Marc’s Musings

Nationally recognized, man-made events like “tax day” can be great times to review your goals.

I’m sure you’re reviewing your MagnetGoals but have you reviewed list of 100? I just did and was shocked by how many I’d made progress on.

If you don’t know what in the world I’m talking about, sign up for my free MagnetGoals goal setting e-course at by going to FundraisingCoach.com.

Happy Tax Day!

I just came out of a class on fiber here at Inland Hospital.

Part of the class focused on the benefit of eating whole grain foods, foods that include the entire bran, germ, and endosperm in the flour. (There’s a cool picture at the Whole Grains Council’s site.) Evidently back in the ’40s, Americans found more status in eating white bread than whole wheat. So we got used to wheat that is only the endosperm–basically nutritionless. That’s why so much of our processed food gets “fortified.” It’s an attempt to add nutrients back in.

The bummer is we never see the whole picture. Not only are our vitamins not quite as good as those found in nature, but we didn’t add things like phytonutrients.

Isn’t this amazing? It seems every time we try to recreate God’s creation, we diminish it. Just look at baby formula vs. breast milk.

I’m so glad God created the world and invited us to co-create with Him! I wouldn’t want to try to recreate it for him!!

I’m not entirely sure if this fits the subject of the blog but I thought I’d share it!

I’ve finally checked out WebPagesThatSuck.com. You should too. Whoever this Nielsen guy is, he seems to “get” web design.

My favorite article is Don’t Confuse Web Design with Sex.

I love this Kingdom journey. We just completed the second of two listening in times. We know from Romans and Hebrews that Jesus and the Spirit are interceding for us. So a group of us from VCW got together to ask Him, “What are you praying over us?”

Last week we didn’t share anything. We committed to praying about it. This week we did share. And guess what, God’s surrounded my wife and me with people willing to dream the same dreams we’ve been dreaming for years.

Waterville offers a host of kingdom ministry opportunities. And our “band of brothers” and sisters is willing…no desiring to do it in a way that isn’t like anything we’ve seen before.

Thank God there are no lone rangers on this journey!

Marc

PS This isn’t a “closed” group. Feel free to join us!

Today was just “one of those days.” If it could go wrong it seemed like it did. After my glasses broke while I was cleaning them, I noticed a long horizontal crack in the windshield!

Thank God He’s given us the ability to choose our attitude! I felt just like the kid in the room with the pile of manure, “With this much crap, there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”

Still searching for the pony, but I’m confident it’s in here!

The folks at ChurchMarketingSucks.com posted a blog on why pastors burn out. Read the entire post here.

I’m glad this isn’t true of those folks that call VCW “home”! Thank you all for supporting a fellow follower of Jesus that happens to be the pastor!

But reading the post sure helps focus my thoughts on who I share criticism with, particularly those with a very public life. I hope the next time I’m thinking of offering “helpful” feedback, I’ll check in and ask God to search my heart (Ps 139:23) and ask if He’d like me to share it.

Just a quick note following up on the Maine Vineyard Churches’ annual conference.

God’s plan, from the beginning, has been community. Relationships.

Man and woman were created in God’s image…relational.

Satan attacked that bringing isolation, alienation, and death.

Man and woman broke the relationship. (Remember man and woman hiding and God asking “where are you?”)

God set out to create a community and restore relationship.

Satan continues to isolate, alienate, and bring death.

In God’s Kingdom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. The barriers are down. True relationship is restored.

That’s the way the Kingdom of God looks. And we get to be people of the Kingdom!

I’ll flesh this out in future posts. Right now, I’m going to bed. *grin*

I love this time of the year. Thursday the kids and I went to a Maundy Thursday service. Simple. Soulful. Powerful. If you haven’t been to one, it’s basically reading scripture and singing hymns. Candles are put out throughout the service as we get closer to the darkness of the crucifixion. Then all the lights go out.

Millions of Christians spend that night in an all night prayer vigil, remember Jesus’. Good Friday is often spent fasting. Holy Saturday feels like someone hit the “pause” button.

Then Sunday. Easter Sunday. Ressurection Sunday. Alleluia! Hallelujah! He is risen in deed!!

This is the high point of the Church Calendar. This is what we’re to orient our life around. Jesus defeats death. The veil is ripped in two. God’s glorious breakthrough.

Easter is so much more vibrant when it’s preceded by Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

I’m looking forward to celebrating Holy Week in the coming years. I envision artist in our church going nuts: musicians, painters, actors.

The Kingdom rips into “reality” and shows us what reality really is.

I love this weekend!

Seth Godin’s Chocolate Bunnies post got me thinking. I know the church has been very creative in adapting pagan symbols and using them to spread the gospel. I think that’s a good thing…for the most part.

But can you imagine Moses adopting a frog as the symbol of Passover? Frogs were an Egyptian fertility symbol and Passover became a spring feast. Yuck.

Let’s be sure to continue to be thoughtful and prayerful as we seek to reach out to the communities around us!