No HangOUT this Week

There will be NO HangOUT this week as we are transitioning into having HangOUT's every other week. The next HangOUT will be on January 25th and we will be going bowling up in Forest City once again. However, there is a Worship Gathering this Sunday @ 2pm in the Aldersgate Gym. For directions or a map click here.

The TV Evangelist Who Sent ME Money: Featured Blog

Ran across this blog over on Frank Lockwood's Bible Belt Blogger. It was interesting enough that it deserves to be our featured blog this week...so read it below. Who knows...maybe a TV evangelist will send you money!
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I gave my first donation to a TV evangelist when I was nine years old. The preacher was Rex Humbard of Akron. My tax-deductible contribution totalled 27 cents. I received urgent fund raising appeals for the next three years.

Since then, I’ve seen requests for money from Jimmy Swaggart and Jerry Falwell, Oral Roberts and Franklin Graham. But this week, for the first time ever, a TV preacher SENT MONEY TO ME.

Pastor Bob Tilton of Tulsa, Oklahoma mailed me a crisp new $1 bill from the federal reserve bank in Minneapolis along with an upbeat, computer-generated letter.

“I TELL YOU, FRANK, THIS IS YOUR TIME!...Frank, hold this “seed dollar” in your hand as you continue to read the words: “IN GOD WE TRUST.” I sent you this dollar bill as a seed to help you Prime the Pump for the wellspring of blessings that will flow like a river out of you.”

To get those blessings flowing like an Oklahoma oil well, Pastor Bob said I need to take that dollar and mail it back to Tulsa—along with my best gift of $29, $49, $199 or $499.

“Frank, when I receive your answer back, I am going to send you some anointing oil to help you believe God for a continuous miracle. When you receive this anointing oil, anoint your wallet and all your bills as our Point of Contact...for your CONTINUOUS MIRACLE.”

Pastor Bob used to air on television stations across America. But after Prime Time Live aired damning allegations of ministerial misconduct, he faded from the screen. He’s back however (with his third wife and four french poodles) preaching his get-rich-quick spiritual schemes on BET. I caught his show on a recent trip to Arkansas and called the toll-free number. Now, he says, I too can reap financial blessings.

Many TV evangelists seek donations. But Tilton goes after those who are poor and struggling. His letter asks “How much do you need to pay all your debts? Write your answer here: $ _______”

Then it asks, “What is your biggest debt?_______________”

For those scraping by, he writes: “If it’s just impossible for you to give $29 along with this dollar bill, then give the closest thing you have to that and send it...”

It’s a spiritual pyramid scheme. But when Pastor Bob sowed money in my life, I’m afraid it fell among thorns.

Pastor Bob urged me to leave this new seed faith dollar in my Bible overnight and then mail it back to him. But I sowed it in a Herald-Leader soda machine instead (after inspecting it carefully to make sure it wasn’t counterfeit.) Just as Esau threw away his inheritance for a bowl of pottage, I traded my shot at “unlimited blessings, unlimited miracles, unlimited prosperity” for a cold, 65-cent can of Diet Coke. With the remaining 35 cents, I made a down-payment on a Mounds bar.

Pastor Bob, if you’re reading my blog, please SEND MORE MONEY. Don’t be stingy—mail me “YOUR BEST GIFT”—and a copy of your free book Learn How to Pay Your Bills—Supernaturally!

(Yes, he’s really written a book by that title. And yes, he’s offering it for free on his website.)

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Focus Teams

One part of our new leadership structure is the Focus Teams component. The idea is to separate the Foundation ministry into different ministy areas that can be focused on by a team of individuals. These teams of individuals make up the Focus Teams. The goal is to have more people actively engaged in ministry so that they are able to use their unique gifts to serve God in a meaningful way. Below you'll find some information about each focus team. If you are interested in joining one of these teams, please send an email to thecorefoundation@gmail.com and someone will contact you ASAP.


