Click to see all the other posts that are a part of the

“A man should never have to teach himself _______” series.

This one has been rolling around in my head for quite some time now. I never was sure about putting it into this blog series. But, today it’s snowing outside so as I’m gearing up to do some writing today I thought I would just unload this thought.

People just don’t seem to know how to do “stuff” anymore. You could see a decrease in what some might call initiative, starting particularly with my generation. Kids were growing up on their own and never learned how to live life but by trial and error.

The generation behind me seems to be really lacking in the ability to just do things. It concerns me because sometimes they are literally clueless about critical things in their lives. Nobody has taught them “life”. Nobody is giving them sound advice; or, if they are it is not being listened to for some reason.

Simple things. Things like opening a checking account, getting a drivers license, applying for jobs, buying a vehicle, managing finances, cooking, booking a flight, and even IRONING A SHIRT!!!

How can you send your kid off to college without them knowing how to iron their stinkin’ shirt??

Where is the breakdown? Are parents not teaching kids what it means to have initiative? Are they not showing them how to simply maneuver through life?

Or, are the kids just not giving a rip? My bet is that they are being enabled and haven’t had anyone force them to learn anything outside of the classroom.

Let me go ahead and say that I am NOT a parent. I have no idea what it is like to BE a parent. No idea!! I have no problem admitting that.  If you are a parent and think that I’m out of bounds, by all means leave a comment and put me in check!!

But what I do know, is that teaching yourself how to get through life is hard. It will set you back many years. I know because a lot of what I have learned in life has been a result of teaching myself, or learning the hard way. Some of it because no one taught me, and some because I made horrible decisions. Don’t get me wrong, my parents love me and I have the most self-less mother on the planet!!  I would be dead or in the slammer without them.

However, a man should not be having to teach himself how to “just do things” when he is pushing thirty.   Dads, teach your sons how to be men!!  Teach them how the world works!  Then when they finally leave home, you won’t have to be dealing with all of their drama and garbage.  They will know how to “make things happen”!!

A man should never have to teach himself how to “make things happen”!! (especially ironing) ;)

Sorry this video is a little sketchy.  However, if you didn’t see Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, accept the Lombardi Trophy then you just have to watch it. 

I don’t know for sure, but I’m thinking Mr. Benson may have had a cocktail last night.  He builds on his first claim that New Orleans is back, and takes it all the way to proclaiming that the “whole world” is back!!  Freakin’ hysterical!!! We had to play back the DVR about 5 times last night!!

Fast forward to about the 2:00 mark and watch this dude!! 

 

The other day I was looking at general stats on my blog traffic.  I noticed that my guest post by Emergent Jesus and my interview with Matthew Paul Turner had made it into my top 5 blog posts.  It’s not even their freakin’ blog!!  Dang those cool guys get all the attention. 

Anyway, I couldn’t help but wonder…..which one of the two would win in arm-wrestling….

So I tweeted about it, at which point Matthew Paul Turner responds and puts me in check, telling me that he would DOMINATE Emergent Jesus because Emergent Jesus was clearly a girl….Then Emergent Jesus threatened to get Mark Driscoll’s Jesus after him because Mark’s Jesus is a carnivorous drunk….It’s getting crazy….so just go check out their Twitter pages to see the crap talkin’.

So, I want to know what you think.  Which one would dominate?  What would happen if Matthew Paul Turner had a come to Emergent Jesus moment….on the arm wrestling table???  Please mark your answer on the poll down below….

@JesusNeedsNewPR     VS.     @EmergentJesus

Don’t act like you don’t wanna hit play….

This one is a freakin’ treat!! If you have never experienced the righteous comedy that is Matthew Paul Turner, this is for you. I hope it blows your freakin’ suit off. I hope it blows your comb-over…well…..over! You get the point!

MPT has a blog that will either make you laugh, or will make you want to show up at whatever Nashville coffee shop he is writing in and throw rocks at him. Personally, he makes me laugh like a freakin’ idiot and I’m not affraid to admit it. First, here is my interview with him and then following it will be some info about him, his blog and his books. Dig it people! Dig it!!

1.  Let’s begin with the basics, in the event that a reader lives under a rock.  Or a pew.  Your blog…oh man your blog….”Jesus Needs New PR”…..tell us why and where that came from?

“The idea for Jesus Needs New PR began as a book. The blog was simply a way in which to promote that. But after working 18 months on the manuscript, the publisher deemed it too controversial to release. Four other publishers said the same thing. So the book got canned. But the website remains.”

2.  I check in on that blog frequently.  Some days you even make me blush and I used to be a meth addict who lived in his car.  That’s hard core.  I’ve seen some of the flack that you catch because you aren’t afraid to “put it out there” just like it is.  Have you always had guts?

“I’m not sure it takes guts to blog like me, I just think over the years I’ve earned the ability to talk/write/blog about topics that other people won’t touch. But that’s not all that gutsy. Quite honestly, it takes a lot of more guts to overcome a meth addiction than it does to point out one of John Piper’s mean Tweets. I should be interviewing you.”

