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“What if $21 was the difference in someone hearing the gospel?”

That question has been running through my head all weekend. If I really thought $21 would make a difference in someone hearing the gospel, would I give it? Absolutely. While that may seem like a hypothetical situation, it’s not far from the truth.

Following a December board meeting, the board of Free Will Baptist International Missions made a difficult decision: In an ongoing effort to end financial shortfalls and rebuild cash reserves, the board voted to postpone sending all new missionaries—as well as veteran missionaries currently on stateside assignment—to their fields of service until “cash reserves reach a sustainable level of 10% of the operational budget (fwbgo.com).

What does that mean? It simply means this:

As of the Summer of 2012, there will be 18 missionary families that cannot serve in their field because of a lack of funding.

It’s not due to a lack of willingness. It’s not due to a lack of accommodations. It’s simply because of a lack of money. Families are ready and willing to go overseas to share the good news of Jesus Christ…we simply haven’t provided them with the financial resources to do so.

But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Let me introduce you to Pledge21K, an initiative to get missionaries back on the field.

Pledge21k is challenging 1,000 Free Will Baptists to give $21 per month to send these missionaries back to their field and the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Simple math will tell you that 1,000 people giving $21 = $21,000 a month and $252,000 a year.

Does that sound crazy and impossible? Absolutely. But our God does the crazy and impossible for His glory.

So here’s your challenge: Get involved with Pledge21K. How do you do it? Simple:

1) Visit the Pledge21K Cause group by clicking on this link. Join the Cause.

2) Click on the “Give” tab and sign up to give $21/month.

3) Invite your friends to join the initiative and tell them about what is happening.

4) Use Facebook, Twitter, blogging, etc. to spread word about Pledge21K.

5) Pray for our missionaries and pray for financial supporters.

6) Follow @Pledge21K on Twitter for updates.

This is a great day for Free Will Baptists and God’s Church.

I am 1 of the 1,000. Will you be one?

I woke up this morning and realized yesterday wasn’t a bad dream. It was true: Albert Pujols signed with the Anaheim Angels. I also realized something else: any anger and frustration I felt yesterday had turned to sadness.

I can’t blame Pujols for heading to Anaheim. He was offered a ridiculous contract that could make or break a franchise. I also can’t blame the Cardinals for not matching the contract. I will always hold a franchise above a player, and I never want to see a player cripple a team for 10 years because of a bad contract.

But I’m still sad.

Why? Well the answer to that probably seems obvious, but let me explain some reasons that go a little bit deeper than the surface.

Since I have been alive, the St. Louis Cardinals have always had that “iconic” player who was a future Hall of Famer. From 1982-1996 it was Ozzie Smith. From late 1997-2001 it was Mark McGwire (and if steroids wouldn’t have gotten involved he’d be in the Hall today). And from 2001-2011 it was Albert Pujols. These three guys have been the face of the franchise as long as I have been alive. With the exception of a short stint in 2007, one of these three guys has always worn a Cardinals jersey for the lifetime of my generation.

Until now.

I woke up this morning questioning, “Who is the face of the St. Louis Cardinals?” To be honest, I don’t know. There is no one on the roster right now who is guaranteed a spot in Cooperstown. Maybe Adam Wainwright will bounce back and become the best pitcher since Bob Gibson. But I don’t know. Maybe David Freese will continue where he left off in the World Series and become the next Redbird batting champ, but there are no guarantees.

It’s sad to say, but there is no “face” of the Cardinals right now, which is shocking to say since the team won the World Series less than 50 days ago.

I know someone will step up and take that role. Maybe it will be Holliday. Maybe it’s Wainwright. Maybe Yadi or Freese. It will happen. But for the first time in almost 30 years, Cardinal fans are asking, “Who will it be?”