The Focus teams are Spiritual Growth, Outreach, and Creative Team . Outlined below is what each Focus team will be responsible for accomplishing:

SPIRITUAL GROWTH:
*Small groups- recognize leaders for each group, review and select material, make sure each group has a place to meet, place people in groups
*Discipleship- prepare for a leadership study during the summer while small groups are on hold
*Prayer team
*HangOUT- decide meeting place, plan ahead, scripture discussion, fun outing

OUTREACH:
*Missions- service projects (2-3 per semester) for small groups and the Foundation as a whole, put together a contact sheet of names and phone numbers of the options (local and in NC) for projects
*Recruting- give ideas to HangOUT team for recruiting and fun outings, call people to invite to events
*Outreach- research needs in the community and at CCC, get volunteers to be greeters and for hospitality at events
*Publicity- CCC commercial, club fairs, flyers, giveaways, email people and update website about events, newspaper ads/publicity, contact churches to let them know ways the Foundation can serve them, create contact cards/bookmarks with information about the Foundation to pass out to people

CREATIVE TEAM:
*Worship Services- plan services, songs, preaching, sound, location, setup, breakdown, video presentation, creative ways to make the service different (message planning), tech team (sound, power point, lights, film, etc…)
*Website- update, schedule bloggers, creative media (media, songs, sermons, videos), message board, prayer wall, feedback wall or board, calendar, post the service and get feedback (media,video, and audio)
*Touring Group- organize events, song and message if needed, scheduling places to go (churches or other)

Monday Muchies Relational Theology

Well, its been a while…its been a long while. Sorry. But at last, me and my somewhat thought provoking ideas are back. I miss the good times, people telling me I’m stupid (they might be right), and others (who I’m fairly sure don’t have the authority to make such decisions) telling me I’m going to hell. Seems to me a good place to start my new topics of thought begin with my own theology.

I feel like I always have to include a disclaimer on these things, nevertheless, here it goes again. These are simply my thoughts, I’m not smart enough to be qualified for even half of these thoughts I have. If it helps, good; if not, forget it. This is not gospel, just what I think about certain things. Smarter people are encouraged to correct, demoralize, and even pity me. Please respond though as intellectual activity is encouraged by conversation.

Relational Theology. In Genesis, the bible tells us that God created man in his image. That leaves us with a somewhat interesting question; what is God’s image. The Christian faith establishes that God is in fact a Trinity…three in one. Does this mean man is created with 3 parts in one? I think I’ll get a little more into that next week, for now lets think about the 3 people of God. The Trinity is really confusing, the idea of combining three people into one kinda makes my head hurt. The bible tells us that the parts are different enough to where Jesus doesn’t know everything God knows, like when the Day of Judgment is (Matt 24:36).

If this is the case there must be some kind of relationship between the 3 entities. (Did I mention I got a degree in sociology) To help to picture this, imagine if you can The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit at three points of a triangle. This is important for an illustration later. The distance between the points would represent how close they are in a relationship. For The Trinity, I can only imagine that the distance would be so small that it would be approaching zero. (I’ll try to lay off of my calc terms)

The reason I bring this up, is because perhaps part of the image God created us in is in our relationships. Perhaps our relationships follow a similar pattern. Imagine if you will a relationship you have with a friend. To picture it, it should be you with a line connecting to your friend. However, both you and your friend have a relationship with God. You might say, but Aaron, my friend is an Atheist. Even if that is so, a relationship exists, its just not a good one. But for illustrative purposes, lets say you and your friend are about at the same relationship with God. With our triangle, if you get closer to your friend, the line or the distance between you and God decreases. Also, if you get closer to God, either your friend must as well, or the distance between you and said friend increases.

This could be important in that if you have a friend that does not have a very good relationship with God, take the atheist from earlier. In order for you to get closer to that friend, either the distance between you and God will increase, or the distance between God and the atheist will decrease. If you have several friends like that you are getting closer to, who do you think is easier to move? Conversely, if the atheist has several friends who are closer to God, who do you think is easier to move?

I believe that relationships are an essential part of life and humanity. God wants us to have good relationships, but sometimes it changes things to think that God is a part of every relationship, that every relationship is triune.

