NBC announced on January 10, 2010, that the Jay Leno Show will no longer air at 10 p.m. Leno will return as host of The Tonight Show, replacing Conan O’Brien, who has hosted the show since Leno’s departure.
This left Conan seemingly out to dry and being forced to leave a show that he was doing an amazing job at. Conans fans defintely supported him in showing their love for him but it didn’t help him stay on with the NBC network.
Check out this video of Conans response to everything that went down. I have to say it’s one of the classiest things I’ve seen in awhile! If we could all learn to show this grace and compassion when seemingly bad things happen to us, I think this world would be a better place!
I love being able to fire off questions to people who are smarter than myself. I really think it’s a great way to learn! So today I thought I’d share with you guys somethings I learned this morning from a guy named Carlos Whittaker!
Carlos Whittaker is an artist, pastor, thinker, experience architect, and Web 2.0 junkie.
Carlos was at Sandals Church in Riverside California where he served for 10 years as the Pastor of Worship and Creative Arts. Sandals Church is an authentic community of believers whose goal is to be real with themselves, others, and God. His passion for leading the church into a relational worship experience each and every Sunday was his hearts goal.
In August of 2007 Carlos and his family made the move from Southern California to Atlanta, GA. Carlos became the Director of Service Programming at Buckhead Church which is one of the three North Point Community Church campuses. He oversaw all the Sunday adult experience and design. He directly oversaw all areas Hosting, Production, Creative, Video, Music, and Programming at Buckhead Church. He also sat on the creative sermon planning team for Andy Stanley.
Recently Carlos signed with Integrity Music to pursue a recording career and to continue to disturb and disrupt the church as a whole.
Carlos and Heather Whittaker make up a blogging power couple in Ragamuffinsoul.com and Whittakerwoman.typepad.com. They have 3 children. In November 2006 Carlos and his wife Heather adopted their son Losiah from Seoul Korea.
Carlos lives for this…
To ignite a movement of authenticity among all generations of Christians that morphs the face of the evangelical church into a place of being real with yourself, others, and God.
T. Rousey ”You’re a very busy guy with tons of things going on. How do you “turn it off” and just relax with your family and God? Or is it
something we can’t turn it off?”
Carlos Whittaker: “Its a challenge. I attempt to unplug from 5-8. At 8 the lady and I have a date on the couch for a half hour to catch up. That seems to work.”
T. Rousey: ”What do you think your biggest weakness is and how are you trying” to turn that into a strength?
Carlos Whittaker: “Biggest weakness is people pleasing which is also one of my greatest strengths because I connect people. Its just a matter of balance.”
T. Rousey: ”You and the Whittaker family are packing up and moving to Chicago to do life with the people of Soul City Church. What excites you the
most about the new venture God has for you?”
Carlos Whittaker: “I’ve always longed for urban life! Just excited about being in community and striving for transformation.”
T. Rousey: ”If you could go back and do one thing differently in your time of ministry what would it be?”
Carlos Whittaker: “Read my bible more. Simple, but the only real answer.”
Los thanks for the time bro! I appreciate you and all you do! Can’t wait to keep learning from you man!
When was the last time you volunteered to do something in service to another person? If you’re a father, you’ve probably done something selfless already to serve your child or children today. If you’re a husband, chances are you can remember the last time you served your wife without her asking. But if you’re a single guy/girl in your first job, scraping together a living and trying to make ends meet, it’s possible that it’s been awhile. Most of us know we should serve others and really want to, but we don’t really know how. Talking about serving is a lot easier than actually going out, looking for it a need and meeting it. It’s uncomfortable and most people let the uncomfortable situations scare us.
Jesus served throughout his ministry. When he served others, the act often involved self-sacrifice and very uncomfortable situations. Ultimately, he sacrificed his life for our sins. When we serve others, especially those who have no way of repaying us, we imitate Jesus. We represent Christ to those we serve. Kenneth Leech writes, “Christian spirituality is the spirituality of the Poor Man of Nazareth who took upon himself the form of a servant. To follow the way of the kingdom is therefore to follow him who fed the hungry, healed the sick, befriended the outcast and blessed the peacemakers.”
Even with Jesus living and serving right in front of them, the disciples didn’t seem to get it. They wondered how they could be great. But Jesus answered, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (verse 43-44).
That’s the paradox of serving. When we give ourselves away in service, we find ourselves. When we empty ourselves in service, we find fulfillment.
