Rob Bell put this video/talk together and it is really inspiring.  He talks about the value of serving others and how to be blessing.   Of course it has his trademark creativity and relevant explanation of Old Testament teaching.  If you have 5 minutes to watch it I promise it will move your soul.

To see the video just cut and paste the link:

http://player.flannel.org/compassion?referer=corner

Compassion is an amazing ministry that helps underserved children around the world.  Check this video out!  This will move your heart!

I heard through some friends about a man named, David who is battling brain cancer.  He found out that he has a tumor in his brain that is around his comprehension and language centers.   I couldn’t imagine going through an experience like that.  I wanted to turn you on to his blog because it is incredibly inspiring to hear his heart.  This is right in line with what I have been writing recently about trusting God when bad things happen to us.

Here is something that David posted recently:

This tumor was specifically designed for me by God.
The other day my sister sent me an article written by John Piper called ‘Don’t Waste your Cancer’ <http://www.hopetriumphant.com/don%27t_waste_your_cancer.htm> .  Written on the eve of John’s prostate surgery, his first point is:

1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.

“It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, he permits for a reason. And that reason is his design. If God foresees molecular developments becoming cancer, he can stop it or not. If he does not, he has a purpose. Since he is infinitely wise, it is right to call this purpose a ‘design’. If you don’t believe your cancer is designed for you by God, you will waste it.”

God didn’t give me a bum leg or a sore back. He has designed a tumor to grow in my brain in the specific place – the exact location – where I would never ever want it to be.  He has intricately fused a massive lesion into the middle of my comprehension and language centers.  He has calcified cancerous tissues around the speech production areas of my brain; the essence of my personality, my career and my future.

If God were about to tell a compelling story with my life that ended in His glorification, this is a pretty incredible way to start it.  After all, would we still talk about Goliath if he wasn’t a giant?

This is the beginning of a new story, but I want to make a clarification.  This new story is about God, not me. So I confidently declare Psalm 20:6-9.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

8 They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.

9 Save, LORD!
May the King answer us when we call.

Please be praying for David.  If you want to follow along his blog is:  http://www.jumpdavidjump.typepad.com/

Ok!  So I have a confession to make.  I just joined Twitter last week.  I feel kind of like a sell out but I think it will be a cool instrument to continue reaching people through this blog.  If you are into Twitter you can follow me at Mike_Harder or http://twitter.com/mike_harder

See you online!

I don’t know if you are anything like me but I struggle with comparing myself to others.  Its something that happens in the back of my mind constantly.  I find myself gauging my own performance or self worth by looking around.  Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing with benchmarking yourself to seeing how you are doing and what you could be doing better but comparisons can be very dangerous to our psyche and our walk with God.  The reason they can be dangerous is because we can become slaves to an image of what we should be and miss the freedom that comes with being who we really are.

Many times when I compare myself to others I make dangerous mistakes.  I either prop myself up and push others down, allowing to think I am doing really well because of my perceived superiority, or I see myself as a complete failure because of someone else’s success.  Comparisons make us ride a out of control emotional roller coaster.  I become a hostage to my emotions.   The dirty little secret about comparisons that I have learned recently is that comparing yourself is really a form of pride.

Two areas that I struggle with are Comparisons with my dad and comparisons with my peers.

Comparison with Dad - I have a great relationship with my dad but it is easy to compare myself with where he was in his ministry or his life when he was my age.  I know other people struggle with the desire to please their dad and live up to his expectations.

Comparisons with Peers - This is probably the worst arena of comparisons for me.  It is so easy to compare myself with my friends and co-workers.  Performance is valued highly in western culture an the pressure to perform is exhausting.  I think preachers really struggle with this because we have so much value tied into how we do when we teach.  Everyone else is evaluating us as we teach and so we also evaluate ourselves.  We can fall in the trap of equating our personal value to our teaching popularity.  Compounding the problem is the power of the internet and podcasts.

Honestly the only way to be free from comparing yourself with your peers is to choose to walk in humility.  Dictionary.com defines humility as: having a modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance and rank. I really like that definition.  Humility frees us to be who we really are.  1 Peter 5:5 says:  “And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud,but gives grace to the humble.” Humility covers our nakedness and our insecurities. Humility brings God’s favor on our life

If you struggle with humility and comparing yourself to others I encourage you to trust God and fire yourself from comparing yourself to others.  That will allow you to find true freedom and the ability to enjoy your life.

I talk about this topic a lot more on this week’s podcast from Green Hills Church.  Check it out here!

Just click the link to listen: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=274809927

This Sunday I am teaching on the topic of humility as we teach through the book of John.  Honestly, I am not the best person to be teaching about humility since I have not come close to attaining it.  But I really have felt burdened for this message since I returned from Italy.  I have really been convicted of my sins of comparison in the last week.   Being away for 12 days on vacation was so refreshing.  I completely unplugged from my life here.  No email, phone calls or computer.  Just my iphone that I used to blog our trip. When we got back I felt really rejuventated.

