Through all of this, however, I’ve kept my Facebook privacy settings pretty open–mostly anyone can read my posts. Now only friends and such can see my most personal information, but if you want to see a picture of me or see what I’m up to, you can. Most people think I’m crazy for this–they say there’s some things on Facebook they’d like to keep private, and that Facebook’s constant changes makes it too hard for them to do it. Others say that Facebook is pushing us to share everything.

What we forget often, however, is that the Internet is an innately open, public place. It was designed as such. Anyone desperate enough can find out any information about you they’d like, really. We can create semblances of privacy, but the reality is that the web is open, and no one can change that. Even some of the world’s most secure government computers have security breaches from time to time. In an open environment, privacy is lost.

Image from Flickr user chooyutshing

It’s helpful for me to picture the Internet like a glass house. You can choose to have your windows wide open, closed, or barred, but it’s still glass. You might be making it harder to see in, but it’s far from impossible. That’s why my personal online theory is this: I only post things I would want my mom to read. Now admittedly, being friends with your mother on Facebook does help with this. But the principle still stands. If you wouldn’t say it to your mom or wouldn’t show it to a future employer, it doesn’t belong online. Anywhere. No matter how “private” you may have it. Glitches happen. Privacy is violated. You can put bars behind your windows, but they’re still just windows.

My point is this: rather than complaining about privacy, don’t say stupid things online. Don’t put things online you wouldn’t want the whole world to see. I’m not saying privacy breaches are right or OK–not at all. I’m just saying that in an open online world, it will happen. Get used to it, and adjust your behavior online accordingly.

Exciting though His resurrection was, the promise it is to us is even more exciting. Scripture says:

For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

-Romans 5:10 (NIV)

Yes, when Christ died, he died to defeat the power of sin one time—enough for all time. He now has a new life, and his new life is with God.

-Romans 6:10 (NCV)

Christ has crushed the power of sin and death for us. No more do we have to live under its power. We have victory over it. Hell couldn’t hold Christ in His tomb. Hell can’t hold you in the tomb of your sin either. The same spirit that empowered Christ’s earthly work empowers you to live a resurrected life of victory over Satan. I don’t know about you, but that makes me pretty excited.

Live this week, this month, this year in his freeing power. Let his spirit set you free from the grip of sin. You can live free. All you have to do is ask.

My favorite song on Easter is the song “In Christ Alone.” I want to leave you with the closing lyrics, but I’d also encourage you to go and find the full song. It’s powerful like you can’t imagine.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

-Lyrics of In Christ Alone

… In humility count others more significant than yourselves. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God … made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant … by becoming obedient to the point of death.

Selections from Philippians 2:3-9 (ESV)

Yesterday, I focused in on the crushing suffering that Christ endured on the day we now know as Good Friday. Thankfully we know today that that’s not all that was crushed Easter weekend. Today I’m going to focus in on crushed pride.

You see, Christ set an example of humility. He set up a standard so high that few men could ever reach it. The Creator God of the universe made himself nothing. He served. He was obedient. Even to the death. The words of Paul’s Christ-hymn that I’ve quoted above are some, I believe, of the most beautiful words in the entire New Testament. They’re words of humility. Words that speak volumes about what Christ has done for us.

I think some of the greatest messages about humility from the Easter story are the ones that we frequently skip over. They’re the ones that happened on Saturday. It’s a day we kind of ignore in the Easter schedule. But it’s one of the most important when it comes to showing how Christ’s example drove others to humility.

Many of us have heard the Roman centurion’s declaration given post-Christ’s death: “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39, NIV) It’s a beautiful, simple confession. But we don’t always really grasp what a big deal it was for that centurion to make that confession. It required an incredible dose of humility. This man was supposed to be one of the world’s toughest soldiers. He was dedicated to Rome and all things Roman. One of the core Roman beliefs held that the Caesar, the land’s ultimate ruler, was God’s son. He was to be worshipped. For this centurion to say that Christ was the Son of God could quite nearly be considered treason. He was, however, so incredibly moved by the things he had witnessed, so moved by the declaration of humility, that he could do nothing but cry out his adoration for Christ.