Cardinal fans were blessed to see the greatest hitter of this generation play in St. Louis. By the end of things, he may be one of the three greatest hitters of all-time. And I think that’s why it hurts. We’ve seen the best and know there will never be another Albert Pujols. If baseball history repeats itself, we know we will never see another hitter like him in our lifetime. And so we begged and pleaded for him to wear the birds on the bat just several more years so we could see one of the greatest in history do what he does best. And yet we now realize that won’t happen. Not this year. Not next year. Never again.

Reality has set in. We’ve realized the best has been taken away from us.

And so we’re sad.

If you happen to be one of the brave who journeys out Thanksgiving night and into Friday morning to buy Gigli on Blu-Ray for $7.99 or a Coby DVD player for $39.99, chances are you will hear a store employee utter those two little infamous words: “Happy Holidays.”

Some see this as a polite greeting and meet it with a smile and return the gesture with a similar expression. However, when some hear those two little words their blood begins to boil and the evolution of Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk takes place right in the checkout line at Macy’s. Why do those words cause so much anger? Maybe because we think “Happy Holidays” has become a substitute for “Merry Christmas.”

While some may disagree with me entirely, the phrase “Happy Holidays” does not bother me. Here are 3 reasons why:

1. We’re in the middle of 3 “holidays”
The 5 weeks between November 24 and January 1 give us 3 different holidays. November 24 is Thanksgiving. December 25 is Christmas. And January 1 is New Year’s Day. When someone tells you “Happy Holidays” it doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is saying “I’m being politically correct and taking Christ out of Christmas.” Maybe he or she is just saying an abbreviated version of “I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, have a great Christmas, and have a great New Year.” After all, holidays is plural, so it’s inferring more than one. Think about the song, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” We don’t cut off the last line and say, “We wish you a Merry Christmas and…yeah, that’s it.” So before you get too upset, consider that the phrase “Happy Holidays” may not be an attack on your spiritual beliefs; maybe it’s just a way to incorporate all 3 holidays into 1.

2. “Happy Holidays” is a friendly greeting
I doubt there are many people in this world who utter “Happy Holidays” just to stir up trouble. Sure, groups like the ACLU may try to do it, but for most people saying “Happy Holidays” is a friendly gesture. And let’s be honest, I’ve said it, you’ve said it, and many others have said it without even thinking. When I say it to a friend or a store employee I don’t think, “I don’t want to offend him so I’ll go neutral with my greeting.” No, my actual intent is to genuinely wish someone happiness. So whether you like the phrase or not, remember that the person saying it is likely doing it out of goodwill, not ill-intent.

3. The phrase may have been authorized by a “higher-up”
I hate political correctness as much as anyone, and I honestly don’t like it when I hear people say their managers have warned them against mentioning “Christmas” and have even threatened their jobs. Yes, that bugs me. But it’s important for us to remember that the “higher-ups” may be the ones making that call, not necessarily the employees. Believe it or not, there are retail employees who say “Happy Holidays” who also celebrate Christmas. Before you jump all over the high school kid who is working a seasonal job to pay for college, consider that he or she may only be doing what was asked. If you’re upset, your fight is with management, not the worker.

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and my opinion is that “Happy Holidays” really doesn’t bother me. However, what does bother me is seeing people jump down the throats of the workers who utter that phrase. When you talk back to the 17 year old who works at Best Buy or go off on the 25 year old working at Walmart, you’re doing everything BUT showing the spirit of Christmas…and THAT bothers me!

[Photo source: http://bit.ly/sQNAkk]

pla·gia·rism: the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work, as by not crediting the author (from Dictionary.com).

A frustrating thing happened to me not so long ago. I posted an original tweet and Facebook status and within minutes saw it copied by another person. However, there was no “RT” leading the tweet, no “Share” that led to the posting, no quotation marks around the words, nor credit within the post. This person had copied my exact original words and posted them as his/her own. When I asked this person why he/she did so, I received an, “It’s no big deal” type of response void of any apology and void of any effort to give proper credit.

