I'll let you in on a little secret. Whenever I'm out and about and I find a stack of Christian "tracts," I pick them all up. I keep one or two and throw the rest in the nearest trash can. I feel like Christians have enough to overcome without having to deal with poorly thought-out apologetic material and cheesy cartoon stories about Hell.

I find most of the tracts I come across in bathrooms. Really. Why do the people who pay for them and put them out think that this is a good place for the tracts?? Usually they're on the floor or tucked in by the back of the toilet. But I digress.

Continue reading "Another Reason I Sometimes Don't Like Christians" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Yes, I know I'm dragging this thing out by not posting. We're going to finish this week.

Today, we're going to talk about the center portion of our focus statement (As seekers we connect, equip, and send faithful disciples of Jesus Christ):

Connect, Equip, Send

Continue reading "Focusing (part 3)" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I love to dream and vision possibilities. It's one of my strengths. I love the process of coming to something new and fantastic. The creative process always excites me.

But, the truth is everyone can dream and vision. It's what comes next that is always the great challenge for any person or group. Can you take the dream and give it feet? Can you put the pieces in place to make the vision a reality?

Continue reading "Next" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hey all. For the past four weeks, I've been leading a group on Wednesday night using Rick McKinley's book, This Beautiful Mess.  Check it out here.  It is all about the Kingdom of God and how we're called to participate in what God is already doing in the world. 

It's a great, great book that I heartily recommend.

Last night, our conversation was about MONEY. 

Continue reading "For Your Thursday Thoughts" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Should we offer this at Parkway Heights?

Posted by Eddie Rester at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I hope you're enjoying the second most important day of the week (college football day; ranks just behind the Sabbath). Here's a little something a friend sent me this week. As a father, it made me go awwww . . .

Enjoy.

Posted by Eddie Rester at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The SciFi Channel has a terrible summer show called, Who Wants to Be a Superhero?  Stan Lee (creator of Spiderman) hosts the show as people with amazingly stupid ideas for superheroes attempt to impress him with their superhero-ness.  I don't suggest watching it unless you're guaranteed money for sitting through it.

Continue reading "So You Want to Be a Superhero?" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 8:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been hurriedly working around the office the last two days (yes, preachers do work on days other than Sundays) to prep for the next trip out of town.

Continue reading "Leaving on a Jetplane" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is a hodge podge to get you through the week, since I'll be slightly out of town (OK, I'll be all the way out of town) Monday through Wednesday.

Continue reading "Random Items of Interest" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

As a child, I would sit in my grandfather's Gulf Oil gas station in Buras, Louisiana and watch the cars come and go. Every visit to the station would entail wandering through the garage, watching Pawsy (my grandfather) chasing flies with an old and very dirty fly swatter, and listening to stories of fishing. Occasionally, I'd stare out the front window of the station at the church across the road and wonder who went to church there. We were Catholic. And the church across the road wasn't. It was a mystery to me.

Continue reading "A Different View" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 7:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

In my back yard, overlooking our small fish pond, there is a statue of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis, who lived in the late 12th-early 13th centuries, is remembered for his commitment to peace and compassion for all people. His deep faith led him to create the Order of Franciscans. But above all, he's remembered for his love for animals. Supposedly he once even preached to birds. The Catholic Church made him the Patron Saint of Animals.

These past two weeks have taught me that St. Francis and I have very little in common.

Continue reading "Me and St. Francis" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 7:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

OK, so maybe Easter doesn't have any songs the Muppets might sing, but that doesn't mean it's any less important than that other day back in December.

Continue reading "Easter is coming, the goose is getting fat . . . ." »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

OK. There are things in this life that we despise. Broken Zippers. Spoiled Fruit. Cockroaches. Paparazzi. Some of you may even have people you despise.

Continue reading "You Can Put it on My Tombstone . . ." »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

See if you're brave enough and smart enough to beat the best . . .

Continue reading "A Little March Madness" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NBC TV show Heroes and the ABC TV show Lost are two of my favorite shows. Two summers ago I stumbled onto Lost by accident. It's the story of a group of plane-crash survivors trapped on an island somewhere in the Pacific (maybe--we're not really sure at this point). Hero's debuted this year and tells the story of people scattered across the United States who discover they have amazing abilities. Over the course of time, these "heroes" are being drawn together to save New York City from destruction. Every week, I watch these two shows. It doesn't matter what else is going on in life. I will watch these shows. The TiVo knows to record these two shows above all others.

Continue reading "Heroes vs. Lost" »

Posted by Eddie Rester at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)