Just to let you know, I’ve placed three widgets on my sidebar to the right of my site from Alltop focusing on my 3 favorite subjects:  Church, relationships, and leadership.  Enjoy.

I just have to say this:

I’m really excited about what is happening at Fellowship Church here in Central Massachusetts.  The community that is being built and vision-driven for His glory is an amazing thing to watch.  I feel humbled and stoked  by the stories I’ve heard over the last 6 months about what God is doing in the lives of people in and through this community.  Whatever is happening, it’s because God is using amazing people who are using there gifts to further his kingdom, as opposed to their empires.

I believe this weekend will only fuel this fire in our community as we begin the “One Prayer” series for the 2nd year in a row.  This will be a month long series we’ll be doing with 1600 other churches in the US and 20 other countries!  As Fellowship grows, it shouldn’t just grow in number (though that’s what a healthy church does), but in it’s impact on the kingdom of God.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that this weekend, my favorite pastor in the entire world (outside of my dad) will be speaking at our church.

This will be good times!

For those of you who think, “Wow, some of these people get on facebook a lot. They change their status’ every 3 minutes.” We do it through Twitter.com, not facebook. And we can do it through our phones. I know, I know, genius. You should try twitter starting right now. Follow me at twitter.com/martyjon

There is some sweet brainstorming going on right now for the Fellowship Church Student Ministry. Aaahhh, I so love what I do!

From left to right: Wes Janke, Steve Blumer, Angela Greene, Jake Mutti

The genecrite, first cousin to the hypocrite, is a problem I’ve seen in myself and all around the world lately.

It’s a fascinating development in this last decade and gathering steam going into the second decade of this millenia.  You see, we’ve always had had a problem in the world with hypocrites, those that say they represent one leader or belief or group, and actually live out something completely different, but recent developments have brought a frenzied wave of a new cousin.

Around the turn of the century, a firestorm of love and service began to blaze throughout the world.  People began to start organizations to help and serve people in record numbers.  The world appeared optimistic and things looked great!  You can read all about this in Gregg Easterbrook’s amazing book, written in 2004, called “The Progress Paradox”.

But in the last year, with the downward spiral of our economy and the overarching pessimism appearing everywhere, people still believe in giving, but it’s a different kind of giving.

Here’s how I do it.

I love to give and be generous, so I’ll invite someone out to eat for lunch, and I’ll pay for their lunch.  But what I wonder is whether or not I would be so generous if I were geting nothing out of it.  That is, would I just give that person $15 for lunch without me?  Or am I a genecrite?

A genecrite is a person who says they are generous (as I did above) and then will only give when they get something out of it?  A conditional generosity.

I will give money or gifts to my family if they come and visit me?  Genecrite.

I will share what I have with people I like?  Genecrite.

I will give to my church as long as they are making me happy?  Genecrite.

I will take someone to lunch, only if I get to do some of the eating?  Genecrite.

What about you?  Are you a Genecrite?

Tonight is the first game of a new season playing in a 30 and over basketball league. So I guess I’m still over 30. I would have thought I was under that limit by now.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Marty and Carie celebrating the "best Christmas ever" at the TCA Facebook reunion!

So all December long I felt like such a scrooge. It wasn’t that I was mean to people, but I just didn’t feel like being in the “Christmas Spirit”.  Ya know, presents and singing and parties.  And I think part of the problem was that I couldn’t have any of those things.  Everytime I was invited to a party, it got cancelled.  Everytime I was supposed to give or get a present, there was too much ice or snow on the road to get to that place of exchange.

In the end, it was just me, my beautiful wife,and this year, I put away the TV during the week of Christmas (save for a few football games that made me jolly),and read through Scripture or books that focused on either the spiritual and/or leadership.

I didn’t really feel like Christmas as I had in years past.  Shopping and gifts and parties seemed more distant than I would have liked.  But the Christ part of Christmas was more evident than ever before.  This part had little to do with external lights as much it had to do with the light of the world.  And the only gift I could think about was the one God gave me when He sent His only son, Jesus Christ to save the sins of the world.

It was the greatest Christmas ever!

Made it to midnight, and now I’m tired. But who knows, maybe I’ll watch a CSI or another Twilight Zone episode.
Everythings fine in 2009!

I’m in a new coffee shop in Worcester,and there’s this lady that looks just like Ron’s mother, Mrs. Weasley, in “Harry Potter” and her accent sounds amazing! So I thought I’d use the new quickPress feature on WordPress 2.7 and tell you.

Thanks for reading me.

A good Lutheran thinks social justice is the way to go.

A good Methodist believes holiness is what it’s all about.

A good American Baptist loves the ACLU.

A good Independent Baptist despises the evil Michael W Smith.

A good Catholic focuses on subsiding his guilt.

A good Puritan enjoys that same guilt.

A good Calvinist lifts up praises to Paul’s letters.

A good Evangelical lifts up praises to pop songs.

A good Maverick avoids the institution of church.

A good Quaker does not give up meeting together.

A good Charismatic feels like God is moving.

A good Presbyterian orders her life to understand God.

A good postmodern thinks a little of this and a little of that.

A good Congregationalist can’t wait to vote.

Your turn.