I really hope this makes sense, I wish I had the know how to draw pictures and put them up with it, but I’m not that smart...Chance and Justin told me how to do the one at the top. Anyway, let me know what you think...

Making God Understandable

It is important to learn about people and find ways to make the gospel of salvation through Christ understandable. This is a way to make Christ relevant to our culture. Be aware of what is part of a person’s life that may be used to aid or hinder a comparison explaining the love of God. That way Christians can choose the most effective way to tell about God’s relationships with people.

One example of how important this is comes from what some of the first missionaries to an African village learned. These missionaries went into a village explaining that God stands at the door and knocks, waiting for people to answer the door. This comes from Revelation 3:20 which says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

After some time had passed the missionaries wondered why no one had accepted Christ. Then the missionaries learned that in this village, because there were no doors on the homes, friends who visit each other would call out in the doorway to let each other know they were there to visit. However, thieves would stand outside and knock to see if anyone was at home. Knocking in this village signified a thief, therefore, these missionaries accidentally made Christ out as a thief and someone who the village would fear.

Another situation that Christians should be sensitive to may involve people who have grown up without a good father-figure but may have a mother who has been a good caregiver. God is often referred to as being “Father,” but for people who have broken relationships with their fathers this terminology may not adequately represent God. People may think of God being a father based on their skewed experience instead of what a Christian would intend for the term “father” to portray God as. In this situation the people may be able to relate more to a comparison of God being like their mother who has worked hard to provide and love her children instead of the absent father-figure.

One last example is for an orphan. A person who has never known his or her biological parents may better understand the love of God if it is compared to adoptive caregivers instead of a natural father or mother. Explaining how God loves people who are not his own as if they are his own son or daughter would be understood by someone living in that situation.

These are just a few examples of how to make Christ understood while being sensitive to peoples’ culture and life experiences. It is important that Christians take the time to learn about people and know what will be the best way to portray Christ in an understandable and meaningful way.

In short, this blog is just discussing ways for Christians to make connections between peoples’ lives and the Gospel message in a way that explains it to them in a very effective way. Feel free to comment about other connections Christians can make between peoples’ lives and God in order to explain God’s love effectively!

Foundation Leadership Structure

Ok, so here is a diagram of the newly created Foundation Leadership Structure that was revealed at the Strategic Planning retreat. Take a look, ask questions, and share what you think. I'll post more information regarding individual parts of the model later. Enjoy!




(click image to enlarge)

Professor's Movie Review - Rocky

Ok, so I know I have no credentials to be a movie critic. However, I wanted to give a review on the new Rocky movie in case you have not seen it yet and might want to. My advice is this - if you have seen the other Rocky movies, great, you'll know what's going on. If not, it wont make as much sense to you. To be honest, its not the best movie in the world, (its no Forest Gump or Saving Private Ryan), but you get to see all the classic Rocky stuff like him drinking raw eggs and running up the steps. Plus, homeboy is still stout to be like 60 years old and the fight scene is classic Rocky action. As a Christian, this movie doesnt contain too much bad material, maybe just a few curse words, with even a few faith references through out the movie. I think its important to be conscience of the material we let into our minds through our eyes. Rocky is a good movie, go see it! Two thumbs up!

For another great review by Christian blogger Ben Witherington click here.

Church Needs Dudes

I ran across this video today and found it interesting. Pastor Mark Driscoll of this church in Seattle shares what he thinks is one of the problems with churches today...not enough men..and that most of the men that do go to church are wimps. "The problem in the church today: its just a bunch of nice, soft, tender, chickafied church boys." (start the video about 1:30 in)

What do you think?

NCSU Engineer Explains the Physics of Santa

Well I already knew that I graduated from the greatest university on the planet but this definitely has to seal the deal...an Engineering professor over at NCSU has explained the plausible science behind how Santa can deliver millions of presents around the world in one night...

"Based on his advanced knowledge of the theory of relativity, Santa recognizes that time can be stretched like a rubber band, that space can be squeezed like an orange and that light can be bent,” Silverberg says. “Relativity clouds are controllable domains – rips in time – that allow him months to deliver presents while only a few minutes pass on Earth. The presents are truly delivered in a wink of an eye.”

