Furmanifesto

For God’s Sake, Take A Compliment.

May 17, 2013 in Devotional,Life with 1 Comment

Recently I received a complement that really got me thinking. Someone came up to me and said, “Jon that shirt looks really good on you.” I said, “Thank you very much.” As I walked away I thought to myself, “That’s one of the weirdest conversations I’ve ever had.” As I thought about the phrase “That shirt looks good on you”, I realized that I was being complimented for being a hanger.

As I thought about it more I came to the conclusion that what was actually being complimented was the shirt.

The person didn’t say, “you look very nice, and I like your shirt”.

Now the person who said this is not the weirdest weirdo in the conversation, because I said, “Thank you”, as if in some way I could take credit for how good the shirt looked. I didn’t make the shirt; I picked it out from a pile of ten other shirts just like it.

I was complimented for something that had nothing to do with me,
and then I took credit for it.

An Attitude Adjustment

May 10, 2013 in Devotional,Justice with 1 Comment

I don’t think that I need to spend too much time making the point that bad attitudes spread from person to person like a virus from that monkey in Outbreak.

You’ve probably spent 15 minutes with hungry kids right?

You’ve visited the post office on December 22^nd.

Ever seen an NBA game?

It’s almost impossible to contain a bad attitude. This is because, in the moment, none of us will admit to having them.

When you confront someone on having a bad attitude they always have the same response don’t they?

“I don’t have a bad attitude, I’m just being realistic.”

The People You Meet After A Guest Sermon

May 3, 2013 in Furmanifesto with 4 Comments

When you’re a young pastor you imagine giving the kind of sermons that will really produce a change in people’s lives.

This is hard because no one in your home church will let you get up and preach when you’re just starting out, they usually farm you out to other churches and camp-outs to get “experience” before they put you in front of people that you will have to see again the next week.

When you first get these opportunities you immediately begin preparing like this is the most important thing that you will ever do and the only time that you will ever get to do it.

The whole time you’re preparing the sermon you’re writing with the end in mind… and by end I mean: “People coming up afterwards to tell you how awesome the sermon was.”