On Monday morning as I was getting ready for our staff meeting, I began to feel the weight of life begin to creep upon my bones.  I was surprised to feel how heavy the stress felt that I had been under before I left for vacation.  The stress was pressure to perform as a pastor, pressure to succeed, and the pressure of leadership.  I was worrying about things I had no control of but hoping that through my worry that I would be able to overcome my obstacles.  In that moment I felt God convicting me of not trusting him.

I immediately began to pray and ask God for forgiveness.  I needed forgiveness for trying so hard to carry all the burdens on my own.  I vowed to turn that stuff over to him and just work hard at doing what he has called me to.  I need to just focus on being myself and staying humble.  Humility frees us from the pressure of having to prop ourselves up by our accolades.  

Jesus modeled humility throughout his life.  Most of us are aware that Jesus set the gold standard for what it is to live a life that was humble and selfless.  But as I have been digging in the scriptures I am amazed at how truly humble Jesus really is.  I am struggling as a flawed vessel to live a life that resembles that of my savior.  

Please pray for me as I share this message on Sunday.  I know that so many of us are trying so hard to succeed and to find validation.  My prayer is that our people can find freedom from the tyranny of comparison and the weight of pride this Sunday.

Wow.

We are back.  Back in the blessed United States.  We had such a good time but we had such a hectic 24 hours on our way home.   Sorry I didnt blog the last couple of days.  We stopped in Positano which is off the Almafi coast and didnt have internet there and then made a quick journey back to Rome to get on a plane and head back to Nashville.  

Our stop in Positano was a pretty hairy adventure.  We took an overnight train from Cinque Terra that started at 1:37 at night.   We had to leave Vernazza at 11:30 to go to a slightly larger town called La Spieza.  That was fine except for the fact that La Spieza got a little shade after midnight.  Tab and I hung out with some very silent families who were visibly trying to ignore the sleeping homeless people sleeping on the train platform.  But it was worth the discomfort to sleep overnight on the train all the way down to Naples.  Our train was pretty cool.  We had our own little bedroom on it that had a locking door and a guy who watched over us as we slept.  He also woke us up with hot coffee when we were about an hour away from Naples.  

The trip to Positano was pretty scenic except for the time we were in Naples.  Rick Steves warns about Naples because it is known for its thieves and pickpockets.  Over 1/3rd of the city’s adult male population is unemployed which leads to rampant petty crime.  With great apprehension we rode the rickety subway called the Circumvensuvia to the town of Sorrento.  From there, we took a bus over the mountains to Sorrento.  We stayed at a really cool Pensione called Pensione Maria Lousia.  Our host, Carlo Milo, was amazing.  He was so hospitable.  Our room had a balcony that overlooked the Mediterranean.    You can check them out here:  http://www.pensionemarialuisa.com/.  

If you ever get to go to Positano, you will find that the city is really quaint and built on a cliff overlooking the ocean.  Think Cinque Terra on a much larger scale.  Both on the size of the town and the size of the scenery.  It is the town that Robert Downey Jr. and Marissa Tomei go to in the movie Only You.  It is very beautiful.  But it is very steep.  We counted 414 steps from our Pensione to the beach.  

One of the coolest things was we bought sandwiches that evening from a local deli and ate them overlooking the sea.  Believe it or not, we finally got tired of pizza.  As we were heading down we heard this guy singing in a deep baritone from up around the corner.  We thought we were going to be crashing a private concert but it was just some random guy just bringing it.  He had one of the most incredible voices we have ever heard.  We just camped out right there and ate our sandwiches, watched the sea and listened to an amazing free concert.

We left Positano the next day by boat to go to Salerno.  We found out there that there is a Trenitalia train station in Salerno.  It is right across the street from the docks.  The trip that way is cheaper, shorter and safer.  The views from the boat are really beautiful.

Our trip back was pretty uneventful.  We went out one more time to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon when we got back to Rome.  Tabitha bought some cool shoes and we went to bed.  

The next morning at 6 AM Rome time, 11 PM Nashville time we got up to head home.  It was such a long flight.  We were up about 24 hours straight, minus some small naps on the plane.  It feels so good to be home though and in our own beds.  

Here are some pics of Positano.  

Jet lag is seeping in and I am about to crash.  I am going to post some more pictures tomorrow.  I have to edit them down in size and I just hit a wall.  Its great to be home though!

Tabitha and I are sunning ourselves on some rocks at the pretty little town of Vernazza in Cinque Terra. It has definitely lived up to it’s advance billing. The sights, atmosphere, food and hikes have been the best in Italy. This has been my favorite place so far. If you come to Italy you have to spend 2 days in Vernazza.