While that incident bothered me, soon I saw it happen again and again and again, not just with me, but with many others as well.

When I think about those incidents, they still bother me because someone was willing to take my original words and claim them as their own.

But should it bother me?

With the advancement of social media, we’ve made it easy to post our thoughts, quotes, and happenings with the click of a mouse and push of a button. This also allows us to take the words of others and do anything with them that we wish.

So is this plagiarism or just social sharing?

According to its definition, it definitely seems like stealing i.e. plagiarism (or “poaching” as Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch would call it). When we take someone’s exact words and thoughts and claim them as our own, we become part of this unethical landslide. It probably won’t land anyone in jail, but the severity of the consequences should never be our motivation for doing what is right.

Twitter provides ways to retweet (RT) someone. Facebook allows you to “Share” things or even tag others. And there’s always the good ‘ole quotation marks as well.

There is no reason to steal (or “borrow” or “copy and paste”) someone’s status/tweet and claim it as your own, no matter if that person is a celebrity with 24 million followers or a friend from high school who has 347 friends. It’s unethical and in very poor taste.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

[Photo source: http://bit.ly/v38JpC]

Since we haven’t seen enough jokes about Occupy Wall Street (riiight), here are a few other “Occupy” movements that are quite popular, but haven’t gained as much national attention.

Occupy My Pew- I’ll get to church 45 minutes early just so no one else can take the pew I’ve been setting in for the past 38 years.

Occupy the Deli- Using basketball’s “blocking out” method to make sure no one else gets the food you’re eyeing.

Occupy Target- The art of sitting outside Target at 11:00 PM on Thanksgiving night to ensure you will save $2.50 on a video game on Black Friday.

Occupy Twitter- The art of self-promotion. Tweeting nonstop so you show up on everyone’s main feed daily.

Occupy Jeans- Guys wearing jeans that were made for girls. They’re so tight that there’s absolutely no room for space between leg and denim. Not even a can of denim spray paint could make them look tighter.

Occupy the Bathroom- You made a late night run for the border. Now you’re…yeah, you can figure out the rest of the Taco Bell joke.

Occupy Walmart- Have nothing else to do with your kids on a Friday night? Let em loose in Walmart and let them ride the bikes, run all over the store, and leave things in the aisle. This seems to be very popular in Nashville.

Occupy Cracker Barrel Rocking Chains- The “Occupy” movement perfected by the 65+ crowd. They’re there when you arrive; they’re there when you leave.

Occupy a Mediocre TV Station- Check out the listings for the CW.

Occupy Sesame Street- If this was New York City, the police would have already asked Oscar to grab his things and keep moving along.

Occupy the Buffet- If you’re a fellow Baptist, no explanation needed!

Image Source: http://bit.ly/nfHImp

This just happened. Simply awesome…

Over two years ago, I came out with the first installment of “Don’t Be That Guy.” (You can view that post by clicking here) Since the time of that post, there have been plenty of things that have made my shake my head and say, “Don’t be that guy!” So, thanks to all the stupid stuff we’ve witnessed, we’ve said, and we’ve done (me especially, I now give you the second installment of “Don’t Be That Guy!”

The guy who rolls up to the gas station, keeps his car running, rolls down his windows, and cracks up the bass of his gansta rap so we can all hear it—don’t be that guy.

The guy who follows every tweet with a passive-aggressive indirect counter-tweet—don’t be that guy.

The guy who is such a close-talker that I can identify his brand of toothpaste…or lack of—don’t be that guy.

The guy who makes fun of Star Wars fanatics but has a house full of sports action figures (“They’re memorabilia!”) —don’t be that guy.

The guy who comes from an upper middle class society but tries to dress homeless—don’t be that guy.

The guy who hasn’t read a book in the last year but can quote the schedule lineup for Spike TV—don’t be that guy.

The guy who is headed to the ER because he had to prove he could eat the hottest chicken wings in existence—don’t be that guy.

