enough. Having marriage problems, it's because your spouse doesn't treat you properly. Get a bad grade on your test, well the teacher didn't properly prepare you. You get the idea. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't factors outside of ourselves that play a role in what happens in our lives. What I am saying is that we need to own our actions and behavior. It can't ALWAYS be someone else's fault. Can it? I certainly have done this myself (I seldom hesitated to throw my brother or sister under the bus growing up) so I get the idea of self-preservation. However, my desire now is to be who God wants me to be and to follow Him the best that I can. That means I need to own my actions to have personal responsibility.

Consumerism

Do you keep up with all the news and information on the economy? For some people, the economy is the most pressing issue that we are facing today in the U.S. (pretty sure that I don't agree with that assessment, but some are very concerned/interested) and it certainly has an impact on all of our lives. While I am not an expert in economics or finance, it is not too hard to see that part of the problem in the U.S. is that we are mostly a consumer society. Take a look at the products that you buy and you will see; "Made in China", "Made in Vietnam", "Made in India", etc, etc. We don't make anything any more!

Unfortunately, that same mentality is prevalent in our churches. Many church-goers are consumers, they come to a church because they like what they receive whether it is concert quality worship, dynamic preaching, great children's ministry, etc. While I do believe that churches should be attractional and that whatever a church decides to do, they should do well, the hard part is when people hop from church to church because they don't like what they are receiving. Far too often, churches grow in the U.S. not due to new people giving their lives to Jesus (what we in the church call conversion growth) but instead by people coming from another church because they like what a new or different church offers that their current church doesn't.

That being said, part of my motivation for writing this post, is to make you aware of a cool web-based animation software that allows anyone to make animated movies. The site is called Xtranormal and to show off what can be done, I made a video that kind of mocks the consumer mentality of some church-goers (hoping that you would really like it and think that Crosswater is really cool and that you would want to come to Crosswater).

Thanks to whoever made the video "My Coach Sucks" as that was my inspiration for this movie.

I do understand that some (probably more like all) churches can be frustrating and certainly won't be able to meet every need. However, I encourage you to get involved, have discussions with the staff/leadership and if necessary help come up with solutions rather than just go somewhere else.

As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts. Oh, and if you have ideas for videos, let me know those too.

Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

This may shock some of you who know me, but, I can be somewhat pessimistic. In case you need an example, here you go. A couple of weeks ago I felt that the 5th/6th grade boys basketball team that I help coach could have played better. As a result, after the game I was a little frustrated and down and was thinking of some of the things we need to work on in practice the upcoming week. Did I mention yet that we won the game by roughly 20 points?

For me it is easy to see the things that need fixing or that are done incorrectly. I don't necessarily set out to look for those things, I am just really good at noticing them (not one of the traits that my wife is excited about). That's why when participating in our weekly staff devotional, I was convicted by a pretty uplifting passage. The passage was Zephaniah 3:14-17 and the line that convicted me was "Be glad and rejoice with all your heart".

For me, even when things are going pretty well, this is hard for me to do. But, no matter how bad things are, we all have good things around us and we can choose in good times or bad times to see the glass half full or to see the glass half empty, to Be glad and rejoice or not to. From now on I am going to try to see the good things. and if I'm not please help me (gently)!