The Niche Church

I have become a regular contributor to Evangelical Village. Here is my first post.

The Niche Church

"I done wet my britches"

This has got to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. You have to watch the whole thing, all the way to the end.

Find more videos like this on PrepTicket

Quotes that hit me like a ton of bricks...

You know when you hear something and it just sticks in your mind? Every spare moment you have, the words flash through your brain as if they are being said aloud to you? Two quotes I've heard in the last two days that have hit me like a ton of bricks:

1. "I heard of a story of two farmers praying to God for rain to come. Both prayed but only one prepared the land. Who do you think trusted God more to send the rain?" from the movie Facing the Giants. At the end of the movie, the coach sends his kicker out on the field to win the game and someone asks him "what are you doing?" His response: "Preparing for rain."

2. If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.

I'm not sure why, but both of these have stuck with me this week.

How to Handle a Baby

Seeing as how Helen is pregnant with our first child, I did a little research and found this chart to help us out.

I stole this from someone's facebook photos. But it would be a disservice to you not to share. 

"Come for Me" - by Charlie Hall

Jesus come take me away

I long to see your face

This world is broken

Yet beautifully made

Jesus come take me away

Jesus I'll patiently wait

Until like a vapor I fade

Help me fulfill

All your dreams for these days

Jesus I'll patiently wait

And you'll come again with a shout

Like a thief in the night you'll come riding on clouds

And finally the voice I have followed for life

Has a glorious face that is lit up with light

And you'll come for me

No more pain, peace

No more fear, release

Just lost and consumed with my glorious king

Jesus today I am tired

And I need your music to come and inspire

And I give myself to be refined

In this fire

Jesus today I'm so tired

...come for me...

Brett is a movie star

It's a little known fact that I starred in a recent motion picture about the life of the Reformer Martin Luther. The picture is entitled Luther. Here are some pictures from the movie:

The Tale of the Leaky Corolla Revisited

Toyota calls me and lets me know that it is the glass. It's a slow leak, so spraying the glass with a squirt bottle does no good. There needs to be a lot of water and it needs to sit for a minute. I immediately call the glass company to have him get in touch with Toyota. An hour or two later I receive a message from glass doctor explaining that they were going to replace the glass for me. 

Friday afternoon, Helen and I go pick up the Unleaky Corolla. To be sure, I washed the car yesterday-- because it needed to be washed, first of all, but also to test the new seal. No leak, of course,  so it seems our problems are solved. The glass company covered the expense at Toyota and so it seems that it all worked out.

I am satisfied with my windshield, but I am not satisfied with the trouble I had to go through to prove that the glass was leaking. One particular lady at the glass company even had the nerve to imply I might be lying about the leak! 

Lady: "It only leaks when you take it through a car wash?"

Me: "I haven't taken it through a carwash. It leaks when it rains."

Lady: Rolls eyes. "It leaks when it rains? Well let's take it through a carwash and if it doesn't leak then..."

So I'm not pleased with the service I got from Glass Doctor in Austin. They are supposed to be glass specialists, but the dealership had to point out where the leak was. You would think specialists would be better than or at least as good as a dealership.

The moral of the story: if it's under warranty or if someone else is paying for it, take it to the dealership because they'll do it right the first time.

The second moral of the story: if you know you're right, keep pushing until someone finally follows through on their promises.

Case closed, for now.

Watching the Aggie Football Disaster

I'm learning a lesson in humility. This football team is terrible. I have been asked multiple times, "what's wrong with them?" I have no answer except, "They are terrible." It's not injuries. It's not bad luck. I don't even think it's coaching. I just think we are terrible. They say that things are going to get worse before they get better. I can't see things getting much worse than this... That is all.

The Tale of the Leaky Corolla

Helen and I bought a car in April. We bought a brand new, 2009 Toyota Corolla. We talked to several people who owned Toyotas, and they gave great reviews. "I've never had any problems!" "It will last you twice as long as a Ford or Chevy!" So we bought it. We got a good deal (Thanks, Sean Sivils!) and we were extremely happy. 

One day, Helen was driving home from work, and as she rounded a corner near Buda Elementary, some kids from the after school program launched rocks from the playground at our car. Yes, it broke the windshield. Two weeks after we bought our first car, the windshield was broken. I'm just glad Helen was driving and not me, otherwise I'd probably be in jail right now. Anywho, the after school program agreed to pay for our windshield replacement.