3.  Which drives you more:  the blog or your books? 

 ”I love doing both. But writing books pays the bills. Or at least some of them… :)”

4.  Your latest work, Hear No Evil, is about to release to the masses.  What impact do you want it to have on the lives of readers?

“My hope for “Hear No Evil” is that it make people laugh, engage their own stories, and perhaps inspire them to create something unique of their own. And if while reading the stories in this book, people learn something or begin a journey toward change or hope, then that’s a bonus.” 
 

5.  I just read the 1st chapter and now I’m sucked in.  What can I expect when I get to thumb through the others?

“More story. More opinion. Hopefully, a few grins or laughs. But more than Churched (my last book), Hear No Evil turns the magnifying glass back on me. It’s really my coming of age story in a lot of ways.”

 6.  People connect to your writings because they’re real.  To quote a snippet of chapter 1 of Hear No Evil, makes the kid in me leap up like I’m in “frogger”.  You say, “At my church whenever somebody capable of emotional honesty became a member, it created a situation similar to my father’s lectures about a new puppy: “As long as it never poops on the carpet, I’ll let it be an ‘inside dog.’” Anyone was welcome to join us for worship on Sundays, as long as they never emotionally pooped on the carpet.Most of us kids were “house-trained” before we’d memorized our multiplication tables.”    I’m fairly sure that you weren’t raised in the dirty south, AKA the Bible Belt, but your experience with church as a kid would lead one to think so.  How much influence do your early church experiences have on what you want to communicate to the world?

“When Churched released, I knew that some people would relate to my story. But when the letters started pouring in, I was literally blown away by how many people related. For obvious reasons, when I engage my past in my writing, people relate. Perhaps they relate to the story or the time frame or the “child,” but they relate. I think writing about my past is an integral part of what I do. It’s not ALL of what I do… but it plays a significant role.”

 7.  If I’ve never seen your blog, heard your name, read your work or anything like that, why should I click this link and pay 10 bucks to read Hear No Evil? 

“Because Aaron B. Reddin said so. That, and the fact that there’s a story included about my desire to become the Michael Jackson of Christian music. I think those are two good reasons. :)”

This guy just cracks my junk up! This crazy cat resides in Nashville, TN. He has a cool wife that makes “cake balls”, and a super cool kid. I really encourage you to check out his blog, HERE. Also, make sure you follow him on Twitter, HERE. He won’t let you down, but he may blow your “Sunday best” right off your chest!!

But most importantly….BUY HIS NEW BOOK RIGHT HERE!!!!  It’s not released until February 16th, but you can pre-order it now and save yourself a few bucks!  Do it!  Right now!  For real.  I promised him that if you didn’t buy the book right this minute that I would round-house kick each of you in the face from point blank range.  Just sayin’.  I’ll do it. 

I’m gonna go right ahead and tell you that you may not want to read any further than this if you are easily offended, because I’m gonna make a statement about this book that may make you never come back to my blog.

Ok, if you’re still reading then you must really want to know what I think. Well here it is: This book is the enema that most Christians, and the Church as a whole needs.

Let me tell you why. Brain Tome understands something that few ever will. He understands the central theme of the gospel. Freedom.

The fact of the matter is that most Christians live their lives in bondages. If for some reason they actually identify them, they try to learn a way to live with them and manage them. To be frank, many are wasting the work of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t want to help you learn to live with bondage, he wants to eradicate it from your life. I don’t care if you buy that or not. It’s true.

Tome has insight into freedom that must be incorporated into the Church. Period. This book is a MUST read, if you even think you know Jesus Christ. Don’t believe me? Then waste your life away living with your every struggle. Or, buy the book and get after your freedom!!!!

Follow Brian on Twitter, HERE!  And then buy the book here:

This is a guest post from my friend Charlie Loften.  Here he gets gut level honest about the perspective that most pastors have when addictions are presented to them.  You can read more about Charlie at the end of the post.  Enjoy!!

One of the primary jobs of most pastors is counseling. I do a pretty good amount of counseling personally. Most of what I do is marriage and family counseling. I will talk to couples that need some help with their marriage or an issue that someone is having with one of their kids. I feel like God has gifted me in helping people who are struggling with family needs. God has given me insight into what makes marriages struggle and how they can succeed. However, there is one thing that can come up from time to time that makes me freeze and feel helpless. Someone will mention that they are/were an alcoholic or recovering drug addict.

“Well, uh, I don’t know how to help with that.” I feel like I am not equipped to help. This calls for specialists. Those are problems I don’t understand. I don’t know what to say or what to do. I can give helpful advice on changing “regular” behavior. I can tell people to start doing stuff or stop doing stuff. I can give spiritual advice on how to change, like praying, read God’s Word, learn to hear the Spirit speaking to you. But recovery problems are different, very different. Right?

