Archive for the ‘Mad Prop’s Friday’ Category

Breakfast and Mad Props Friday

Posted: January 23, 2009 in change, Christ, church, family, FCC Owasso, friends, Jesus, Mad Prop's Friday
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BREAKFAST! It’s meaning is deeper than just the first meal in the morning. It actually signifies the end of a prolonged period without eating or fasting. It literally means to break your fast. Since fasting can be abstaining from more than just food I decided early this month to fast from blogging. Today is my blog breakfast! Twisted logic I know but you get the meaning I am sure.

Mad props this week goes out to my boy Wes Schaefer.

Since high school Wes has dealt with one addiction after another. Each new addiction would eventually leave him wanting more than the drugs had to offer. After searching for a “high” bigger and better than the last one, Wes eventually found himself addicted to Meth and ultimately close to destroying his own life. With the help of his family, friends and church, Wes entered a drug rehabilitation facility and one year later stood before those same people and proclaimed God’s victory in his life. You can see him in this video holding up a sign that says “Addicted to Meth” and then “Clean And Sober! & Forgiven”.

His sign was ginormous and rightfully so. God had done a major work in his life. Afterwards Wes sent me a text thanking me for asking him to participate in the event and wrote “That was a better high than any drug had ever given me”. Wes had experienced the life changing power of the Gospel and it was powerful to witness.

For most people this would be enough. Enough because their lives were changed by God and they were now free to go about living their lives, building their careers, raising families and going to church. This has not been the case for Wes. Wes recognizes the power of God to change his life. He understood the power of addiction that he was under was significant but that God’s power was greater and as a result, he wants everyone to experience that same saving power in their own lives. Now Wes is actively sharing the power of God with others. He recently hosted an event at the church building to help raise awareness about the destructive nature of Meth addiction and is constantly on the lookout for ways to share the Gospel with people who are far from God.

So Mad Prop’s to Wes. He is exhibiting the true nature of the Christ. He knows first hand the power of the Gospel and desires to share its life changing power with others. He is an inspiration to me and many others around him. I can’t wait to see what God does with him next…

Everyone join me in giving Mad Prop’s to Wes.

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Three Weeks, Two Prospectives and A Question of the Week

Posted: December 31, 2008 in America, basketball, Choir, Christ, Christians, Christmas, church, FCC Owasso, friends, Jesus, Mad Prop's Friday, ministry, politics, Prayer, sunday morning, Tuesday's Question of the Week
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Hello! It has been over three weeks since we last met and we have so much to catch up on! I don’t have a lot of time so let me try to catch you up on the last twenty seven days of my life as quickly as possible.

  • Avalon was incredible! Made some new friends through the process ( Cathy Freeman and Chris Kelly with Spirit 102.3, Greg Long with Avalon) and watched our church do a tremendous job in helping with the event.
  • Mad Prop’s to Cathy Killion for all her hard work on the Avalon show! She was my hostess and really went out of her way to take care of the group.
  • Christmas services FREAKING ROCKED! Jana Gorham had almost thirty people in the orchestra this year and as usual they were incredible, the Choir was bigger and better than ever, Brittany Bolt sang her guts out and rocked our faces off and as always the band was awesome. This had to be the best Christmas service EVER in our church.
  • Christmas Eve services were great as well. We did some things a little different but somehow throwing acoustic worship, Charlie Brown, a live nativity, the Christmas story read by grandpa Tom, communion and candle lighting in to one service worked!
  • Mad Props to my boy Mitch who managed to focus his attention to leading worship on one of the hardest days in his life.
  • Christmas at the Tibbles was awesome! I will always love Christmas morning with my kids more than any other day of the year! This year was awesome… there were nice lessons learned by my youngest. More on this later…
  • In-laws came to our place for Christmas #2. It was nice…
  • Spent more time with my grandparents in two days than all of 2008 combined. I love them so much. They are great examples to us in all aspects of their lives.
  • Had a great Christmas with my small group. I am so appreciative of them and their love for us and each other. Its great to be a part of a group where we are “Tim and April”.
  • I somehow ended up catching a cold that turned into a fever and sore throat… I hate being sick. Then again, who doesn’t?
  • Our Church Basketball League starts up soon… I am uber excited about this. I’m not a great player but I love basketball to a fault.

