014: Selling Short

This week's podcast focuses on selling ourselves short. It's so easy to do. We settle for less than what God has designed us to enjoy and to become.

Our music this week comes from Broda, specifically "Don't Sell Yourself Short" from her Spiral Staircase album.

[6:46] 4 ways that Mark has sold himself short in his past. Take a stroll down memory lane with me and maybe learn a few things about me you didn't know.  Here are 4 different ocassions when I just didn't have a big enough picture of what I could do or accomplish or become.  All 4 became great learning opportunities for me.

[15:45] Interview with Jillian. My daughter shares one time in her life when she has sold herself short. She also talks about her study to become a counselor and how people often need to see themselves in a new and fresh way.

[25:27] Interview with Lisa and Diana. Lisa Hatfield and Diana Devolder came to visit me last Thursday to record their baptism testimonial videos.  While they were here, we sat down and talked about how they have sometimes sold themselves short.

[40:06] 10 Key Points To Remember from Rick Warren.  At the end of 2011, Pastor Rick held a video conference call with many small church pastors.  I was included in that call.  As pastors we live with the constant tension between the ideal (our dream for our church) and the real (how things actually are). These are 10 key points Rick reminded us about and that I thought would be worth remembering on our "selling short" podcast halfway through the year.

[55:00] Sermon: "Selling Short"  - As American Christ followers we too readily give up our God given birthrights. We may not sell them for a bowl of soup, like Esau, but we do too easily sell ourselves short!  Here are 4 ways we sell ourselves short.  You can follow along with the YouVersion Sermon Notes here.

013: Day Of Rest

This week on Church Requel Audio Podcast #13, we focus on the topic of the sabbath, also known as the day of rest.  Most of us don't get enough rest. Most of us don't connect enough with God.  After catching up with Mark and what's been happening this past week you'll hear:

[12:30] Getting Enough Sleep - Some of us are early risers and some are sleeper-iners. Is there an actual physiological difference between those of us who get up early and those who sleep longer?  The folks from NetDoctor.co.uk have some surprising research in their article, "Are You Getting Enough Sleep?"  Shape Magazine also provides some great info on the many wonderful benefits of sleep: "6 Reasons You Need More Sleep."

[25:30] Daily Quiet Time - The purpose of the Sabbath is more than about our rest. It's also our day to connect with God. We don't have to wait for that one day.  We can connect with God every day, even if for just a little while.  Pastor Mark talks about the daily quiet time, why we should have it and how to go about it.

[54:45] Benefits Of A Nap - Recent research has proven that there are great benefits to taking a nap every afternoon.  Two articles Pastor Mark refers to in this segment comes from The Art of Manliness website, "8 Benefits of Napping" and from WebMD, "The Secret (and Surprising) Power of Naps."

[1:05:45] CR Sermon: "The First Day Off" - In this second sermon of the Summer Singles, Mark talks about the very first day off. This wasn't a day off by man, but by God Himself!  We learn 4 reasons why the Sabbath is important to us. And we hear 7 hints for making the Sabbath a reality in our lives.  If you'd like to follow the sermon notes, they are available at YouVersion.com.  At Church Requel we also watched a video about the Sabbath by The Veracity Project called "1 Outta 7."

Music for this week's podcast includes "Rest" by Big Daddy Weave on the One And Only album.

012: Hatfields & McCoys

Our Church Requel Podcast is loaded with audio goodness for you this week!  After catching up with Mark and what's been happening this past week you'll hear:

[09:21] Hatfields & McCoys - The History Channel broke a record for basic cable with the most watched show over this Memorial Day week.  Mark talks about what made it such compelling television and draws some surprising lessons from The Sermon On The Mount. Also check out Mark's blog article detailing the 5 beliefs that make me a Hatfield & McCoy.

[23:45] Stock Market Blues - The stock market fell 275 points on Friday plunging the year to date return into negative territory for the first time this year.  Mark takes off his cowboy hat and puts on his financial planning hat as he talks about 4 things to remember when the stock market goes down.

[35:30] Christian Nation? - New census data was released this month showing that Mormons and Muslims are growing fast.  Additionally a new research study by the University of Chicago ranked the U.S. as the 5th most religious country in the world.  Mark points listeners to the ASARB 2010 U.S. Religion Census and explains how to discover the national ranking of counties as well as checking out individual counties religious census through the ARDA.

[48:02] This Is Your Life - Michael Hyatt began a new podcast on Feb. 15th.  Mark talks about the podcast and why it has been so helpful to him.  We listen to a sample from podcast #3 on how any leader can develop vision.  Also here's a link to Hyatt's new book, Platform.