The centurion wasn’t the only one who had his pride crushed as part of Christ’s death. So did Joseph of Arimithea, the man who buried Christ. See, Joseph was an incredibly rich man. He was a leader in Jerusalem. He was one of the leaders of the Jewish Council. He wasn’t exactly the kind of man you’d picture playing undertaker. But he was. He humbled himself to apply spices and burial clothes to Christ’s body. He even went so far as to have a new tomb made just for Him. Joseph could have easily hired someone to do this if he wanted it done. He could have ignored it and said “someone else will handle it.” Instead, he chose to humble himself from his high position and prepare Christ for burial. He put his pride behind him and focused instead on what his Savior needed.

So what pride in your life needs crushed? Is it your finances? Your position? Your “poor me” attitude? Something else? Let the power of the Cross crush it this Easter weekend.

It’s overwhelming to think what our Savior endured. It all began that Thursday evening when Christ returned from his passionate, pleading prayer with his Father. Someone Christ had placed into his inner circle, one of only 12 in the world, had betrayed him. Turned his back for money. The guards seized him violently and dragged him back into town to appear before the Sanhedrin. Right as He’s entering this, the most difficult period of his earthly existence, the 11 disciples that were left ran away and denied Him. They hid away in locked rooms while their Lord endured a beating at the hands of his fellow countrymen. He was spat upon. Mocked. Beaten. Lied about. All leading to a false conviction. Crushed.

So He was led before the Roman leaders. Again abused and beaten. After some legal wranglings, He was brought before a tribunal of the Roman leader, Pilate, and an angry mob of Jewish people. Pilate’s wife tried to warn him about Christ’s innocence. Pilate tried to get the people to release Jesus. Instead they stood below and screamed “CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!” Pilate, so distraught at what he was about to do, washed his hands to declare his innocence. Then, subjecting himself to the will of the people, sent Christ away for punishment and crucifixion. Christ’s innocence was crushed.

He was led to a whipping yard. Blindfolded and forced to lean over a post, He could see nothing. Suddenly, the area was filled with the CRACK! of the whip coming down. Shards of glass and stone wallowed their way deep into His flesh. Suddenly, the whip was ripped out of his back, snapping connective sinews clean off. Again the yard was filled with the crack of the soldier’s whip. Each successive time hunks of flesh, muscle, and blood came flying off Christ’s back and into the crowd. He was in such suffering and so dismembered he was barely recognizable as human. His body was crushed.

But that wasn’t all that was in store for Christ this day. The soldiers led him away and shoved a crown made of inches-long thorns into Christ’s skull. He cried out in wails of pain as the thorns drove themselves through flesh and bone alike. They mocked him. They cast lots for his clothing. His spirit was crushed.

Appearing as nothing more than a heap of blood and disemboweled flesh, the guards cast a cross over his back and screamed at him to stand up. He carried it oh so short a distance before he collapsed, weakened and exhausted from the grueling punishment he had received. A bystander named Simon was asked to take up that cross and carry it the rest of the way. They soon found themselves atop a hill just outside of the city, known as Golgotha. Here it was that Christ would breathe His last. Simon lay the cross down, and the soldiers threw Christ’s body upon it. They took massive hammers and nails longer than anyone can imagine and drove them through what was left of his hands and feet. Much like the nail pierced Christ’s muscle and bone, Christ’s cries of pain pierced the area nearby. Christ’s life was crushed.

Even in His suffering, the love of Christ was brilliantly displayed through his actions. A thief being crucified next to him asked, and received, Christ’s forgiveness. He wouldn’t save himself. He loved us too much. He even cried out to his Father, that He might forgive those who had done such horrific things to him. Christ’s human body could be crushed, but His love could never be.

Suddenly a wave of darkness swept over the land. For 3 straight hours this enveloping darkness covered all, leaving just the agonized screams of those being crucified to fill the air. At the strike of 3, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The people whispered and wondered if maybe he was calling Elijah. Suddenly Christ spoke the words, “It is finished,” and breathed his last. All around the city the earth began to quiver and rip open. The curtain in the Temple, the great curtain that separated us from God, ripped in two. Tombs opened up and out walked dead ancestors who entered Jerusalem and spoke with many. Something big had happened. The divide between us and God had been crushed.

