God isn’t that special… Is He?

God isn’t that special… Is He?

It’s now been a little over four months since I made the giant move from Missouri to LA. Any midwestern kid that spends all their time in the midwest would tell you the same thing… LA? That definitely means you’re going somewhere. My friends want to know if I’ve met anyone famous. They want to know who I’ve met and who I’ve seen. The other day, as I stopped by the Golden Globes, I witnessed herds of people gathering as cows along a fence in a storm to see all the stars as they drove into the event. Screaming, crying, fainting… These hopeless people would have given anything to see these stars.

Of course, being the overly-analytical man that I am, I couldn’t help but think… What is it that these people want? As a follower of Christ, I can’t help but question what the people are so desperate to see. What makes them cry? What makes them scream? What makes them faint? And I wonder how many church-goers would be crying, screaming and fainting. So what makes people so desperate just to see these stars? And it makes me wonder what more God has to do to prove His worthiness… What more does God have to do to be worthy enough of THAT kind of praise? Did not the God who created the Heavens and the Earth create you and me and everyone who was invited to attend this awards ceremony in Beverly Hills?

I wonder what more the church must be promised, and what more it should receive, to claim Christ as worthy of being someone we are desperate for. Why doesn’t He make us cry? Why doesn’t He make us scream when His presence fills the room? Why do we sing songs about how we cannot stand before the presence of God, all while we are standing? Then we have the audacity to end the song explaining to our congregation that His presence is among us… So… is He actually among us? If no, why do we sing about Him? If yes, why should we continue to stand? Do you believe in the God-figure of Christ? Is He worth being desperate for?

How should we fix our hearts and eyes? What must we do to pursue Jesus Christ with this type of desperation? If the people in California are willing to scream, cry and faint over an Audi S5 which MIGHT be carrying a celebrity, how much more desperate should they be for Jesus? Does our message reflect the Glory of God? Or does our message simply reflect our own Glory because of something God did? Is Jesus a mutual friend, or is He your BEST friend? Is He a strategic member of your testimony, or is He your testimony? What makes Jesus Christ more glorious than all the stars in Hollywood?

I’d love to hear feedback from all of my friends on this one… Followers of Christ, and those who do not follow Christ alike! Thanks, friends! Love you all!

6 Effective & Ineffective E-mail Practices

In a recent school assignment, my professor asked all students to review recent emails they had received in regards to school or work. He asked his students to create a list of three effective and three ineffective email practices used by professors, employers, and coworkers.

After reviewing many emails and spending some time in thought, I was successfully able to condense my conclusions into three do’s and three do not’s.

do’s

  1. PACK-A-PUNCH IN THE SUBJECT LINE
    • Your email is going to be cognitively filed based on perceived importance. If your message is important then give it an exceptional title. Otherwise, your email may end up at the bottom of the list.
  2. GET YOUR POINT ACROSS
    • Don’t avoid the subject. The first part is to give the message a killer title. The second part is to fulfill. There’s nothing more unsatisfying than clicking on an email that I perceive to be important and come to find that it’s really just a long and unclear message. Make your points very clear.
  3. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SPACE
    • It’s OK to write a long email to someone. Just be sure to make new paragraphs every once in a while. Use numbers and bullet points, much like this very blog post. Make your message easy to navigate and remember.

do not’s

  1. DO NOT BEAT AROUND THE BUSH
    • Honor your recipient’s time by crafting a message that is concise. Do them a favor and get your point across.
  2. DO NOT USE INCORRECT GRAMMAR
    • Show some class and craft a message worthy of being read. Don’t forget to use proper grammar and punctuation in a professional email.
  3. DO NOT OVER-APOLOGIZE
    • It’s OK to apologize for something. Be sure that you apologize humbly and move on. One of the greatest mistakes composers make is over-apologizing for the most mundane of things. I remember a professor apologizing to me for extending the due date of an assignment. It got tiring after the second paragraph, explaining the events which led to her giving me an extension.