1.  You list your Klout score at the top of your resume

2.  Your children think your Facebook timeline is their ancestry tree…because you told them that

3.  You think your # of Twitter followers equates to votes at the polls if you ran in an election

4.  You are one of a few who know that “pinterest” is not a misspelled word

5.  You keep trying to root your office desk phone

6.  Your bill collectors no longer call you, they invite you to join them in Google+ hangouts…and you always do

7.  You no longer read books, you just scan them looking for the tweetable parts

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,900 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 48 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

1.  Take the time to say hello.  You have no idea how far just a simple hello from someone not wearing a greeter tag goes (and if possible, do it before the scheduled greeting time).

2.  Engage them in conversation.  If time allows, talk to them.  If they took the time to show up you can take the time to talk to them.

3.  Invite them to sit with you or ask if you can sit with them.  You’re not trying to make them uncomfortable, but you are trying to make them feel welcome.

4.  Watch for warning signs.  Don’t be too pushy; if they give any signs you are moving too fast be ok in backing off.

5.  Don’t shuush them!  If this is their 1st time they may have questions, be ok with giving answers.  It should be ok to quietly answer questions in your local worship community (if not then re-read, or read the books of Acts and Hebrews to fully understand what it means to be the Church).

6.  Introduce them to others.  Feel free to introduce them to others, but don’t make a big show of it…you’re not showing them off.

7.  Invite them into your life.  After all that, surely you can invite them out for coffee or find another opportunity to connect with them.  The next contact they receive should not be a letter, call, or email from the pastor or greeting team.  It should be from you, or someone you introduced them to inviting them to hang out, have coffee, or do life.

Bonus tip: Feel free to wish them a Merry Christmas.  I mean seriously, they came on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day…I don’t think they’ll be offended.

It is biblical to celebrate the birth of Christ.  There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament telling the Israelites and humanity to look forward to that day.  Jesus even said there were Old Testament people who would have “rejoiced” to see His day.  And at the birth of Jesus, not only did the shepherds celebrate, rejoice,  and share the good news, so did a portion of the angelic host of heaven.  All that is in the Bible so it is biblical to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

The birth of Jesus Christ may or may not be on the 25^th of December, but does that matter?  Is it possible that God caused a warm spell specifically to cause shepherds to head out and be a witness to the single most miraculous event in history?  Possible but not a big deal if it wasn’t.  The early church was already looking for a day and a way to celebrate the birth of Christ before the 25^th was established.  Early church leaders such as Hippolytus and Alexandria were in favor of it while others, like Origen, felt it should be separated from the way birthdays of false Gods or heads of state were celebrated.  One theologian in 320 AD stated “We hold this day holy, not like the pagans because of the birth of the sun, but because of Him who made it.”

The traditions of gift giving, having parties, bringing greenery into the homes, charity, yule logs, and festivals of food were associated with other cultural celebrations: Roman Saturnalia, Roman New Year, birth of the unconquered sun celebration, birthday of Mithras – a Persian deity.  However, in the book of Acts the Apostle Paul travels to Athens.  He tells the community there that the worship they are directing towards gods of stone and metal that do not talk nor exist should be directed toward the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that did exist and created all things.  In the same way, the early church redeemed the traditions mentioned above and informed the community at that time to direct their worship, via those traditions, away from Roman and Persian gods that did not exist towards a God that did exist and appeared before humanity as Jesus Christ.

If we forget why we are celebrating and what we are celebrating then the Grinch has succeeded in stealing our Christmas.

Although my car did end up getting repo’d God did see me through that time.  A while later I sat with that same friend after he lost his job reminding him of our conversation and letting him know the same God that saw me through would see him through as well.

So believe me, I mean it with all my heart with every fiber of my being that I am truly thankful for a God that loves me despite the pain, rejection, and anguish I have given Him. I’m thankful that He doesn’t remember all my sins but removes them.  I’m thankful that He doesn’t just stay with me through the storm but once I’m out reminds me that I can be with others when they are going through a stormy time.

It may sound like just a cheesy churchy saying but I am truly thankful for more than I can list.  Feel free to share what you are thankful for in the comments and share what you are thankful for with your friends and family and the people you do life with everyday.

Person: So how big is your church?

Me: Huge, thousands upon thousands; ten thousand times ten thousand.

Person: Which denomination is it?

Me: It’s not really a denomination.  It was started as a movement to reveal God to the world and it’s still going.

Person: Oh, is it one of those new age religions by one of those new popular guys who wrote a best selling book?

Me: No, it’s had the same leader since it started, and He wrote THE best selling book of all time.

Person: Really? How long has it been around?

Me: Pretty long, about two thousand years.

Person: Seriously? So what time do you guys meet on Sundays?

Me: We don’t just meet on Sundays.  We meet every day in homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, communities, gyms, in public and in hiding in places all over the globe.  We meet anywhere and everywhere that we can share and show the love of Jesus Christ through our lives, our joys, our troubles and our tragedies.  We celebrate God every day in every way.

Person: Really? So what’s it called?

Me: The Church.

Not the traditional church, not the contemporary church, not the liberal church, not the conservative church, not the black church, the white church, the Asian or Hispanic church, not the missional church, not the Gen-X church, not the post-modern church, not the evangelical church, not the pre-trib, mid-trib, or post trib church, not the Calvinism or Arminianism church, not the multi-site church, not the mega church.

Just simply the Church…God started it and it’s still going!

I have no intention of answering this question; in fact I hope I raise more questions such as – if as a Christ follower you do or do not participate in Halloween activities is it because:

-Of your understanding of what Halloween used to represent?

-Of your understanding of what Halloween does represent?

-Of what your church, or pastor, or culture has communicated to you about what you should do?

-of what God has communicated to you about what you should do?

1.  The Book of 2^nd Opinions – This is the book that everyone references when giving their opinion, backed By God of course, to show how they are right.

1. The Book of Faults – This is the book people are referring to when they quote the Bible to show you how it is all your fault.

1. The Cook Book – This is the book in the Bible people reference when trying to prove the Bible is all about a vengeful mean God who wants nothing more than to destroy everyone and have them burn forever.

1. The Handy Book – This is what the Bible is referred to as when used solely to set drinks on and to hold up knick knacks around the house.

1. The Good Book – No one is 100% sure when people began referring to the Bible as the Good Book, but everyone is pretty sure that at one time in this country the stuff in the Bible was considered good by most.

This upcoming 9/11 weekend will bring about very difficult and painful memories across our nation.  In churches and houses of worship, in community centers, government and civic ceremonies around our country we will be mourning again, the loss of thousands of lives.  But let’s not just focus on the tragic events of that day.  Let us also pay honor to the brave men and women who didn’t just lose their lives, but willingly sacrificed them to help save others.  Let’s also pay respect to all those who continue to protect and guard our way of life so that we can stay safe at home.  Let’s write their names and their exploits on our hearts for eternity.

No political speeches or rallies this weekend to point out what went wrong or what could have been done; let’s just come together as a nation and be there to honor the memories and to support the families of those who were there for us.

Gordon Ramsey: Shut it down!      

God: I will, soon.

Paris Hilton: That’s Hot!

God: You have no idea.

The Borg: Resistance is futile!

God: Ditto!

Regis Philbin: Is that your final answer?

God: Yep, I’ve given you a lifeline.

Reality TV Show Competitions: You are safe!

God: Guess again!

Tony Stark: I am Iron Man

God: Yea, but you’re no Batman!