[1:00:00] CR Sermon: "God's First Command" - In this first sermon of the Summer Singles series, Mark talks about God's very first command to mankind: to rule Planet Earth.  Mark talks about the difference between ruling responsibly and exploitation.  If you'd like to follow the sermon notes, they are available at YouVersion.com.

Music for this week's podcast includes the themesong from Hatfields & McCoys by John Debney and Tony Morales, "Stock Market Blues" by Gypsey Carns, "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics" by Matt Munhall, and "The Best Is Yet To Come" by Frank Sinatra.

11: Holding On To The Eternal Ticket

Happy Memorial Day!  Monday podcasts are always special here at Church Requel.  Here's what's included on this holiday edition of the Church Requel Podcast:

[8:45] Zach Lystedt is headstrong, according to The Daily.  Listen to the story of this brave young man who suffered a dibilitating concussion while playing football.  He has turned his personal tragedy into a benefit for thousands of others.

[13:36] Why Facebook'sIPO fizzled.  If you can get your hands on a hot new stock, you probably don't want it.

[18:12] Excerpt Interview of Mark by Len Edgerly from The Kindle Chronicles 198.

[22:04] The YouVersion Blog released big news about The Bible App!

[27:06] Check out the Instacast app - only if you love podcasts AND have an IOS device.

[31:06] 1 Star Ratings - Marco Arment and Dan Benjamin talk about 1 Star Ratings in their Build and Analyze Podcast 77.  Mark talks about his Christian lesson learned from Amazon when he thinks about giving a 1 star rating.

[48:00] The Right To Be Here - Pastor Mike Erre and Ken Coleman have a conversation on the Catalyst Podcast Episode 179 about Mike's son, Seth, who has Down Syndrome.  Mark follows up with his own story about Austen.

[59:38] Listen to the final sermon in The God Life series - "Holding On To The Eternal Ticket."

Music for this week's podcast is from Chicago: "I'm A Man," available on the Chicago Transit Authority Album (Remastered) - original from 1969.

The Productive and Effective Christ Follower

This week's Church Requel podcast is loaded with great listening content for you. 

• K-Mart Christmas in May - Rankin Paynter demonstrates Christ-like behavior when he buys out $200,000 of a local K-Mart store (3:16)
• Facebook Accountability - The initial public offering took place last Friday.  Two weeks ago I made my predictions public on this podcast.  Let's check in and see how well those prognastications turned out. (9:09)
• Last Tuesday my friend Len Edgerly, the voice behind the popular The Kindle Chronicles podcast stopped in Mansfield for a visit with me.  We both came armed with microphones.  I talked to Len about the labor of love involved each week in producing TKC. (15:37)
• Mad Men and Christianity - what does the wildly popular AMC television show have to do with Christianity, you ask?  This past Saturday the Mansfield News Journal published my Viewpoint article in which I answer this question.  My daughter Jillian reads this piece for you. (35:51)
• Rotten Banana Christianity - listen to the funny responses of the kids at Church Requel last night when they were offered rotten bananas during the Children's sermon. (44:35)
• Church Requel Sunday night sermon: "The Effective and Productive Christ Follower." (53:30) We learn the what, 2 whys and the how of becoming a fruitful servant for Christ.

Influential MOMs

During this Mother's Day podcast, Mark talks about (1) Ivy League Janitor, (2) Same Sex Marriage and the Pulpit, (3) House Church, (4) Re-using Used Sermons, (5) Moms who Model, Observe, and Motivate.

Love Is More Than A Feeling

In this week's Church Requel podcast Mark talks about

1. churches being sensitive to single people.  Less than half of the U.S. Population is married now.  How should that change the way we lead our churches? 
2. The Wildcat roller coaster is closing at Cedar Point. It started running in 1970, the same year Mark and his brother, Todd, went to Cedar Point for the first time. 
3. What's really the difference between leadership and fellowship?  Mark considers that maybe the two are not as different as some people think. 
4. Facebook's Initial Public Offering is less than two weeks away.  Will it be a good investment?  Mark puts his investment cap back on and looks at the numbers.  
5. Cutting Room Floor segment - what do you do when you have a topic that could contain so much material... say, "The Good Samaritan" parable?
6. Church Requel's Sermon from May 6th: "Love Is More Than A Feeling." We consider six lessons we learn about loving other people from The Good Samaritan story. 
7. Mark's wrap-up after church Sunday evening.