Monthly Archives: November 2008

November 26, 2008

Stay updated easier

By Chris Lewis

I posted these instructions a couple of months ago. I thought it would be a good idea to post again since the blog traffic has increased.

There are three different time saving ways to stay updated and receive automatic updates to this blog:

1) Use a Feed Reader. I personally use Google Reader, but there are a lot of other good ones.  With most readers, you simply need to supple the feed.  Our feed is http://chrislewisblog.com/feed/.

2) Email Subscription. If you’d rather have new posts delivered to your inbox as an email, (you know – the good “old fashioned” way) you can easily subscribe here and you will get a confirmation email that you must reply to and then you will receive emails of the latest posts.

3) Twitter. A lot of you look at the Twitter feed on the side of this page. You can “follow me” and get Twitter updates without visiting the blog at http://www.twitter.com/lewischris. It’s a neat service – all the cool kids are doing it!

I hope this helps!  Technology should make our lives easier – not the other way around.  Maybe this can save you some time.

1 comment | posted in Personal - Chris

November 25, 2008

Recommended book

By Chris Lewis

in-a-pit

While I traveled recently, I read a book I have been meaning to read for some time.  In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day (Mark Batterson) is an incredible read!  I am definitely behind the curve on this one and am probably one of the last people on the planet to read this book.

However, if you are one of the other ones, you have to read this book!

The core theme is that God-sized moves require God-ordained risks and is based off of a few obscure verses in scripture:

“There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. Once, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.” – 2 Sam 23:20-21

There are a lot of great points in the book, but my favorite quote from the book is actually a requote from G.K. Chesterton.  It really boils it down to having a high view of God.

“How much happier you would be, how much more of you there would be, if the hammer of a higher God could smash your small cosmos.”

Well said.

Leave a comment | posted in Books, My Thoughts - Chris

November 17, 2008

“pornography and the slippery slope of ted bundy”

By Chris Lewis

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That’s the title from chapter 8 of Mark Driscoll‘s book called “Porn-again Christian – a frank discussion on pornography and masturbation”.  You can download a free copy at this link.

WARNING! THIS IS A VERY GRAPHIC BOOK! I know a lot of different people read this blog and I just want to be sure you know beforehand that this book uses explicit language and takes a straightforward look at the issue of pornography and masturbation. That said, it is an incredible resource and I think Driscoll hit a home run with his direct approach.

I shared that so I could write about chapter 8…”pornography and the slippery slope of ted bundy”.  James Dobson interviewed Ted Bundy the day before he was executed.  Bundy is one of the most notorious serial killers in history. The book contains an excerpt of the interview.

In this interview, Bundy shares something that blows me away!  Bundy was not abused as a kid, he wasn’t molested, didn’t have any of the normal psychological triggers that profilers have attributed to serial killers.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

“Shockingly, Bundy admitted that he possessed none of the normal triggers for such sinful behavior, as he was raised in a loving Christian home with five siblings and did not experience any sexual abuse growing up. Rather, he confessed in clear detail how as a young boy he began, as most boys do, viewing common pornography, which grew into increasingly harder and more deviant forms of pornography that eventually led to his acting out his evil fantasies. Quoted below is an edited transcript of the conversation that occurred just seventeen hours before Ted was led to the electric chair. I trust that it will be a sobering reminder to my Christian brothers that the sin of lust is an insatiable parasite that you must not feed, lest it grow and lead to death.”

Wow!  Go download the free book if you want to read more.

3 comments | posted in Books, My Thoughts - Chris

November 11, 2008

Dday 4 update from Boston and trip recap

By Chris Lewis

We are safely home and pretty exhausted, but the trip was well worth it!  We packed a ton into the 4 days we were there.  The last day really was an awesome surprise!

I had the opportunity to sit down with Sean Sears, a local pastor who planted about three years ago.  Grace Church is one of the churches we visited on Sunday.  This was a spur of the moment meeting, but it was awesome and, I believe, God ordained.  We spent the afternoon together talking about the spiritual climate and need all around the area.  We then drove to an area of 4 towns with a large population and absolutely NO presence of churches presenting the gospel!

He shared some great insights and I left there convinced that this was the connection I traveled to Boston to make.  I look forward to seeing that relationship grow.

I want to recap several highlights and things we learned this week:

  • Planting in Boston is an overwhelming challenge!
  • It must be a calling…it cannot be a passion only!
  • Boston is the most unlikely city in America you will encounter another believer!
  • Many of the towns around Boston were chartered before the Declaration of Independence!
  • There have been a lot of gifted individuals and organizations that have failed in their attempt to plant churches in Boston.
  • God has given me an enormous vision for what can be accomplished in and around Boston.
  • I believe this is the beginning of a church planting wave in New England.

God corrected – or at least made adjustments to my vision this week…I don’t believe God wants us to plant a church in Boston…I believe He wants us to plant 1000 churches in Boston!  Too bold?  Crazy?  You’re probably right!  And there is no way we can do it alone.  It will take amazing men like Sean Sears and Hank Wilson.  It will take the seasoned influence of men like Al Ridley.  More than any of that…it will take the unrelenting power of the Holy Spirit!

I will share in a later post how I think God might move to accomplish this.  Thanks for praying while we were gone!

2 comments | posted in Boston Scouting Trip, Church Plant

November 10, 2008

Day 3 update from Boston

By Chris Lewis

Sunday was a great day in Boston!  We visited two different churches that are both about 3 years old.  They are both sharing Christ in an environment with little or no exposure to the gospel.

The team spent yesterday afternoon and evening getting familiar with the city.  We rode the mass transit system (called the “T”) everywhere we went.  

We visited different areas of the city, toured Fenway Park, went down to Boston Commons, and made a pit stop by Cheers “Where everybody know your name”.  We ate at an authentic Boston seafood restaurant on Nantusket Beach and had some clam chowder.

We are going to look at a few more areas for potential locations and will be returning home tonight.  We will be traveling quite late, so please remember us in your prayers!

Leave a comment | posted in Boston Scouting Trip, Church Plant

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