The Talmidim podcast will be available this Monday!

I’ve got three or four episodes ready and am ready to launch. It’s not the most amazing thing in the world but I think it’s more than worthwhile to create.

Each episode will hopefully run 5-15 minutes. There’s a lot to cover so I hope you’ll stick with it. Later on we’ll provide resources, recommended books and other items that motivate us, and much more.

New episodes will be available each Monday.

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If you are one to wonder what I’ve been up to since leaving my last job, I’ll post about this soon. It’s about time to start spreading the word and gaining support.

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Please don’t buy this.

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I will admit. Noah and I had a great time with this at StarWars.com. Too fun. Here is our mix.

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I can’t believe I just watched this for the first time. I’m blessed to have seen it. Thanks David for the note. U2, George Pendergrass and choir. Amazing.

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Met Donald Miller last week. Kristi took this picture after he signed his new book. Don is a fun guy to hear speak and writes some inspiring books (Blue Like Jazz being his most well known but I also recommend his newest, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years). It’s always good to get confirmation that the people you admire actually enjoy what they do and do it for reasons bigger and more holy than themselves.

Shaun Groves falls into this category, too. If you don’t read his blog – start. We can all learn something from him. I know I am a better person from seeing his shows and reading his thoughts online. Can’t wait to meet him in person one day.

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If I haven’t convinced you yet please consider adopting a child through Compassion. It’s only $38 a month and will change a child’s life. It’s especially cheap and easy to support a child this Christmas – it costs you nothing (although it would help if you’re already supporting a child).

If you need more convincing please read Wes Stafford’s book Too Small to Ignore. I have a copy I will let you borrow.

It would do all of you good to listen to this sermon from 10/04/09:
Rob Bell – Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst

The lesson from 09/13/09 is also great and worth hearing.

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One of these will be on my Jeep soon. And I hate bumper stickers so you know how much this must mean to me. I will have one extra – first to comment gets it.

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Watch this video. Don’t stop it – you’ll not want to miss what starts at 3:45.

Then click this link.

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Got to meet Donald Miller tonight. Awesome. See the photos. I’m the tall skinny guy on the left. Don is the more normal looking fellow on the right.

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The podcast is coming along okay. We’ve got three episodes recorded. One is edited (sort of). There’s still a little more work to do before I’m comfortable launching it. And I have no idea what I mean by “comfortable” because all of this is entirely extroverted – and I am not.

The podcast will be called Talmid, which means disciple.

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We’re leading a small group soon, I hope. I’ve been asked to stand up in front of everyone Sunday and explain what our group will be like. Here’s a preview: I have no idea.

I would love for us to be servant evangelism based. That means we want to do things for people just because God loves us and we want them to know He loves them, too. But servant evangelism is wide open and our group – whatever it will look like – will have varied talents and interests that I can’t wait to explore.

My studies in the last few years have really pinned me. Jesus taught about helping the poor, serving others before myself, and loving God with all my might. He also talked about loving my neighbor as myself. I’m glad he put that second because it gives me an excuse to ignore my neighbor when he parks in my yard. But then I remember that I’m not loving God if I don’t love my neighbor. Jesus tricked me.

Jesus taught those things probably because they were really important to him. He read from scripture once and said that he had come to heal the brokenhearted and set the captive free.

Hmmm. If my life goal is to be just like Jesus, then those things should be important to me, too. Put another way, I have no choice but to take them on as my own, adopting a new life of service to others, caring for the orphans and the widows and the immigrants and always remembering that my excess is someone else’s necessity.

I gave money to a homeless guy not long ago and then I heard Noah from the back seat: “Yay, Dad!” he said. Then Aaron sent me this video. I’m glad I gave the guy the money. The next time I gave a homeless guy money he nearly stumbled on the way to the Jeep. He was somewhat crippled and very excited and immediately took off up the hill, leaving behind his prized corner spot at a busy intersection.

My job isn’t to care about whether or not he’s going to buy alcohol or his first meal in ten days. My job is to let him know that love still provides.

A friend of mine overheard someone wondering out loud and confused about how anyone could think Jesus was a Jewish rabbi. It is a little strange for some Christians to ponder. This is part of what Rob and I will be discussing in our (possible) upcoming podcast. The podcast isn’t official yet, but I thought I could at least talk about some things and point you to some resources here first.

If you’d like to prepare I would recommend reading Anne Spangler’s and Lois Tverberg’s Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus. It’s engaging and insightful and all those other words people put in a good book review. It’s a great start to learning more about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, learning to be like him, being covered in the dust stirred up by his feet as we follow.

More than anything – ANYTHING – our goal is to be like our Rabbi. That was the whole point of the Rabbi/Disciple relationship. It is our goal. Whenever a tough issue or traditional confrontation come up, just look at scripture and, when in doubt, do what your Rabbi would do.

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It seems that Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today. I’m sure there have been other instances but this is not the first time politics has entered into the decision. In 2007 Al Gore won the Prize over Irena Sendler. In the end it’s just another award given by men. All awards are shadowed by what should be our outpouring of love in action and reaction. With these awards a small group decides they are impressed with someone else and they recognize them publically.

Much like an Oscar. Or an Emmy. Or my second place fantasy baseball trophy…graphic. It would have been first place if it weren’t for that Mike Jones. What did he do to deserve first place?