Being very busy, we decided we would call a glass company to come and replace the windshield (Mistake #1). They came and replaced the glass with no problems, so we thought. It cost almost double to replace this windshield because the car was so new that they had to order the glass from Japan (at least that's what they told me).

A few weeks later, it began to rain. In Central Texas, we've been in a perpetual drought for the last several months. It is so bad that when Hurricane Ike came through, we didn't get a single drop of rain.  But it rained for a week. And our car began to leak from underneath the dashboard on both the driver side and passenger side. Our floorboards were soaked (and still are).

We took it to the dealership in San Marcos, where we bought it. I was told "Toyotas don't leak." Uhhh, this one does. Anyway, he told me that if they looked at it and it was the glass, they would charge me. He suggested that I talk to the glass company first. 

So I called the glass company. They sent out a technician who squirted water from a bottle to "prove" water wasn't coming through the seal. First of all, a little mist in Texas evaporates before it has the chance to leak. I needed a hose on it. But nonetheless, he was confident it wasn't the glass. He left. Thirty minutes later, after he had left, the water he sprayed had leaked onto the floor. I decided to call Toyota anyway (Mistake #2).

I did some digging and friend has family that works at the dealership in Round Rock. So I take the Leaky Toyota to Round Rock, only to be told the seal is definitely leaking. I was told they could see where the water was coming from and the glass company needed to fix it.

I left the Toyota dealership with all kinds of paperwork explaining what the problem was. I made an appointment with the glass company and showed up ready to have my glass fixed. The technician at the glass company must have been having a bad day, because he was a real jerk. Sean was with me, and the tech guy asked if we wanted to wait. The conversation went something like this:

Sean: "How long will it be before you can tell us something?" 

Techy: "I don't know."

Sean: "Well, can you give us an estimate?"

Techy: "I don't know, sir."

Sean: "Is it going to be like an hour, or five days, or five years? I'm just asking if there are any cars in front of us."

Techy: "I just told you sir, I'm not sure how long."

Sheeesh. Anyway, the techy was gone for awhile and came back quite certain the glass wasn't leaking. We got the manager involved, who was also quite sure that the glass wasn't leaking. Luckily, the manager was more of a people person than the techy. Mr. Manager sent me to another Toyota Dealership in Austin (where I'm sitting now). If this dealership finds that it's the glass, Mr. Manager is going to come see for himself. If it's found that the glass is leaking, the glass company is going to take care of all my costs, including Toyotas fee to look at it. (They should also pay to replace my wet carpets, and my ruined owners manual.) But if it's Toyota's fault, then they'll handle it all because we're under warranty.

That brings us to today. It is now 12:30PM. I've been sitting here since 9:30 AM. I was just informed that they are going to have pull the dash off to figure this out. It probably won't be until tomorrow that there is a verdict. 

Stay tuned to see who the culprit is: Is it Toyota? Or is it the glass company? Hopefully, this will be solved soon.

PS To top it all off, the truck broke down on Monday and had to go to the shop. It is still there. Helen and I would be car-less, except for the generosity of my parents who are letting us borrow their 2009 Corolla that doesn't leak. 

Remember, Toyotas don't leak, except for mine.

The Barack Obama Loyalty Quiz-- What's your score?

The Barack Obama Loyalty Quiz

"Your score is 0 on a scale of 1 to 10. You are a fierce opponent of Barack Obama. He is the embodiment of everything you despise in a politician: an elitist, morally superior, gun-grabbing, religion-bashing, terrorist-coddling appeaser who threatens all that is good and decent in America. Plus, he bowls like a girl."

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/bl_barack_obama_quiz.htm

Good quote

“Reason shows that men’s deeds are better and more faithful interpreters of their minds, than their words.” Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections

Why Francis of Assisi is Wrong

"Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary use words."

I get what he's saying. This is a jab at people who honor Christ with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. People who preach Christ, but hate their brother are no more Christian than the people to whom they are preaching. I understand what Francis is saying. I get it. But he's wrong.

1. What is the gospel? Some may argue that the gospel is the Sermon on the Mount. Live lives that cause people to look to Christ and glorify God in heaven. That sounds good, but that's not realistic. Being a good person in the eyes of the world... or even following the Sermon on the Mount... is not the gospel. What is the gospel? The gospel is that He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God. The gospel is that He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. The gospel is that I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. The gospel is that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

The good news is not that now I can be a good person. The good news is that I was a wicked worm of a man, but God being in rich mercy because of His great love with which He loved us made me alive together with Christ. That's good news. How does one preach this message without words?