Maybe recovery problems are different, but isn’t it really only a question of degree and severity? The same God that can restore a marriage can heal an addiction. The God that can get husbands and wives to stop yelling at each other and to love and respect each other is the same God that can help someone break an addiction and find freedom from crippling habits and hurts. While I do believe that people need extra help, including accountability and encouragement for those have been there, we (and by this I mean me) need to remember that the path to healing may be different, but the Healer is the same. God is the one that can and will bring healing and life to all of the struggles, pains and addictions that we have.

Charlie Loften is the pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Cabot, AR.  He is a man’s man, but he is also a wonderful family man.  He has a huge heart for encouraging people and leading his beautiful family with integrity. 

PLEASE take a moment and check out Charlie’s blog, and subscribe to it, comment on it, etc..  You can do that HERE.  You can also follow him on Twitter, he is @cloften.

OK friends and family.  This is one that will require your help.  Don’t click away.  Hear me out. 

Most of you know my story of being freed from addiction to meth almost 8 years ago.  Most of you know that I am vehemently opposed the approach of many “recovery programs” due to their possibly unintentional breeding of hopelessness. 

The Church as a whole is just as guilty as AA, NA, etc…

The Church has “recovery programs” that do not teach or show people that their addictions can be COMPLETELY DESTROYED.  Secular recovery theories are brought into such programs as Celebrate Recovery, where people are encouraged/pressured to continue confessing addiction over themselves.  Thus, breeding hopelessness. 

Without the understanding that you can be totally free from your addictions, there is no hope for your future and the work of Jesus was absolutely pointless for your life. 

I believe this so strongly, that I will not rest until I find a way to change the Church’s view of and approach to addiction recovery. 

I’ve been piddling around with writing my first book on this topic for over a year now.  It’s time to make this point to the masses.  While I still have a little bit of time off due to recovering from back surgery, I want to pump a crap-load of hours into completing my manuscript. 

This is where the social media blackout, and your help come in:

I plan to begin a total social media blackout starting Monday.  This will give me the time to pump out a cool thousand or two words per day.  Hopefully, allowing me to wrap up the initial writing. 

What I need from you: 

Prayers – this text will be so powerful that I need a strong prayer cover while bringing it to life.

Encouragement – without knowing that others believe in this truth, I am vulnerable to drying up.

Support – no, I’m not beggin’ for dollars.  I do however need a “volunteer” editor, someone to help me shoot 2-3 promotional videos, any connection you may have with a publisher or literary agent.

Comments – the only media outlet that will remain in my sight is my email (hopefully).  If you would kindly leave a comment here to support and encourage me, it will hit my phone in an email and I will gladly receive the love. 

Guest Blog Posts – I would like to russell up some guest blog posts over this weekend and get them scheduled to post over the next couple weeks to help keep this blog alive and pumpin’.  Please let me know if you would be so kind as to write something for me. 

Share – PLEASE retweet this post, or past the url into a FB status or just email it to someone you know who is passionate about addiction recovery. 

So, there you have it.  My hearts desire is to see people step into the freedom that Jesus has already placed into motion.  I’m tired of seeing Christians use Jesus as a crutch while they learn to live with their addictions and strongholds.  I’m tired of seeing the Church breed hopelessness. 

If people can’t be free from their addictions, then Jesus didn’t really die to give them life abundant.  What do we really believe?

Please take a moment to leave a comment of support and encouragement, and PLEASE retweet or share this post with anyone who may find interest. 

I’m saving you a lot of time in research here.  You can thank me later. 

Who doesn’t love a good remix?  Right?  And who doesn’t love General Larry Platt? 

Don’t act like you don’t bob your head when you hear Pants on the Ground…..

Here are some of the best remixes I could find.  Enjoy!!!!!

I personally think the first one is the best piece of work:

OK, calm down.  You all know that I’m not polytheistic.  I know there aren’t really any “rock gods”.  BUT IF THERE WERE, they would proudly crank up a good cover and roll in fields of green grass.  They would roll down hills.  They would jump up and down like any good rock god should.  They would flail their hands in the air and pump their fists to this one, as they experienced life and love through music. 

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan.  No secret at all.  I can’t play their cover of The Who’s, Love Reign O’er Me, loud enough.   I’m sure the rock gods couldn’t even play it loud enough.  See for yourself.  Here’s the original brilliance, and then the ultra divine cover.  Enjoy.  If you click away and don’t participate the rock gods will show up at your bedroom window tonight and throw rocks at your forehead.  No crap.

The Who – Love Reign O’er Me

Pearl Jam – (Cover) Love Reign O’er Me

This is sick.  I don’t care if you like Lady GaGa or not, you can’t deny that this girl can straight sing.  Someone cut this chick a deal for real…..

DON’T WATCH IT IF THE “B” WORD IS GOING TO OFFEND YOU….just sayin’