So that’s my life over the past three and a half weeks. Sorry we were not able to connect. What’s that you ask? What are my feelings on Rick Warren praying for the inauguration? Funny you should ask! What amazes me is the two opposing views of this prayer.
1. The “Liberal Left” is ticked at Obama for inviting a “gay hating”, “anti-abortion”, “narrow-minded conservative” to be a part of his inauguration. It’s funny to me because Obama is doing what he said he would do. Did these people think that he would unite only the Americans who agreed with them?
2. The “Conservative Right” is ticked at Warren because he has accepted the invitation to participate in Obama’s inauguration. This is funny to me because Warren is doing exactly what he is supposed to do as a Christian. Does this group think that Warren should stand up and call Obama a “hypocritical”, “gay loving”, “baby-killing” heathen like a lot of other so called Christian leaders? Isn’t Warren doing exactly what the rest of us should be doing… praying for Obama?

It was great to see you again! Lets meet up tomorrow. I would like to share my 2009 New Year’s Resolutions. Before you go let me give you my question of the week:

What is your top resolution for 2009?

See you tomorrow!

Mad Prop’s Friday

Posted: October 3, 2008 in church, community, FCC Owasso, Mad Prop's Friday, small groups
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Friday is Mad Prop’s Day! This is the day I give my “Prop’s” to someone who has done something outstanding during the week. Feel free to leave your own “prop’s”, “atta boy’s”, or whatever it is you happen say to let someone know they are friggin awesome.

For months I have watched our congregation go through various transition for various reasons. We literally re-located from a building we had worshiped in for over 30 years, We have had to re-think major ministries like VBS, we’ve even had to make some really difficult decisions like ending long term ministries such as our preschool program of twenty-seven years. 2008 has been the year of change for First Christian Church Owasso. There have been literally hundreds of changes to our growing church and all indications point to more on the horizon.

One of the biggest moves we have made was due in large part to the rapid growth of our congregation. Our leadership made the conscious decision to shepherd through small groups. This has been a major transition because we have always used our Sunday School program to care for the majority of church members. There were several problems with this model but the biggest was that it didn’t cover the large majority of our membership. At one point there were over six hundred members who were not involved in anything other than our Sunday morning services. As a result, the leadership determined there was a better way to shepherd our congregation and they tasked our Associate Minister, Matt Thomason, with developing a small group program.

After months of hard work and planning we launched our small group program on September 7th. In just five short weeks we have seen a radical change in our church. We are hearing stories every week about small groups engaging in the lives of people who are going through divorces, people who have lost loved ones, providing financial assistance to people who have lost their jobs and people who need to know Christ on a deeper level. There are now less than two hundred people that have yet to plug in to a group of some sort and as a result, the life change that we have witnessed has been extraordinary.

This week I want to give my Mad Prop’s to Matt Thomason. This was probably the biggest and most difficult transition we have had to make in the life of our congregation. Matt and his team have done an outstanding job of helping our church better shepherd and care for each other through small groups. The task has not been an easy one and Matt would tell you there is still a lot to be done, never the less “Mad Prop’s” to Matt T. and his leadership in our new groups initiative!

Leave “Mad Prop’s” for Matt T. and comment about your small group experience over the past five weeks.

Mad Props Friday

Posted: September 19, 2008 in America, Mad Prop's Friday, politics
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Friday is Mad Prop’s Day! This is the day I give my “Prop’s” to someone who has done something outstanding during the week. Feel free to leave your own “prop’s”, “atta boy’s”, or whatever it is you happen say to let someone know they are friggin awesome.

One of the goals I have for my blog is that it can be a safe community of discussion for everyone who chooses to participate. It is important to me to have a place where we can discuss God’s will for our lives and our world without damaging our spiritual well being or compromising our authenticity as Christians. That being said I want to hand out today’s “Mad Prop’s” to a prominent political figure.