2. Faith comes through hearing, not seeing. Romans 10:13-17 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

If faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ, how are they to believe unless they are told?

3. A wordless morality may point some toward a works-based salvation. Let's face it, the human condition is so twisted that we want to believe we can work ourselves into right standing with God. Without the gospel being preached (the good news that one is not justified by works of the Law but instead by faith in Jesus), our morality may appear to the world to be our successful efforts to make God love us. Words are always necessary.

I understand the sentiment of Francis of Assisi's statement. I get it. But he's wrong and in need of a slight adjustment. You see, in a small way, he's right. No one will listen to the gospel being preached if your actions say otherwise. But without words, no one can know the only gospel that saves.

They say that actions speak louder than words, and that may be true. But both voices-- the mouth and the hands-- need to be heard in order for the gospel to take root. As in most things, balance is in order.

"Preach the gospel at all times both in word and deed."

Bugs that Crap Oil

Take that OPEC!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,367642,00.html

One Random Thing that Needs to Be Said

It is a traveshamockery that Joey Crawford is allowed to officiate Spurs games. Carry on.

Brett's New Blog

I've been working on getting another blog started for theology and ministry. I've decided that I will post those sort of things on that blog. This one will be reserved for family news and other random things that need to be said.

Click here for the Sounding Board.

A tip of the hat to chase bowers...

thanks for the nod chase.

The Spring Update

Things are a bit different this Spring. Not much has changed for Helen, but there have been some significant changes for me. First, the San Antonio extension of SWBTS is not offering any courses I need, so I am traveling to Houston every monday this semester. Doing the math (and i hate math), it is cheaper to fly to Houston and back than it is to drive. So every monday morning, Helen drives me to the airport and then she picks me up at night. She's great, i know.

I am also tutoring two days a week at a middle school. it's a good gig and i really like spending time with people, instead of sitting around the house reading books all the time.

I'm still working part time at Hays Hills. Things are starting to pick up again as summer draws closer. We have two major trips planned for the summer: mexico mission trip and a mountain climb. Both should be fun.

Hopefully we'll have more to post in the coming days and weeks. Until then, enjoy spring.

wow

It's been awhile. I just remembered we had a website when i had to renew our domain name. oops. well, for your enjoyment...

Sorry for the Lapse

So it's been over a month, almost two, since the last post. Things got super crazy, super fast once we got to Texas. So here's a brief update on where and what Helen and Brett are doing.

First, Helen officially started her job last week. Although, she has been up in her classroom working for several weeks prior. Things are coming along nicely... she might disagree... but her classroom is shaping up well. She'll have her first grade students for the first time in two weeks... complete with lunchboxes, backpacks, toothless smiles, runny noses, and high pitched voices. I'll bet she's excited.

I have been keeping mildly busy working at the church. I have taken over the reigns for the youth worship time on Wednesday Nights, and have inherited several students to develop a band. So we'll get going on that in the next few weeks. I'm super excited about that opportunity.

Most of all, we're glad to be back in Texas. We'll get to see Helen's brothers Paul and Sam play football this fall. Paul is a varsity receiver for Hays High School, and Sam is on the JV. We'll finally get to see them play (maybe they'll throw the ball to Paul every once in a while... if not, i'll be that guy who yells at the coach from the stands. I've always wanted to be 'that guy.')

We'll get to see Anna (Helen's sister) play volleyball for Baylor. Helen and I are both excited to see that. I'll cheer for Anna and her team, but it will take a lot for you to see me wearing green and gold.

The best part about being back is that we get to see many of the people we love and have missed over the last year. It really has been a blessing from the Lord, and we are so grateful. The worst part is that we now have people in Louisville who we love and miss. So Louisville People... come visit. We miss you. And know that you always have a place to stay in the austin/san marcos/san antonio area. No charge.

Soon we'll have some pictures of the house and some other recent happenings. I'm about to start classes at Southwestern, so we'll see how busy I get in the coming weeks. Let us hear from you!

We're Back

So Helen and I have a lot to update you on since the last post. Things have been crazy for the last few weeks, so you'll have to excuse our laziness in posting. Since the last you heard from us, we have been to Chicago and back. Then we loaded up the truck with all of our stuff and traveled across the country, making it safe and sound to Texas. We move in to our new place some time on Sunday. We have a bunch of pictures to upload. We'll get to that soon.