Read the entire article here.

This guy looks a lot like someone I know...

Have you ever seen an elf dance? Click the picture to see what Professor Webb has been doing on the side in order to pay the bills...just think how many kids he's made happy on their annual visit to the mall to see Santa. Doing it for the kids...what a guy!

(sorry Webb, I couldn't resist)

Strategic Planning Retreat

Sounds like a fancy name huh? Well that's what we hope happens from Thursday to Saturday of this week as our leadership team will be in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee planning for upcoming ministry. Be in prayer this week for our leadership team as we will be traveling with a chance of snow, but mainly for what God will do while we are up there. We will be reflecting on the last year of ministry and then dive into the big question; What's next? It's going to be a really important series of meetings that is going to directly impact the future of The Foundation...so remember that this week during your prayer times.

Reminder: Keep checking the blog, but we will begin slowing down here during the holiday season with the number of posts, so my apologies for that. However, expect to see a big turn around in post frequency starting in January! So stay tuned...

Thursday HangOUT

Thursday's HangOUT will be the last one until the new year...so be sure to come. There will not be a HangOUT on Dec. 21st or the 28th...but we are working on a pretty cool idea for a back to school bash in January, so stay tuned....

HangOUT @ the Center: Thursday 7pm (directions)

Blog Template Stuff

Must We Believe the Virgin Birth?

I ran across this today and thought I would post it since we kind of talked about the same thing on Thursday. It is from Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.,who is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. There is supposed to be a three part series, so I will post them as he writes them.

Friday, December 08, 2006

In one of his columns for The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof once pointed to belief in the Virgin Birth as evidence that conservative Christians are "less intellectual." Are we saddled with an untenable doctrine? Is belief in the Virgin Birth really necessary?

Kristof is absolutely aghast that so many Americans believe in the Virgin Birth. "The faith in the Virgin Birth reflects the way American Christianity is becoming less intellectual and more mystical over time," he explains, and the percentage of Americans who believe in the Virgin Birth "actually rose five points in the latest poll." Yikes! Is this evidence of secular backsliding?

"The Virgin Mary is an interesting prism through which to examine America's emphasis on faith," Kristof argues, "because most Biblical scholars regard the evidence for the Virgin Birth ... as so shaky that it pretty much has to be a leap of faith." Here's a little hint: Anytime you hear a claim about what "most Biblical scholars" believe, check on just who these illustrious scholars really are. In Kristof's case, he is only concerned about liberal scholars like Hans Kung, whose credentials as a Catholic theologian were revoked by the Vatican.

The list of what Hans Kung does not believe would fill a book [just look at his books!], and citing him as an authority in this area betrays Kristof's determination to stack the evidence, or his utter ignorance that many theologians and biblical scholars vehemently disagree with Kung. Kung is the anti-Catholic's favorite Catholic, and that is the real reason he is so loved by the liberal media.

Kristof also cites "the great Yale historian and theologian" Jaroslav Pelikan as an authority against the Virgin Birth, but this is both unfair and untenable. In Mary Through the Centuries, Pelikan does not reject the Virgin Birth, but does trace the development of the doctrine.

What are we to do with the Virgin Birth? The doctrine was among the first to be questioned and then rejected after the rise of historical criticism and the undermining of biblical authority that inevitably followed. Critics claimed that since the doctrine is taught in "only" two of the four Gospels, it must be elective. The Apostle Paul, they argued, did not mention it in his sermons in Acts, so he must not have believed it. Besides, the liberal critics argued, the doctrine is just so supernatural. Modern heretics like retired Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong argue that the doctrine was just evidence of the early church's over-claiming of Christ's deity. It is, Spong tells us, the "entrance myth" to go with the resurrection, the "exit myth." If only Spong were a myth.

Now, even some revisionist evangelicals claim that belief in the Virgin Birth is unnecessary. The meaning of the miracle is enduring, they argue, but the historical truth of the doctrine is not really important.

