Tuesday, October 27, 2009 @ 11:12 am by Josh Burcham

I write to encourage, challenge and help people move to the next level in leadership, creativity and being a Christ-follower. It is what gets my blood flowing, it’s what gets be excited. Anytime I come across information that would help in those areas I pass them onto you. Craig Groeschel wrote this post, Breaking Up the System, and it was worth you taking the time to read if you are in any type of leadership.

Even a good ministry system will eventually limit what God wants to do if the system doesn’t evolve or totally change.

(By system, I mean any program, structure, philosophy, or culture that shapes and helps produce a desired outcome.)

Once people operate within a system long enough, they often start to do ministry out of “muscle memory.” They tend to do the same things and work with the same people, but the results often start to slowly (or quickly) diminish.

Because this is what “we’ve always done,” people might think we just need to do what we did—better. In reality, God might want you to de-construct some ministry philosophy or system so you can hear His new direction.

For example, years ago we were doing everything you could think of at LifeChurch.tv. God directed us into a season of focusing on only five things. This philosophy served us well for about four years. It allowed us to focus on our core ministries without being distracted by lots of less-than-our-best efforts.

After a few years, it became obvious this season was coming to a close. What used to seem freeing started to become limiting. After prayer, we intentionally broke the established system to learn something new.

Read the rest of the post and more great post by Craig and Bobby here.

With that quote, as with everything I write, action is required. It doesn’t make much sense if we just soak in and never squeeze out the sponge, because life isn’t about you. You would be a waste a great human being if you just soaked in knowledge and Christ expects us to go out and do.

Monday, October 26, 2009 @ 12:28 pm by Josh Burcham

Recycle Your Faith creates, “Short and compelling videos [that] are posted every Monday at recycleyourfaith.com. Each video encourages spiritual exploration through candid interviews, thought-provoking topics, and stories of people attempting to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Various perspectives are presented and topics are left unresolved. It is our hope that these videos challenge you to question your faith and perhaps recycle it into something more closely resembling your personal experience with Jesus.”

And the film studio is a road trip, “In October 2009 Recycle Your Faith hit the road on an 8-month road trip! Craig Spinks and his wife Sara will be visiting about 30 cities in the US/Canada to shoot a butt-load of footage for the site, visit friends, and vacation a bit. Don’t worry, a new clip will still be posted every Monday while we’re on the road:-)” Their first stop was to meet with Vince Antonucci, a church planter on the Vegas strip and writer of I Became a Christian and All I Got was a Lousy T-Shirt, where he describe the Christian faith beautifully.

This is the first clip edited from Recycle Your Faith’s 8-month road trip to 30 cities in the US/Canada. It was shot last week in Las Vegas with Vince Antonucci who is planting a church for people who work and live on the Las Vegas strip. To hear updates about their trip, make sure you’ve subscribed to their monthly newsletters. They are also posting updates on their facebook and twitter pages.

Vince describes a subtle shift in thinking in this clip. He suggests that Jesus is less concerned about our beliefs and behavior and more concerned that we follow him. Is this distinction helpful or are the two synonymous for you?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 @ 1:23 pm by Josh Burcham

With new questions now starting to make their way in, the team was able to answer the questions that dealt with church participation and even went into the topic of tithing. Can you attend one church, but serve at another? Can you tithe to a different church? Is it okay to not attend church, but watch them message online? Some good questions right there. See how the team responded and don’t forget to let us know how you would respond as well.

Watch the show here.

Sorry about the delay of the show. We had a hard drive failure this week and lost some of the audio. But we pushed through to get this episode into your hands. We want to hear your thoughts. Email us or post your comments!

Don’t forget to send in your questions. Email Us Here.

Three Guys and a Bible Podcast is a weekly video podcast that talks truth when answering your questions and responding to your thoughts. We’re ordinary guys, serving an extraordinary God.

Subscribe to Podcast over in iTunes. Help us move a the iTunes charts that reach more people.

Monday, October 19, 2009 @ 10:41 am by Josh Burcham

Have you seen this goal yet? Now for an NHL-er not a huge ordeal, most of them could probably pull it off, but for a 9-year-old, this is nuts! The best part is the goalie’s reaction to the goal. He just stood their in as much shock as the spectators.

As the New York Daily News reports:

Wahlstrom, who plays for the Portland Junior Pirates, was taping the latest edition of TD Bank’s Mini 1-on-1 challenge at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden when he spun around, picked up the puck on the blade of his stick, and flung a shot past the stunned goalie.

Sunday, October 18, 2009 @ 6:36 pm by Josh Burcham

Author and church planter, Vince Antonucci is launching a new church on the strip in Las Vegas. God used Vince’s book, I Became a Christian and all I Got was a Lousy T-Shirt, in big ways in my journey in loving God and love People, as a Christ-follower should. If Jesus walked on this earth today, He would be in Vegas, not because of all the “sin” there, but because the people need Jesus’ love, His hope and His salvation.

500 people, $100, days from Brightbulb on Vimeo.

Straight from Vince’s mouth, or more like his finger tips:

We have an unbelievable opportunity to get an amazing space as the permanent, 24/7 facility that can be home to our church services, seminars, food co-op and all we’re doing for the church we’re starting here in Vegas. So if we can get this space it would change everything for us, in an awesome way. The problem is that there are expenses to get into the building, and so we need to raise $50,000 – and the way we’ve chosen to do that is $100 at a time. To make this happen, we need 500 people who will give $100. Would you please be one of those people? To learn more, and to give, go to www.verveventure.org. Also, 500 is A LOT of people, so would you please let your friends know about this, put it on your blog, Facebook it, Twitter the web site, send smoke signals, whatever you can to help us get the word out. Thank you SO MUCH for considering this – you have no idea how much it means!

So they’re going to do it $100 at a time. They’re looking for 500 people who would give $100 each. Would you consider being one of those people? Join me in giving $100 bucks. To learn more, and to give, go to www.verveventure.org.

Saturday, October 17, 2009 @ 11:33 am by Josh Burcham

Teaching about Anger
21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’  22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. 23 “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you,  24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. 25 “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison.  26 And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny.

Jesus’ teaching on anger. How is Jesus speaking to you?

Friday, October 16, 2009 @ 8:58 am by Josh Burcham

Before something changes I thought it important to post this now with the Avs leading the western conference. Don’t want them to fall into old habits and start moving down the list, but these last couple of seasons have proved that it is a high probability. Now lets cross our fingers and cheer our team so they keep the steak going. Let’s Go Avs!

Thursday, October 15, 2009 @ 12:24 pm by Josh Burcham

Let’s stick to Jesus’ teachings – Matthew 5:13-20.

Teaching about Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Teaching about the Law
17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Now it’s for you. Post your thoughts and how God is speaking.