Many other things occurred after this. Christ’s Godhood was affirmed. His death was assured. His burial was completed. He had been crushed. So what makes this Friday so “good?” It wasn’t the crushing of Christ. It was the crushing of the divide. It was the crushing of pride. It was the crushing of sin. Our Savior was crushed, out of His mighty love, for you and I. That’s good news.

I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick.

-Akio Toyoda

In some Christian circles making this statement about any kind of ministry would be condemned as outright sacrilege. Surely if we’re growing it’s a good thing, so let’s just keep doing it! Unfortunately, this can’t always be true.

Businesses know this quite well. Take MySpace for example. They experienced explosive growth and hired a ton of people, but hadn’t planned for long-term success and stability. Now, they’re just a speck on the social media radar. Take Toyota as another example. They rapidly expanded their dealer base across the country and built plants and hired people to support this growth. As a result, they had massively increased sales of their products. However while they may have had more customers and more money rolling in, the company’s structure simply wasn’t ready for such a massive influx.

Churches are especially vulnerable to this. We may suddenly see huge growth in numbers and be simply overjoyed. Growth is good, and a sign of a healthy church. It really is a great thing. The trouble comes when suddenly our children’s ministry, already underfunded and understaffed, has suddenly swollen from 50 kids to 250 kids. What do we do now? We can recruit more volunteers, hire more staff, and throw more money into it, absolutely, but all of those things take time. If we need 50 volunteers next Sunday and we’ve only got 20 right now, you can’t train 30 more people in a week. Money and buildings and staff and volunteers and all of these other things can help, but they don’t get at the root of the problem.

The root is structure. Small churches tend to run like, well, small churches. They are set up structurally to be small for the rest of their existence. Ask any strategic planner and they’ll tell you: that just doesn’t work. You don’t buy a house with 1 bedroom if you’re planning to have 15 kids. Yes, you can remodel and add on, but it’s a messy thing trying to rebuild the proverbial “house” while we’re living inside of it. It may work, but your chances of getting frustrated are so much higher.  Yet ministries who want, someday, to have 5000 members still set up like a ministry with 50 members.

Your church, and especially your children’s ministry, must be structured to grow. Always be prepared for an influx of 25 more kids suddenly. Structure things so that as you grow, you’re simply filling in the structure, not rebuilding it.

Magntize- No, it’s not misspelled. But it is awesome. Magntize is a free service that allows you to set up a free personal online profile. Everything about you goes here–websites, pictures, and more. It’s a bit like an online business card.

Movieclips- This one’s rather self explanatory: they have movie clips. The sweet part is that they have movie clips from movies made in this decade unlike a lot of other sites. Finally, a place to show your friends the movie clip you keep quoting. Every 5 seconds.

Standard Theme- Standard Theme is the theme that’s been powering this blog for about the last month. (I was a beta tester.) I must tell you, it is the most powerful, flexible theme I have ever used. Period. And it just launched today.

Yancy Devotional- Preteen music sensation and all around awesome person Yancy launched the companion devotional to her “Rock-N-Happy Heart” CD today. I think you need to check it out.

Overview:

Originality:
Answering this one was tough for me. Matthew is a very unique writer, and everything that he writes is original simply by nature. However, I don’t really feel like Hear No Evil brought anything “new” to the table as far as his writing goes. It was an awesome book, don’t get me wrong, I just think Matthew could have done more as far as his own personal originality.

Overall Readablity:
Do you like to laugh while you read? Then you’ll love Hear No Evil. It’s a great comedy/satire book. It helps to know a little bit about Christian music going into the book, but Matthew’s style of writing is very engaging and makes you want to keep reading.

Outstanding Quotation:

My knowing the difference between a rocker and a Christian rocker is similar to the ability most people possess to distinguish a female from a drag queen. It’s usually obvious, like the plot of a romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey.