Must one believe in the Virgin Birth to be a Christian? This is not a hard question to answer. It is conceivable that someone might come to Christ and trust Christ as Savior without yet learning that the Bible teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin. A new believer is not yet aware of the full structure of Christian truth. The real question is this: Can a Christian, once aware of the Bible's teaching, reject the Virgin Birth? The answer must be no.

Nicholas Kristof pointed to his grandfather as a "devout" Presbyterian elder who believed that the Virgin Birth is a "pious legend." Follow his example, Kristof encourages, and join the modern age. But we must face the hard fact that Kristof's grandfather denied the faith. This is a very strange and perverse definition of "devout."

Matthew tells us that before Mary and Joseph "came together," Mary "was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit." [Matthew 1:18] This, Matthew explains, fulfilled what Isaiah promised: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name 'Immanuel,' which translated means 'God with Us'." [Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 9:6-7]

Luke provides even greater detail, revealing that Mary was visited by an angel who explained that she, though a virgin, would bear the divine child: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God." [Luke 1:35]

Even if the Virgin Birth was taught by only one biblical passage, that would be sufficient to obligate all Christians to the belief. We have no right to weigh the relative truthfulness of biblical teachings by their repetition in Scripture. We cannot claim to believe that the Bible is the Word of God and then turn around and cast suspicion on its teaching.

Millard Erickson states this well: "If we do not hold to the virgin birth despite the fact that the Bible asserts it, then we have compromised the authority of the Bible and there is in principle no reason why we should hold to its other teachings. Thus, rejecting the virgin birth has implications reaching far beyond the doctrine itself."

Implications, indeed. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, who was His father? There is no answer that will leave the Gospel intact. The Virgin Birth explains how Christ could be both God and man, how He was without sin, and that the entire work of salvation is God's gracious act. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, He had a human father. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, the Bible teaches a lie.

Carl F. H. Henry, the dean of evangelical theologians, argues that the Virgin Birth is the "essential, historical indication of the Incarnation, bearing not only an analogy to the divine and human natures of the Incarnate, but also bringing out the nature, purpose, and bearing of this work of God to salvation." Well said, and well believed.

Nicholas Kristof and his secularist friends may find belief in the Virgin Birth to be evidence of intellectual backwardness among American Christians. But this is the faith of the Church, established in God's perfect Word, and cherished by the true Church throughout the ages. Kristof's grandfather, we are told, believed that the Virgin Birth is a "pious legend." The fact that he could hold such beliefs and serve as an elder in his church is evidence of that church's doctrinal and spiritual laxity -- or worse. Those who deny the Virgin Birth affirm other doctrines only by force of whim, for they have already surrendered the authority of Scripture. They have undermined Christ's nature and nullified the incarnation.

This much we know: All those who find salvation will be saved by the atoning work of Jesus the Christ -- the virgin-born Savior. Anything less than this is just not Christianity, whatever it may call itself. A true Christian will not deny the Virgin Birth.

David "the Hoff" Hasselhoff

Well you just never know what kids will show you these days. I had some kids in before school today programming their video games and one of them wanted to show me a music video on Google. Well shortly thereafter I watched the video you are about to watch, and needless to say my childhood hero has let me down. You see, growing up in the 90's as a young boy in a small town, David Hasselhoff was an everyday name, common to all boys my age. He was the star of Knight Rider, driving KITT, his smooth operating black 1982 Trans Am around battling the forces of evil as a lone ranger. But he is most revered for his days on the glorious "Baywatch." As a 12 year old boy it is hard not to look up to a man who is loved by mobs of women and runs around on the beach with the most beautiful women on TV saving peoples lives. A man that stars in a show that has the same plot every single week but you still want to watch it anyway (I wonder if it was CJ and not "the Hoff" that kept us watching). Anyways, enough drama, the Hoff has released this music video "Jump in My Car." Somehow I just don't see the "Hoff" the same anymore, and come to think of it, Baywatch really was a pretty crappy show. Things always seem better when you were a kid. Enjoy the show! (*disclaimer* The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of The Foundation or its participants and have absolutely nothing to do with ministry.)