Yesterday we took a scenic hike on the coastline. All 5 towns are connected by a scenic and litter free hike. The hike between Vernazza and Monterosso is the hardest but by far the most beautiful. Between the rocky ocean views and the lush mountainside you will fall in love with the area.

The food is great too. Our favorite has been at the Pirata. Luca and Maximo, the owners are histerically funny and have unbelievable food. Their deserts and breakfasts are the best we have had here. If you want to find them go away from town behind the train station. They are on the right after the bank. I am posting a picture below They also have rooms to rent for pretty reasonable rates. If interested Email them at ilpiratarooms@libero.it

Also if you want a room closer in town you can get a private room with a bathroom like we did through a local resident. This was pretty cheap too. We paid 60 e a night. The room was simple but clean and comfortable. The lady who set it up was the very nice Monica Lecari. She speaks English so she connects people with local rooms We stayed at her sister’s Carmella’s room. Monica also owns and runs the Castello restaurant which has stunning views. Monica’s info is alcastellovernazza@yahoo.it

We have had so much fun here. I went cliff diving into the ocean yesterday near the castle. That was fun but I got scraped up trying to climb the rock by barnacles. It was so worth it.

The people are so nice here. It is sad that there are no evangelical Bible teaching churches here. I have some ideas about how to help here that are percolating in my brain. I will share them in the next post.

We are sad we are leaving Vernazza but we are excited to head down to Positano on the Almafi coast. We are taking an overnight train to Naples and then taking a boat to Positano. We have a sleeper car so we are going to get a great nights sleep while we travel. The only downer is it leaves at 1:30 AM.

Here are some pics of Vernazza. I can post some better ones from our camera when we get to a real computer. These are just from my iPhone. Thanks for commenting on how good they look Heather! We miss you Green Hills Church and our family and friends. Thanks for praying for us!

We are leaving Venice and headed to Cinque Terra, a quaint collection of fishing villages on the Mediterranian sea. We had a great time in Venice. Apparently I lost my last post in cyberspace. Cell coverage was really spotty in Venice.

Venice was very beautiful. We had a really picturesque room at the Casa D’ Arte, about 100 yards off of the Accademia bridge. It was quite the adventure getting to our pensions though. We were given the wrong directions and we to a hotel that was shut down. Amazingly someone answered our repeated buzzing of the bell and gave us a different address. We spent the next 30 minutes trying to find our way through the labyrinth they call Venice. We were hot, tired and frustated. We were absolutely miserable. We finally found our lodgings more through sheer luck than anything else. That was the most uncertain we have been about this trip to date. We didn’t know if we were going to find a place to sleep that night. God was really watching out for us.

We had a lot of fun in Venice. St. Mark’s square is very beautiful. The Basillica is very ornate and it looks like it was influenced by eastern architecture. The best part are the classical concerts that are performed nightly in front of the cafes. There dueling orchestras. It’s a surreal scene. I don’t recommend sitting at a cafe to listen. They charge a hefty cover to sit. You can hear just fine standing nearby. We made the mistake of sitting down. We paid 15 euro in top of our coffee for that dubious privilege.

That was one downer. The Venetians are masters of scamming tourists. They have been a tourist city for hundreds of years and are great at it.

Our highlights from Venice were St. Marks, watching the grand canal by the Rialto Bridge, exploring back streets at night and meeting up with a family friend called Mark Crooks.

Mark has been a missionary in Venice for 5 years. He started a church planting movement in Venezuela. He move to Venice after handing his church to guys he had trained in Venezuela.
He shared how hard it is to share the gospel in Venice. There are no evangelical churches on the Island. On the mainland the church he inherited had been around for 30 years and has under 20 people in it. There is a resistance to the gospel in Italy. This country needs more workers for the harvest.

Thanks for praying for us here. We are excited for our next stop in the trip. It is supposed to be really beautiful.

Quick update. We made it to Florence. This place is amazing. Even cooler than Rome. The Dwomo, a huge intricate Renaissance church, took our breath away. It was so huge and full of color. Tabitha actually stopped walking when she saw it.

We are in the Uffuzi museum right now about half way through but nned to take a break. Saw some Da Vinci’s and a ton of Michelangelo’s. We have been using Rick Steves’ audio tours courtesy of iTunes. It’s an amazing free resourse. We will see the David later on today at the Academia museum. Our hotel hooked us up with reservations. Another Rick Steves tip. If you want to know the best tool for this journey it was buying Rick’s book.

We are both a bit tired. We got up at 5:15 to grab a train to Florence. The Eurostar is so fast. The only problem we had was that all the train departure signs glitched out. So we wandered around the train station for 30 nerve wracking minutes until we found the right train. This has been such an adventure to figure things out as we go.

I will try to post pictures later if our hotel has wifi.