A lot of people search for identity and self-fulfillment. Most look for it in repeated highs of promotions, exotic vacations or an endless parade of worldly possessions. But real fulfillment comes from serving God by serving others. When we give ourselves away in service to others, we find meaning and joy in life that selfishness can never equal.
Guys I just want to extend an opportunity for you to come serve with me and a few of my friends. Some of us have been talking about doing as much outside of the Church as we do inside the church! But now the talk stops and it’s time to go out, take action and be the Church! I heard a friend of mine Chris Hadsell say one time “We always talk about helping the poor but we don’t KNOW the poor!” It’s time to start looking for ways to serve and a group of us are going to start today and hopefully it will become a way of life!
This isn’t about “Christ Chapel Cochran”, “Adrenaline”, “House of Grace” or a certain church or anything like that! THIS IS ALL ABOUT JESUS and making his name famous to the world!! If you can come that would be awesome but if not I encourage to seek opportunities to serve and pray for us as we do!
SERVOLUTION IS HERE!!
Thanks,
much love!
T.
“I would never want to reach out someday with a soft, uncalloused hand–a hand never dirtied by serving–and shake the nail-pierced hand of Jesus” –Bill Hybels
Colt McCoy grew up playing football in the state of Texas!
For those of you who don’t know anything about football in that state I’ll just fill you in by saying…
It’s life!!!
Colt grew up wanting to play and win a Championship for the University as Texas!
On Thursday Jan 7, 2010 Colt got his chance!
National Championship game in beautiful Pasadena California, with world watching!
Colt McCoy gets hit in the first quarter and is not able to play for the rest of the game because of a shoulder injury.
Colt being the leader he is cheers his team on from the sideline but they end up losing the game.
It’s amazing to me at the end of the game how he says…“never question why things happen the way they do” and to “always give God the glory”
That couldn’t of been easy! I know personally I would of struggled to do that!
I just want to give Colt props for truly trusting in God!
Despite the lost on the field, he’s a winner!
What do you do to stay in shape? Hit the gym every morning? Strap on your Nikes and run a few miles? Bike to work?
Interestingly, we live in a world that encourages people to make their bodies strong but neglect their spirits. As a result, we too often work to build up our biceps but completely ignore our souls. We typically think of masculine strength as physical, but what if strength comes from inside–from your soul and its connection to God? When was the last time you worked out to strengthen that part of your being?
Most of us know the stories of Jesus walking on water and feeding thousands. But we easily gloss over the way Jesus sought solitude to build up his spiritual strength. Yes, even Jesus needed to rest and renew. In fact, Jesus established a rhythm: He engaged and then disengaged; he served and then withdrew. In those quiet times Jesus took care of his soul by connecting with God and drawing life from him.
If Jesus demonstrated the importance of withdrawing into solitude, how much more do we need to set aside times of respite in our lives?
Of course, our culture doesn’t help. Life moves so quickly that we can forget to tend our souls. So many times we get caught up in girls/guys, sports, online social networks, etc… But if you ignore your soul or pretend that you don’t have one, you’ll face problems. Just as your body sends you all kinds of uncomfortable signals when you neglect it physically, so will your soul. Obsessions, irritations, addictions, broken relationships– often these troubles point to a neglected soul.
For some reason in our world people think they should always be talking or hanging out. I’ve noticed that anytime I’m quiet (which is 80% of the time) people think somethings wrong. But in reality all I’m trying to do is listen for God or practice being slow to speak. Take time to be alone and make yourself utterly available only to yourself and to God. Connect with him–and in doing so take care of your soul!
The secret disease that’s way bigger than you think.
When Christie Pettit received a scholarship to play tennis at the University of Virginia, she left everything she knew: her friends, her family, her church, her hometown in Texas and her mother’s home cooking. It was to be a journey halfway across the country to start a new, exciting life as a university-level tennis player. But her adventure into college life quickly turned into a devastating emotional and physical battle—a battle for and against her own body. Like many incoming freshmen, Pettit feared leaving her family, finding new friends and, of course, gaining the dreaded “Freshman 15.” Despite her place on the tennis team, Pettit felt like she had lost the sense of security she’d felt around her friends back home. In her hometown, she had been a star athlete, a top-notch student and part of a large social circle; but in college, she was just another tennis player. Soon it became all she could do to handle her sadness and loneliness and her desire to be the best.