The guy who says, “Can I get an RT?” on Twitter—don’t be that guy.

The guy who constantly tells me how awesome his fantasy football team is—don’t be that guy.

The guy who thinks he’s too “manly” to enjoy animated movies—don’t be that guy.

The guy who buys into every Facebook conspiracy he hears (“Facebook will start charging money!” “Facebook is selling your Social Security numbers!”)—don’t be that guy.

The guy who tells me my sports team “stinks” even though they’re in the playoffs and his team finished 22 games out—don’t be that guy.

The guy who refuses to vote or register to vote but still feels entitled to complain about the President or government—don’t be that guy.

The guy who recommended the second and third Transformers movies to me—don’t be that guy.

The guy who orders water at a fast-food restaurant but then fills up his cup with soda—don’t be that guy.

The guy who judges people’s worth by their number of Facebook friends—don’t be that guy.

The guy who doesn’t know the difference between “you’re”, “your”, and “ur”—don’t be that guy.

The guy who defines “turn signal” as “20 inch wheels coming into my lane and forcing me off the road”—don’t be that guy.

The guy who tries to mask his ignorance of important topics by saying “I just don’t think this is a relevant discussion”—don’t be that guy.

Nyjer Morgan—don’t be that guy.

The guy who creates his own nickname—don’t be that guy.

The guy who believes Axe Body Spray is a suitable substitute for a shower—don’t be that guy.

The guy who is barefoot, always playing guitar, and keeps making creepy eye contact with people while playing songs by Dave Matthews Band—don’t be that guy.

The guy who claims, “No, it’s cool! I’m really good at texting while driving”—don’t be that guy.

The guy who thinks replacing the toilet paper roll is as difficult as quantum physics—don’t be that guy.

The guy who follows 4,000 people on Twitter and then unfollows them as soon as they follow him back—don’t be that guy.

The guy who thinks it’s a “travesty” that Michael Bay has not won an Oscar for “Best Director”—don’t be that guy.

The guy who thinks a shaved head and TapouT or Affliction t-shirt makes him an instant MMA fighter—don’t be that guy.

I don’t have time.

Have you ever wished Facebook would add a “Nobody Cares” or “Stop Whining” button for statuses? I think we all have. At least once a day we see one of “those” statuses that just makes us shake our head, roll our eyes, and utter something like “not again.” Although everyone is entitled to their own opinions and freedom of speech, there are 8 Facebook statuses that need to disappear:

1. The Passive-Aggressive Status
This is one of the most popular and most annoying statuses on Facebook, and I’ve seen people from 13 to 50 use this. It’s always directed at a certain unnamed person, and apparently that person knows who he or she is, because the status says so. It usually reads something like this:

So u wanna talk junk about me huh. Well u will get whats comin to you. You think u can hurt me but you’ll never be happy without me. You know who u are!

I apologize if my grammar was too proper.

2. The TMI Status
There are certain things the rest of the world just doesn’t need to know. If you’ve got a nasty infection, don’t tell us about the blood and pus. By no means should you post a picture of it. If you have a prayer request, it’s okay to be vague about disgusting specifics. If you’re about to have a baby or just had a baby and feel like sharing details that many of us are still ignorant about, please don’t. Protect our sanity and our stomachs and keep some things to yourself.

3. The “Are Those Song Lyrics?” Status
There is nothing wrong with someone posting song lyrics as a status. It doesn’t take a lot of creativity, but it’s not too much different from posting a quote. But it seems a lot of people forget 3 important aspects of quotations: 1) Quotation marks; 2) A reference; 3) Proper grammar and spelling. If you want to quote OneRepublic, fine. Go for it. But when you give us a status like…

me and my gang
out ridin on a saturday night
ain’t comin home til the rooster crows

…we’re not sure if you’re (poorly) quoting a Kenny Chesney song or out riding ATVs on in your parents’ backyard. (FYI…for all you Kenny Chesney fans, ATV’s are what you call 4-wheelers.)

