• A bitter Christian is no credit to the Gospel
• Tearing, looking at the negative
• I have so many things to rejoice over
• Not many verses that tell us to gripe
• Many that tell us to build up and rejoice

Keep in mind…these are just my raw notes

• Part of our armor is not being ignorant of the enemy’s devices
• N.A. no longer referring to themselves as the “New Age”
  • Instead: the “New Spirituality”
  • …the “Alternative Spirituality”
• Eph. 5:12-13
• “Take heed unto yourselves and unto the flock”
• M. Scot Peck ( I do remember him…)
• Problem of “contemplative prayer”: no warnings about testing the spirits
• Warren’s encouragement: be careful
• “The ECM seems to think it has a handle on helping people.”
• Stereotype of Bible-believers: ‘oh, I’m just waiting for Armageddon to come.”
• For antichrist to have credibility, he would need to have a lot of people calling themselves Christians giving him credibility
• Tony Jones calls Mat. 24 Jesus’ “harrangue”
• It all comes down to the Cross of Calvary
• Acts 16:16 - there are divining spirits
• “It was like a ‘reverse sinner’s prayer’.”
• “It was meant to be - but meant to be by whom…?”
• Is the devil entirely predictable?
• There is coming a false world peace (true, dat)
• “Atonement” in the N.A. is the realization that I am a part of God
• “We have an adversary - let’s make sure he doesn’t get in.”
• N.A. is saying if you don’t recognize your own divinity, you’re a hindrance.
• ECM - “We have a hope-filled eschatology!”
  • …well whoopdie-do. (I really liked that, to be honest.)
• “There is no more effective method of concealment than publishing it (what you want to
  conceal) openly.”
• A Return To Love - really first book in Oprah’s book club
• “Self-centeredness” in the N.A. is in not recognizing you’re God.
  • Oneness vs. Separation
  • “Separation” is when you don’t believe in your own divinity.
• The Aquarian Conspiracy - (I remember that book)
• Teilhard deChardin
• Eric Butterworth: The Power Within You.
• Warren believes Oprah has a zeal for God (directly implying she’s not evil), but according
  to her own wisdom.
• There’s a lot of N.A.’ers who used to be evangelical Christians
• The Beautiful Side Of Evil
• Alice Bailey - Emergence, used over 1000 times

• The methods change, but the message should not.
  • Conviction Without Compromise - book
• “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
  • The problem is - nobody knows what the essentials are anymore
• Post-Protestant
• Post-Orthodox
• Post-Denom.
• Post-Doctrinal
• Post-Individualism
  • …and much more I couldn’t write down quickly enough.
• www.emergentvillage.com
• “It aims at something else, and shoots itself.”
• Anti-absolutism
• Anti-exclusivism
  • This is a major problem with MacLaren & Pagitt & others
• Law of non-contradiction (A cannot be not-A)
• Anti-foundationalism
  • Stanley Grenz - Beyond Foundationalism
  • “He got Descart before de horse…”
  • “Opposites (A is non-A) can both be true…”
    • The inverse cannot be true - think about it…
• Anti-rational
  • Fideism
  • “…ever learning and not able to come to the truth…”
  • “If I have to believe it because it’s absurd, I wouldn’t believe it.”
• Anti-objectivism
  • All meaning is culturally relative
  • Skepticism ought to be skeptical of skepticism
• Anti-realism
• Anti-infalliblism
• Anti-propositionalism
  • The Faith is more than doctrine, but never less than doctrine
  • Ideas are important - doctrine is important!
• Post-orthodoxy
  • Unity over orthodoxy
  • Cannot surrender essentials
  • Cannot “sacrifice the right to be right”
• Anti-condemnationalism
  • UNIVERSALISM
  • More & more ECMmers are coming out of the universalist closet - that’s true.
  • There is a hell because God is loving - and man is free (sorry, Dr. White. )
• Anti-inerrantism
  • All other essential doctrines devolve directly from an inerrant Text
  • Everybody’s making truth claims
  • Augustine’s Dictum
• Well, he seems to dig Driscoll, so I’ll listen more…
• MJ@internationallegacy.org for the PowerPoint
  • Get This!!!
• ECM very much tends to be not only theologically liberal, but also politically

• Nothing pleases the Father more than His church dwelling in godly unity
• Can we, by faith, trust God’s Word, when we’re in blindness?
  • Many times I can be blinded by the facts and I can’t see the truth
    • Un-updated push-pins
• Obedience is always the next chapter in my life.

No I’m not.

But you panicked, didn’t you?

Actually, I’ll need to upload the last devo and last three sessions’ notes later - probably much later - my fellow Michigan pastors, as well as my pastor are driving some brothers up to LA to catch their flights out tonight, so the rest of us are going to hang on the beach, get California fish tacos, and basically maximize fellowship before we all head back to the mission field.

So my palmtop boogered again.

Windows Mobile.

Gakk.

David Barton’s session was quite good.  I was already familiar with the material he’d spoke on - I first heard Pete Marshall at Horizon back when I was first born again, and since then had done my own intensive reading into America’s history - but the way he connected it and how he put it all together - awesome.

I didn’t go to the Wallbuilder’s thing this year - I chuckled when the invite came and promptly circle-filed it.

If the Lord blesses and I’m able to go next year, I will.

Christians - vote.

Vote your conscience, truly; but vote.

I had heard Pedro speak (I believe it was) last year, as a devotional speaker.

I liked him then, I like him now.