I will choose to react this way and pray it is my initial reaction each time: I will pray that his next 7 years [wink] in office will be a tireless effort to earn every ounce of the weight of the award for which he has been given all the time realizing that it is never his efforts, but Christ’s, that are the victory. What better recognition, then, could he receive? And how better for me to fulfill the commandment that I pray for my leader’s relationship with Christ.

Love wins.

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Want to do something to earn the human race a Nobel Peace Prize?

Sponsor a child through Compassion. It requires very little and produces much fruit.

For each child we have we sponsor another child. We have two boys of our own so we sponsor two girls – Emely and Feleiny.

With God’s blessing I’m going to attempt….wait for it….a podcast. This idea of mine is new and inventive. Not many people are doing podcasts so I think I’ve got a real shot at international success.

Actually, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time but I’ve not known the exact format or content. So I waited until I had something to ‘cast. The topics will be varied, eventually, but the general conversation will revolve around the very misunderstood purpose behind discipleship.

The first several episodes (for now, at least) will be discussions between myself and Rob Touchstone and will focus on the Jewish roots of Christianity. To those of you who don’t already explore that topic I’m sure this sounds thrilling. “Wow, a podcast about history. At least I can catch up on some sleep while listening.” But trust me. Join in at least a few episodes and see what we mean. I wouldn’t even approach the idea of a podcast if I didn’t think God wanted to use it for something. I don’t come up with this stuff on my own, people.

We’re recording this week. I’m not sure if I’ll launch next week or the week after (or ever). But it will be posted here and on iTunes when ready.

Kristi is in Colorado right now. She’s attending the Captivating retreat. I’m more proud of her than I can express here. It’s a big step both physically (money, time, etc), emotionally and spiritually to go through this conference.

After talking with her the other evening I put down the phone and became simply amazed at my overall lack of regular concentration on the spiritual realm. It’s not that I don’t think about it. I really do. But when I have so much running through my head, ideas for this project or that artwork or that video or that class, and then I realize the lawn hasn’t been mowed in over a week or that my kids are standing next to me with that look on their face (the one that says I’ve been doing something else besides playing), fighting the spiritual forces mustered against us as God’s children isn’t on my mind except to feel guilty that I’m not participating as I should, or to feel pummeled by them with no stamina to fire back..

I spoke with one of my best friends several months ago. He’s been going through a lot, especially in his marriage. I encouraged him in something that I firmly believe and, despite what I said above, practice a lot. “You can pray for people to pray for you,” I told him. I’m not sure how to explain it but there have been times when I have had this thought or urging or whatever you want to call it, and I think I need to pray for someone. Most of the time this happens for people closest to me, but sometimes it’s completely random, praying even for someone I have not seen in twenty years or have met only once. I have cried out on many instances for the Spirit to rouse others in prayer on my behalf, as well. It’s really okay to do that, I think.

All of that got me thinking about Jesus. I wondered if he lived as God or as man or as some divine mixture of each. But then I thought that, if he was doing a lot of those miracles as God or as partly God or whatever, he was kind of cheating wasn’t he? How is he supposed to be the ultimate example for me if he was doing half of his good works as a perfect, divine, creator of the universe? When he was a baby was he cooing and drooling and sleeping 18 hours a day, was he thinking of the cool things he would do once he started walking, like the sick he would heal or the water he would turn to wine one day? When he was 15 did he remember being born?

These overly simplistic thoughts are the things that go through my head.

So my next logical (ha ha) conclusion was to think that he must have performed the miracles and lived the life as an “ordinary” man. I know I can’t explain this, and I hope I don’t sound unfair or heretical or anything. But what if, when Jesus was packing and getting ready to go into the womb, God had to explain a few things.

“Now, Son, you realize you won’t remember any of what’s about to happen, right? You’re going to be zapped down into a womb to grow for nine months and then be put in a water trough. The Bible won’t even mention the eleven or twelve years after that, and then it’s only a little bit until you’re 30.” And I’m sure Jesus was okay with that because, after all, Jesus is pretty awesome.

I have to believe that Jesus lived, served, learned and prayed for friends just like any of us. And he did it perfectly. Not because he is Jesus, although it’s a good excuse for those of us who fail a lot. But because he was a man. He was just like me and he chose above all to love God with all his heart, soul, and strength and to love his neighbor as himself. The fact that he did it fairly, so to speak, is a great comfort to me. As much as I struggle with this or that, I can more fully appreciate the magnitude of the importance of his life, a life possible for me, a life possible only through him. All of my perfectionism and fighting for some degree of Eden is unnecessary because I already have it through him. Isn’t God the point, after all, and not me? Never me. Always him.

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These videos make me laugh: Tim Hawkins

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As you can see I redesigned the blog recently. I needed something a little more joyful. I like the twitter bird the most. He makes me laugh.

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I continue to do freelance creative work, mainly design and communications for churches. If you know of a church that could use some help please tell them about me. You can view some of my work at brianholaway.com.

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I’ll be co-teaching Sunday mornings in the Cafe at Tusculum this fall. Topic includes the jewish roots of Christianity, 1st century discipleship and encouragements and challenges for your own walk with God. We’re hoping it blows some people away when we discuss what Jesus meant when he said “follow me”. Resources include Crazy Love, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus and many more, if you want to get a head start.

Rob and I are available to speak on this subject (we last led a 5 day seminar in April but it can be shorter than that). Contact me (email [at] holaway.com) if you are interested.