As time passed, she realized she couldn’t control her social life or her place on the team. So she focused on something she could control—her weight. “As long as I was focusing on my weight, I didn’t think about my loneliness,” Pettit says. “I felt good about myself when I stepped on the scale and saw that I had lost weight. It helped distract me from other negative emotions that I was trying to suppress.”Despite getting plenty of exercise playing tennis, Pettit gained a few pounds thanks to the tempting, fattening foods served in the dining hall. Subtle changes seemed easy, so she began restricting certain foods and eating more fruits and vegetables. But it wasn’t long before she began obsessing over the number of calories and the amount of fat in food products. To control her weight and to gain the attention of her new friends, she ate the fewest calories she could each day while still maintaining a certain level of energy. In her book Empty: A Story of Anoxeria (Revell), Pettit admits she looked for value in physical form and defined her self-worth entirely in terms of weight. Because she was so focused on what had become a physical battle with her body, Pettit no longer felt the inner anguish she’d worked so hard to suppress. And because she was ignoring her emotions, she denied the possibility that her diet could be an eating disorder. Only depressed people get eating disorders, she thought.
Though she ignored the emotional, Pettit did not ignore the spiritual. Even as her diet became her priority, she maintained a personal relationship with God by taking time for devotions each morning. She also remained active within her local church by leading a fellowship group. “I would say it was like God stuck with me,” she says. “My life kept me involved with God on a regular basis, so I kept going through my routine even when things were the worst.”
But as the number of diet restrictions grew, Pettit became irritable. Friends and family noticed her dramatic change in personality and weight. To avoid their comments, she often ate alone, isolating herself from those who tried to reach out. Within months, her weight dropped from 145 to 114 pounds. Pettit was beginning to feel weak.
“I was such a perfectionist that I didn’t want to believe that there could be anything like that wrong with me,” she says. “I also thought I could handle it on my own. The truth was that I was actually too weak at that point to even be able to ask for help. I thought I should be strong enough in my faith to pray the problem away,” she says. “I was afraid [people at church] would judge me.”
It wasn’t until she returned to college in the fall of her sophomore year that Pettit faced her problem. Her coach worried about her physical condition and arranged for her to meet with a doctor, a nutritionist and a psychologist. The physician told her that her heart rate was so low that she was at risk for having a heart attack, and the psychologist diagnosed her as having anorexia nervosa. Family and friends became aware of her disorder and encouraged her to seek help. As she opened up about her diet and feelings to a nutritionist and a psychologist, Pettit realized she needed to make another appointment … with God.
Pettit calls her eating disorder a “sin.” For her, putting her diet and exercise program above God was a form of idolatry. As part of her recovery, she said a prayer of surrender and asked God to forgive her.
But her problems weren’t over yet. As Pettit learned how to put weight back on, she started overeating. This is common among recovering anorexics, Pettit says.
In February 2007, Harvard researchers published a study showing that binge eating is the No. 1 eating disorder in the United States. According to the report, as many as 4 million Americans have the disorder, and it is more common among women. Those who binge tend to eat more quickly during episodes, eat until they’re uncomfortably full (even when they’re not hungry), eat alone and often feel guilty and depressed.
Christie continued to fear the judgment of other Christians and wrestled with the thought that they might also think badly of God for allowing her to have a disease.
Dr. L. Shannon Jung, author of Food for Life: The Spirituality and Ethics of Eating, believes that, though concern must be placed on changing personal beliefs about other Christians so that those in need feel comfortable individually asking for help, emphasis must also be placed on the Church’s outreach. In this way, Christians have a responsibility to seek out those in need and let them know they are loved. “God often comes to us through other human beings, and this puts a bit of a burden on the local Church to represent God and to hold each other genuinely as brothers and sisters,” he says.
Eventually, through the recovery process, Pettit learned to open up to her friends at church and discovered that they were willing to help her without judging her. By leaning on them, she found that the words of Proverbs 27:17 are true: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (TNIV).
Pettit suggests several ways to change the way one views food and eating.
“I think the most important thing to do is first be honest and reflective about how we really feel about food, weight and body image,” she says. “Many of us are so programmed to think this way that it is hard to even identify the unhealthy thoughts. Then, I think it is important to identify the underlying beliefs that are the root of those thought patterns. Finally, you have to challenge those thought patterns and replace them with new truth.”
What do you do to stay in shape? Hit the gym every morning? Strap on your Nikes and run a few miles? Bike to work?
