Landon Anderson

Excellent questions Ryan. First off the easiest - ...

2012-03-06T18:39:27.745-08:00

Excellent questions Ryan. First off the easiest - yes I think that typical capital campaigns & offerings often go for less than highest effective ministry purposes. New buildings & high ministry budgets aren't producing world or even American change...

I am still contemplating solutions. I think one of the things we have to do is break down the ability for people to go to church simply with the people they are most comfortable with. I also think too often we all go to church and only talk with the people we know & recognize. Christians (myself included) have to be forced out of that. I also believe that the church has to move out of his standard: song, welcome, songs, offering, song, communion, message, closing song/announcement mentality. The church is very accustomed to its predictable patterns. What if we were "forced" to serve on Sunday mornings? We could do a Sunday Brunch for the homeless or less fortunate. We could go downtown and clean. We could visit hospitals, hospices, and other areas of loneliness & grief. That seems to be far more in tune with Christ than parking my ass in a chair for just over an hour.

Not sure where I fall in terms of leadership. Not sure I have the gift of leadership - certainly never felt like I did when I worked for the church. I also know that not having the gift doesn't excuse me from not contributing. I guess my role needs to be figuring out how to break down barriers where I can - with the poor, broken, lost, etc. That starts with making efforts to introduce time devoted to those groups & not a building & pastoral staff.

A bit more profound and well thought through then ...

2012-03-05T20:23:26.900-08:00

A bit more profound and well thought through then just some random quote...

So what are your proposed solutions or ideas? How would this look? How would a modern US church be changed? How would you lead the change of heart & approach? Do you dare say that not all world problems can be cured with a capital campaign or offering?

This is good site to spent time on.

2012-01-08T02:29:52.088-08:00

This is good site to spent time on.

Good point. I didn't like it either - really j...

2012-01-03T15:41:43.591-08:00

Good point. I didn't like it either - really just wanted to get back into writing though. I am just going to stick to history related nuggets for better or for worse. Hopefully most of them are worthwhile.

This was my favorite sentence, mainly for it's...

2012-01-03T07:08:55.113-08:00

This was my favorite sentence, mainly for it's plainness... "Robert Oppenheimer had an interesting life." And then you told me nothing related to it. Glad you are back to posting.

Those thoughts remind me of something I read by ma...

2011-07-03T07:29:05.242-07:00

Those thoughts remind me of something I read by maxwell one time, of think it was called the law of the inner circle. Talking about not only the importance of a leader having a small circle of advisors, but also the importance of their quality. Basically, you will never rise higher in your level of leadership than the level of that inner circle. Thought was interesting. And also made me immediately look at who I considered my inner circle!

A great blog on a man who so radically changed the...

2011-06-03T21:50:32.962-07:00

A great blog on a man who so radically changed the direction of the Christian church. Clearly he had no intent of leaving all he had to pursue Christ, but used the rouse of his "Christ" to pursue his political agenda. Hasn't that been the way U.S. politicians have glibly used "Christ" in the last 50years? It is sad that we spend so much energy trying to mold our faith into a suitable form to fit with our political agenda. As I turn into a human and political dinosaur, I cannot help but think that the tears that rained down at the sight of Jerusalem, 2000 years ago, would pale in comparison to the tsunami that is being shed over Western thought today.
"To thine own self be true" has left no room for "lean not on thy own understanding." We all see the open wounds of the systems we care deeply about, but do little to bring healing, because we are too busy looking for a cure. The cure of such problems is beyond our fathoming, but healing can come about by just listening to all the voices that are talking and continuing to work hard at loving our neighbor.
DAD

Amen!

2011-05-21T20:46:27.423-07:00

Amen!

This is one of the most honest and refreshing thin...

2011-05-16T09:52:23.069-07:00

This is one of the most honest and refreshing things I have read in a long time. Not only does this article give be a sense of genuine joy for you, but I also fully believe that God is honored and glorified by you, through your journey, and by your writing. I count it as an honor to have served with you for a short time at the church. Do not be mistaken, you were extremely talented as a youth pastor on so many different levels, but that doesn't mean that's who you are or what you are supposed to be doing. I can't wait to hear all the great stories of what God does through you in the public school classroom!

I am not saying it is black & white. My point ...

2011-04-26T15:16:38.407-07:00

I am not saying it is black & white. My point is that society is pushing education away from developing & molding young men and women towards a system of passing tests at all costs. My worry is that people do not see this happening and worry for our sake as a society.

I am not the rat - I am choosing to still enter into this field and choosing to still fight for and stick by what I believe my true job in education is. However, I am fighting upstream against a mentality that has begun to damage the very foundations of my field.

What else are you looking for me to say?

I personally know an oil guy, he was the top guy i...

2011-04-26T06:19:00.531-07:00

I personally know an oil guy, he was the top guy in fact at a major company and he cares deeply about his community. He has donated 90% of his lifetime salary... but that's a different topic.

You are a better thinker than your last couple of articles. It isn't as simple as black and while.

Yes, I do want well rounded, thoughtful, careful, intellectual teachers challenging my kids to learn, grow, explore and be excellent in academics. But, these days we have entrusted so mich more to you in our society that now has a wild proliferation of single parent homes and selfish parents. And yes, as you point out, during this same span we have come to focus more on test results and less on the human development... such is the shitty decaying world we live in.