- p. 6

Observations:
Hear No Evil is yet another awesome effort from Matthew Paul Turner. He never ceases to reveal things about Christianity and the Christian life to you while still doing it in his own biting humor sort of way. It’s a bit like Mary Poppins: “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down…” You’ll learn things about yourself without even trying. That’s what makes MPT’s writing so powerful. He does a great job of pointing out the little quirks and some downright angering things of the “Christian” music industry- from our faux rockers to our hyper-conservative magazine editors. (Make sure you don’t miss the part near the end regarding CCM and Amy Grant…)

I also feel, on the other hand, that Hear No Evil is more of a sequel to MPT’s book Churched than it’s own book. It’s not marketed as such, but I think it should be. A lot of the humor is a lot funnier if you’ve read Churched. It’s a bit like Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2: the first was amazingly fantastic and one of a kind. The second one had perhaps lost a little bit of it’s “luster” over the first, but it was still great.

Own It:
I think you should- after you buy Churched. Read Churched first, then Hear No Evil. You’ll be laughing for weeks.

O Book Reviews Rating:
4/5 stars

Drumroll please…. I am hereby pleased to announce another EvanDoyle.com GIVEA-YAY! No, I didn’t misspell that. This giveaway is so exciting that I’ve turned it into a givea-yay. Here’s the lowdown:

1. How to enter: Simple. Just leave a comment on this post. Make sure to include your email address so I can get it touch with you if you win!
2. Extra entries: There are three ways to get an extra entry:
   a. Follow me on Twitter. My username is kidzmatter2me. Once you’ve done that, come back here and leave another comment!
   b. Tweet the following: “I’m entering to win a copy of @jesusneedsnewpr’s Hear No Evil from @kidzmatter2me. Enter yourself at http://bit.ly/brrnBn.” Once you’ve done that, come back here and leave another  comment.
   c. Post a link to this page on your Facebook account. Then leave another comment.
3. Rules: You must be at least 18 years old. (Sorry kids.) You must be a resident of the United States. (Sorry Canada.) You must not be a family member. (Sorry Mom.) You must really, really want a copy of Hear No Evil. (Sorry boring people.)

That’s it! Now get commenting, tweeting, Facebooking, and whatever else it is you young-ins do!

If you don’t win the giveaway, you can o-cquire your copy at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Random House

Extremely Boring Yet Legally Required Disclosure:
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Overview:
Crave. I love that word. The analogy the author of Crave, Chris Tomlinson, uses is that of a slightly chubby child with a big spoon and an even bigger tub of ice cream. And he can’t get it in his mouth fast enough. That’s how Chris wants you to see God at the end of this book: you can’t get more of Him fast enough. And I must say that he has done an amazing job of it. Chris uses stories, quotations, and original thoughts to draw you to the place where you want God on a giant spoon.

Originality:
Chris’ book is one of the most original I’ve read in a very, very long time. He uses a unique method of tying images to his big ideas to make some great points. His thoughts on suffering and joy are beautiful. In the originality department, he gets an A+.

Overall Readablity:
Reading Crave is unbelievably easy. He does a good job of breaking up the text with stories, quotes, Scripture, and personal opinion. As with many books for the Christian market, it does assume some background in Christian-ese. And he quotes John Piper, who I find it increasingly hard to take seriously the more I follow @fakejohnpiper on Twitter. So that makes me chuckle at inappropriate moments. Other than that, very readable.

Quotes, recommendations, and more, after the jump!

Outstanding Quotation:

Our craving for happiness and joy is from God. He created us with a craving that longs to be filled. And when we fill this hole with anything but Him, we realize none of it works.

- p. 198

Observations:
As you may have already picked up on, I loved Crave. I honestly think it is one of the best Christian living books published in a long while. It changed the way I look at God. It changed my experiences with him. And I hope that when you read it (which you should), you love it just as much.

That’s not to say I’m all kittens and rainbows about this book though. There are a few places that I disagree with things he says, such as a section about “God’s edges.” But that’s another story entirely which I could rant on for quite some time. However, the rest of his book is so incredibly awesome, I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Own It:
Admittedly, I got my copy for free, but I would have paid the $10 this book costs. Get it. Love it. And if you want to be incredibly sure you want to own it, you can even read the first 3 chapters for free.