I have to admit I love politics. I enjoy engaging other world views and challenging those to see a better vision for our country. However, this year’s presidential campaign has been one of the most humiliating and embarrassing campaigns I can remember. I understand the angst that is present in our country right now. We are still trying to wrap up an unpopular war in Iraq, we still have not caught the man responsible for the attacks on 9/11, the economy is as volatile as its ever been and everyone is tired of being lied to by politicians. What I don’t get is why people are so angry that they would stoop so low as to launch personal and vile attacks against another political opponent. I’m not talking about attacks on a person’s record or on beliefs that would effect the way that person would govern. I’m talking about personal attacks like the attacks being launched by the Hollywood crowd against Governor Palin. The attacks by media journalists comparing her to a “toned down porn actress” or when the workers for the DNC hack in to her personal e-mail account to try and dig up dirt so they can intentionally tarnish her image. It’s shameful and wrong.
No matter what you feel about her beliefs or political affiliations you have to admire a person who is so convicted she is willing to take all the attacks and stand up for what she believes in. So my Mad Prop’s this week go out to Governor Palin. I know you probably don’t read my blog but you have a lot of fortitude to take it on the chin a still put up a good fight.

Who gets your “Mad Prop’s” this week?

Mad Prop’s Friday Week #5

Posted: August 29, 2008 in America, Leadership, Mad Prop's Friday, politics, Prayer
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Its been a few weeks since I’ve posted one of these. Mostly ’cause when I am mad at the world its hard for me to give mad props to anyone. I have to admit when I first watched this I was pissed! However, the more I watched and listened the more I thought… “this guy has some serious guts.” I’ve always liked Donald Miller. While I don’t agree with his political views, I have enjoyed his books tremendously and my respect for him has only increased as I have come to grips with what he just did.

So “Mad Props” to Donald Miller who had the guts to walk into a room full of Anti-Christians and petition God to do the things we have not been able to do on our own in the name of Jesus Christ. That takes stones! MAD PROPS Don…

Mad Prop’s Friday Week #4

Posted: August 1, 2008 in camp, children, family, Mad Prop's Friday, summer, worship
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It’s Friday and which means… Mad Prop’s! This is the day I give my “Prop’s” to someone who has done something outstanding during the week. Feel free to leave your own “prop’s”, “atta boy’s”, or whatever it is you happen say to let someone know they are friggin awesome.

Mad Prop’s Friday Week #4

This week I have to go back to the crib to give my prop’s. Summer is such a busy time for me and my family. It usually involves church camps for the kiddos, VBS, summer sports, basketball camps and every once in a while we’ll throw in a family trip to some place where people don’t recognize us. Thrown in that I am usually gone for several weeks leaving my AP to manage the home front on her own. When I am home during the summer months it’s only for a few days at a time and it usually involves recovery and catch up work at the church leaving little time for extra things with the fam. Summer months in the Tibbles’ home require extra grace and prayer.

So this week I want to give Mad Prop’s to AP and the Kiddos

MAD PROP’S TO TEAM TIBBLES! THANKS FOR BEING SO AWESOME!!

Not only do you deserve Mad Prop’s for living with me as your husband and dad but you continually go above and beyond to support me in the crazy adventures God puts me in. I thank God for each of you everyday. You are all more than I could have ever hoped for.

Give it up ya’ll!

Mad Prop’s Friday (on Saturday) Week #3

Posted: July 26, 2008 in camp, Mad Prop's Friday, summer, Youth Quake
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I have spent all week camping with about 300 high school students at a youth event called Youth Quake. It is an amazing experience that I would recommend to anyone. Obviously there are some sacrifices you have to make when living the rustic, minimalist lifestyle for a full week and one of those sacrifices is the porcelain throne of satisfaction. Lets just say that I would be happy to never see a porta-potty ever again. So here is my Mad Prop for this Friday…errr Saturday:

Mad Prop’s Friday (on Saturday) Week #3

MAD PROP’S TO THE PERSON WHO INVENTED THIS!!!
Well done… Well done.

More on YQ later!