So my challenge to you, be you in teaching, ministry or working at starbucks... continue to make the world a better place because YOU care to, not because you are a rat who is going to be induced by a treat!

Very astute observation about the value of the cul...

2011-03-12T18:57:18.191-08:00

Very astute observation about the value of the culture one lives in at any given time and how that person then interprets literally everything he says, does or thinks. The sad part of this, is that those who feel that their personal culture is the apex of the "cultural ladder" will nearly always feel that how they look, and react to all that they encounter can be molded into their personal view of life itself. This would seem to me to be the root cause of nearly all, if not all, international discord. Sadly, it seems destined to be a popular rerun throughout the future, as we have seen in our past. How imperative it becomes for us to truly love our neighbor, if we hope to impact the morass in which we find ourselves. (And that requires that we define love as that unconditional acceptance of that neighbor, no matter how different their culture may be to ours.)
I love you son,
DAD

Your commentary makes me feel that this has been a...

2011-02-27T12:17:36.940-08:00

Your commentary makes me feel that this has been a great read. Much can be said about it in reference to your comments, but with the caveat that commenting on a commentary without reading the book is a slippery slide, at best. However, since that has never caused me to hold back in the past, I will proceed. Many ideas that come through your commentary run parallel to the thought process of Frank Viola. We so glibbly speak of the church today, but one wonders if that all encompassing term "church" is really fair to what the first century followers of Christ would have claimed to be. The relationship of believer to believer, and of both to Christ is what truly should be considered "church," but one rarely sees that in the West today, especially within the walls of the so-called churches of our society. Philos and eros in our society are primarily in existence for the good of self, and agape seems to have become a philosophical term. Yet, love is what the true "church" is commaned to do, and that love can only be understood to be unconditional. The entire wordsmith we have applied to "church" seems to have taken a course that can only lead to the continual down turn in the numbers who want to be associated with it, and at the same time the true body of Christ seems to be more appealling now than ever. (Although having not been in former ages, it was probably just as appealling then!)

A very engrossing book, that clearly has caught yo...

2011-02-21T17:30:08.028-08:00

A very engrossing book, that clearly has caught your attention. Seems like Bonhoeffer would have a pretty good answer to all this "marketing" that is now forced on what we call the "church." I wonder if what we are drawing people to attend is not just another "dog and pony"
show, and our consumeristic society has really lost all interest in Christ. His life never seemed to be interested in the numbers, but they followed due to the content. I find purchasing old sports arenas for a "theatrical" production in the name of church, has to deepen the wounds of the crucifixion, and put barriers to many who might readily grasp the true message of Christ, if they could "see" it in our lives.
DAD

what is your email address? Email me. I have som...

2011-02-21T12:17:26.624-08:00

what is your email address? Email me. I have some stuff to email to you

What a cop-out.

2011-01-27T07:09:48.180-08:00

What a cop-out.

The only thing that I do not agree with it this is...

2011-01-17T20:02:02.074-08:00

The only thing that I do not agree with it this is the very last part. Go Pack Go. That is crap you can cheer for them but you know and I know they will not win. The only place they will be going is home after the game to watch the Superbowl. Well I guess a couple of them can go to the Pro Bowl but what would you rather have the Pro Bowl or the Superbowl. Sorry Skippy but have fun at the Pro bowl.

I love this!

2011-01-10T11:44:32.611-08:00

I love this!

Excellent post, Landon...thanks for sharing and I ...

2011-01-08T23:40:18.177-08:00

Excellent post, Landon...thanks for sharing and I agree there is no easy solution! If you haven't already read David Platt's book "Radical:Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Taking-Faith-American-Dream/dp/1601422210 you definitely should. It speaks into the false values rooted in the American Dream and how we need to surrender them and instead embrace the Great Commission. I've only just begun reading it, but so far a very compelling read.

Good article. Thank you.

2011-01-06T23:06:28.870-08:00

Good article. Thank you.

Good quote Terri. Thanks for posting.

2011-01-05T12:14:17.220-08:00

Good quote Terri. Thanks for posting.

Your post brought to mind the following quote; Mo...

2011-01-04T07:16:01.368-08:00

Your post brought to mind the following quote;

Most cultures die from the inside out when they lose their values. -Will Durant

There are people who just born for that, I can'...

2010-12-13T13:46:38.787-08:00

There are people who just born for that, I can't myself manage an army, like hitler, napoleon and other many story characters, there a table game that's it's about to make strategy, I don't remember the name right now.
Thanks for sharing, excellent post.

History: Great Battles Medieval – это историческая...

2010-12-11T17:42:59.760-08:00

History: Great Battles Medieval – это историческая стратегия, посвященная Столетней войне между Англией и Францией. Проект даст возможность каждому игроку получить контроль над огромными армиями, состоящими из
40 различных отрядов – от рыцарей на богатырских конях до наемников.

http://besplatno-kachaem.info/igra/

you will know them by their fruit~

2010-12-10T17:04:51.290-08:00

you will know them by their fruit~