O Book Reviews Rating:
4.5/5 stars

Drumroll please…. I am hereby pleased to announce EvanDoyle.com’s first ever GIVEA-YAY! No, I didn’t misspell that. This giveaway is so exciting that I’ve turned it into a givea-yay. Here’s the lowdown:

1. How to enter: Simple. Just leave a comment on this post. Make sure to include your email address so I can get it touch with you if you win!
2. Extra entries: There are three ways to get an extra entry:
   a. Follow me on Twitter. My username is kidzmatter2me. Once you’ve done that, come back here and leave another comment!
   b. Tweet the following: “I’m entering to win a copy of @christomlinson_’s book Crave from @kidzmatter2me. Read a review and enter yourself at http://bit.ly/brrnBn.” Once you’ve done that, come back here and leave another  comment.
   c. Post a link to this page on your Facebook account. Then leave another comment.
3. Rules: You must be at least 18 years old. (Sorry kids.) You must be a resident of the United States. (Sorry Canada.) You must not be a family member. (Sorry Mom.) You must really, really want a copy of Crave. (Sorry boring people.)

That’s it! Now get commenting, tweeting, Facebooking, and whatever else it is you young-ins do!

If you don’t win the giveaway, you can o-cquire your copy at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Extremely Boring Yet Legally Required Disclosure:
I received this book free from Harvest House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Overview:

Originality:
The discussion over whether Free Book is original or not really depends on what kind of original you mean. Is it original in the sense that the things within its pages have never been said before? No. Its basic principles and ideas are straight from the pages of Scripture. Is it original in the sense that the things within its pages haven’t been said enough? Absolutely. We as the church tend to get so caught up in the “dos and don’ts” that we forget the freedom that Christ has brought us. That’s Brian’s whole point. We need more voices like his to speak out and stand for freedom.

Overall Readablity:
There isn’t a lot to be concerned about here, but the book is definitely written to a college-educated audience. It’s not hard to read by any means in the terms of vocabulary used- it’s actually rather easy. There are just a few analogies that Brian employs at times that require some back knowledge of either major religious figures, Bible stories, or philosophers, but nothing that changes your ability to grasp the meaning of the book. It was a very enjoyable read.

Outstanding Quotation:

If you’re focused on maintaining balance–trying to satisfy all the people in every area of your life and just skating by with a little energy here and there–you probably aren’t moving, and you probably aren’t experiencing the blessings that come from a life lived in freedom.

- p. 148

Observations:
Brian isn’t afraid to be brutally honest with you in this book. He shares with you about mistakes he’s made, mistakes a lot of people make, and just generally stupid things people have done. He doesn’t try to beat around the bush. He’s especially clear about this in the third chapter, when he really gets down to defining freedom. He talks about the American definition of freedom, meaning absolute freedom from restrictions. However, he slaps that idea upside the head with his definition: “Freedom requires a decision to follow someone, because freedom is not about your isolation and independence.” Throughout the book he shares personal stories of times when he hasn’t lived life in total freedom. He’s not afraid to show you his true colors.

On the other hand, I think that at times he can take his brutal honesty too far, even to the point of “cliche” Christian honesty. One of the very first of these cliche traps he falls into is on the very first page: pastors who curse to be “cool.” I can’t fully know his intention for it, but seeing as it’s the only time in the entire book that terminology like that is used, it just feels a bit like it’s there more for bragging rights than because it actually makes a point. He also makes repeated reference to drinking beer with his buddies. While I’m not going to get the whole alcohol debate started here, it again feels like it’s more of a “look at me I’m a drinking Christian” show than actually serving to further his point.

All in all though, I think Brian has done a great job with Free Book. He’s spoken a message too many are too scared to proclaim. Freedom.

Own It:
It’s found a permanent place on my shelf, and I think it should on yours too.

O Book Reviews Rating:
3.5/5 stars

O-cquire your copy at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Extremely Boring Yet Legally Required Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

That said, it is still a beta, meaning you may perhaps spot a few glitches here or there. If you do, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to squash them like the annoying little bugs they are. Any other comments about the redesign can be posted in the comments too.