Also, I apologize for the scatterbrain-style note-taking - this is how I jot notes on my HTC 6800.  It’s more “stream-of-consciousness” than true notetaking.

Mea culpa.

• Paul lived as though each day could be his last
  • Lived in absolute abandon
• We need to be passionate about what we do
• Conviction - with heart, with faith
• Paul was passionate about the church, the Bride of Christ
• I need to grow in the gift of exhortation
• Paul tells us what time it is, & then what to do in that time
• In light of Jesus’ soon return, it’s not time to disengage, but to engage
• A good leader is a good follower
  • A shepherd is also himself a sheep
  • We would be foolish to ignore the wisdom of what has gone before
  • Not only look for Timothies, but also Pauls
  • We need to use wisdom in who we allow to speak into our lives
• We (I) need the elder statesmen of the movement, & the Church at large
• Take the time to thank those who do the work in the fellowship
• “Ministry is the extreme sports of the Christian world. It’s for crazy people.”
  • It’s intense, pain-filled work
  • No room for lazy pastors that won’t give themselves to the last full measure to love the sheep
  • It is a labor of love - or it is nothing
  • We need to be involved with the sheep
• We are not to lord it over the flock
  • Our authority - which is real - is for their growth, not our benefit
• The true pastor labors for, loves, & serves the people
• In one sense, ministry is always warfare
  • DEAL WITH IT.
• Many times, we teach the what - but we need to teach the why.
• We need to remember that not everybody is a pastor
  • So don’t get uptight when some don’t get it
  • Just keep plowing & serving & exhorting
• A loving shepherd will warn those who need it
  • Firmly
  • But humbly & with a servant’s heart
• God’s eyes are always on the timid & weak
  • …to love them
• Be patient with all.
• People will hurt you as a pastor - love them anyway - and don’t get a bad attitude
  • Watch out how we (I) respond when this happens
  • No, everybody does not have an agenda
  • Want to minister with the heart of Jesus?
    • Stop being paranoid
    • Love even (especially) when it hurts
• NEVER retaliate
• ALWAYS pursue what is good
  • Not just for yourself
  • But for all
• Pursue the heart of Christ
• Time is short - don’t lose focus!

• “It’s later than it’s ever been before.”
• Live in light of the immanent return of Jesus
• We have been called to proclaim the Gospel, and remind them of the urgency of the time
• Bible prophecy should stir me to purity & godly living
• The teaching of Jesus’ return is a litmus test of where one is with the Lord
  • If I’m in love w/Him, that would excite me
  • But if I’m not…
• Chuck didn’t reach Greg by trying to be relevant - he was biblical and authentic
• Passion to reach the lost
• There was no youth group.
• There was (an is) an emphasis on the immanent return of Jesus
• If antichrist is close, Jesus is closer…
• I am to:
  • Wake up
    • Get out of “spiritual cruise control”
    • Is it an alarm clock or a calling that gets me out of bed
    • Give younger men an opportunity to speak @ church
    • The Sixties are over.
    • Again: enjoy the day of small beginnings
    • Take risks
    • If you fail - fail big!!!
    • Peter sunk - but nobody else walked on water
    • Faithfulness is success
  • Sober up
    • Clear-headed
  • Suit up
    • The helmet - protect my thoughts
    • Worry? Why?
    • I need to train myself to pray instead of worry.
      • Conditioned reflexes can become natural reflexes
    • “Lord, this is your church…”
    • Finish well
    • “We must replace one passion with another passion”
• I must avoid anything that hinders God’s calling.
  • ANYTHING.
  • “…be Christ’s men from head to foot…”

• Some are experiencing the Father’s favor
  • Growth, blessing
• Some are experiencing “the pit”
  • …the lack of the previous
• Some are experiencing temptations
• Trials are a part of ministry
• There are temptations to compare our ministry to others
  • Enjoy the days of small things
• It takes effort to maintain a devotional life
• Joseph wasn’t rewarded for resisting temptation - he was thrown in prison
  • There is a cost
• The jacket of triumph can be the most dangerous

The Afterglow last night was…indescribable. I have rarely experienced the presence of the Spirit in such a sweet, powerful way.

After this morning’s sessions (the notes of which I’ll post shortly - I’m typing this as fast as I can before lunch - priorities and all - in the Overflowing Cup), and during the workshops (I again played hooky opted to rest and unpack the sessions’ messages), I went to the front desk to pick up a package that my lovely and gracious wife sent to me. That woman - that insanely Proverbs-31-awesome woman - sent me a “DAD ROCKS” t-shirt (this is the first conference where I’m a daddy) and some sugar-free Reeses Cups and homemade sugar-free chocolate-chip cookies.

Have I mentioned yet how very much I adore that woman?

I also got to hang for a brief bit with John “Deadman Walking” Duncan and Chad “SMP” Myhre, before heading into the Cup.

Speaking of the Cup, tonight - 8pm Michigan time. Mellon Arena. I will again be getting text message updates from my lovely and gracious wife. Go, Wings.

Anyway…

I got to talk a bit more with Tom Stipe; we’re both…looking forward to Warren’s session. I am honestly interested to hear what he has to say. More to come.

And in answer to the dude who chuckled at my having mentioned the “Roman Spa” earlier - hey; it’s not my name for it. That’s what the map we were given at check-in calls it.

And here it is:

Ah - I almost forgot. I also got to hang some more with Shaun Sells. Not a bad kid, for an Avalanche fan…