4. The “I’m Connected to Twitter but Don’t Know How to Use Twitter” Status
Unless your status is really supposed to say “Haha, I know right? lol” then you’ve probably got a problem you need to fix. Quick tip: don’t multitask with technology if you don’t understand technology.

5. The Constant FourSquare Status
You’re at a hockey game? Cool. You’re seeing a great band in concert? Awesome. You’re sitting on your couch or in the Taco Bell drive-thru? Put the phone away, shut the laptop, and realize…we really don’t care.

6. The “Can’t Sleep” Status
I’ll admit, I’m guilty of this. I’ve infected Twitter and Facebook with 3 AM statements of “Ugh. Can’t sleep.” But have you noticed how the “Can’t sleep” statuses always get the least amount of “likes” or comments? Wanna know why? Because the rest of world is asleep and will never see the status. Here’s a bit of logic I’ve learned over the past few years: If you’re posting on Facebook that you can’t sleep, you probably can’t sleep because you’re on Facebook.

7. The Misspelled Status
We’re all guilty of clicking “Share” before we’ve proofread our statuses. It happens. It’s no big deal, right? That depends. When it happens occasionally, it’s understandable. When it happens every time you post a status, there’s a problem. Sure, you can blame your phone’s Auto Correct feature, but when there’s no mobile icon next to your status, we’ll probably think you’re lying. And by the way, if you have the fortitude to call out foreigners in our country who don’t speak English, you look really foolish when your status shows you don’t know how to speak it or write it either .

8. The Acronym Status
By now, most of the population is familiar with LOL, BRB, TTYL, and CYA. But a status full of acronyms is just plain annoying. It also doesn’t take long to type out the acronym you made up. Sorry if we don’t know that “WIRTTWUWY” actually means “Wow, I’m really tired today. What’s up with you?” Keep it simple…just not that simple.

[Photo source: facebook.com]

I’m usually late to the party when it comes to technology. I feel like I know quite a bit about technology, but due to that thing called money, I’m usually a bit behind the early adopters. I don’t own an iPad, I don’t have an eReader, and I got my first smartphone about 7 months ago. Needless to say, it wasn’t an iPhone 4; it was an iPhone 3Gs.

In mid-June I caught wind of something Daniel Webster was doing. He had created a group on Facebook called “B90X.” The aim of the members was to read through the entire Bible in 90 days. It sounded pretty lofty. In high school, I once read through the Bible in a full year, but even then I found myself speeding through 1 Peter-Revelation on December 31. But, I decided to give it a try.

Today marks Day 27 of the journey. I am currently 29.5% through the Bible. I’ll be honest, it hasn’t always been easy. Some days have been a struggle, especially on days when I have to read 16 chapters that focus on Old Testament sacrifice rituals or the construction of the tabernacle. But thankfully I’ve stuck with it, and to be completely honest, it has been one of the most uplifting and edifying things I have ever done.

So what does this have to do with my iPhone? Well, my iPhone has made this possible. Through the YouVersion app, I’ve been able to create a 90 schedule that helps keep me accountable with my reading. I’ve also had my choice of 25 English translations, as well as translations in languages I’ll never be able to speak. On top of that, many of the translations have audio. It may sound boring to some, but it’s actually pretty cool to go out for a run and listen to the book of Joshua. The luxury of this app is that I can take Scripture with me anywhere. As long as I have my phone, I can read. If I’m waiting for a movie to start, I can read a chapter or two. If I’m waiting for an appointment to start, there’s another chapter.

As crazy as it sounds, my iPhone has made reading the Bible much easier!

If you haven’t tried something like this, give it a shot. If you have a smartphone, it’s free, convenient, and an incredible resource. You may not start out on the 90 day trek, but there are plenty of other plans you can try and customize.

Only 63 more days to go…

[Photo source: http://bit.ly/nMbCoc]