the reluctant leader

Top 10 Christmas Movies

Getting in the Christmas spirit is easy in the Philippines, because we hear Christmas music and see Christmas decorations starting in September. So, for those of you not in the land of eternal Christmas, who need help getting into the spirit of the season, I suggest watching a Christmas classic. Here are my current top 10:

10. Jingle All the Way (1996) - Sinbad goes postal.

9. Die Hard (1988) - Some doubt this is a C'mas movie, but the whole thing took place during an office Christmas party.

8. White Christmas (1954) - I'm still dreaming.

7. Elf (2003) - Opening scene with Sr Elf, Bob Newhart, reading the intro story is worth the price of the DVD.

6. Home Alone (1990)- The "Wet Bandits" are some of the best bad guys ever.

5. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) - Black and white classic that never gets old.
 
4. The Nativity Story (2006) - The REAL story of Christmas.

3. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - A new addition to my list. Had not seen this one for about 30 yrs, until last year. Wish they still made them like this. Special bonus: one of my fav soundtracks ever. Schroeder plays a mean piano.

2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - another B&W classic. The color version does not make my top 10.

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - THE Christmas classic of all Christmas classics.

What's on your list?

Thanksgiving '09 Top Ten List

Thanksgiving. America's national day of gluttony. And football. And family reunions.
I'm visiting the family - brothers & sisters, in-laws, cousins - at the Murrell family lake house in Mississippi.

Here’s my 2009 top ten Thanksgiving Day list:
 
1.   My Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ
2.   My wife
3.   My 3 sons
4.   My parents - both deceased
5.   My friends all over the world - mostly alive
6.   My home churches - Victory-Manila, Bethel-Nashville
7.   My job - Every Nation Churches & Ministries
8.   My U.S. passport
9.   My Philippine Permanent Resident card
10. My 1200GS - finally!
 
What are you most thankful for?

Tuesday Top 10 - Best Universities in the World

Today's Top 10 List is inspired by my son's search for the perfect grad school.
Here they are, the best universities in the world, according to TopUniversities.com

10. Columbia University, USA

9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA 

8. The University of Chicago, USA

7. University College London, UK

6. Imperial College London, UK 

5. California Institute of Technology, USA 

4. University of Oxford, UK

3. University of Cambridge, UK

2. Yale University, USA 

1. Harvard University, USA

NOTE: This list is obviously flawed, since they left Mississippi State University off.

- Do the graduates from these top 10 have a better chance of success than the others?
- Is it worth the money to send your kids to "top" universities rather than middle or bottom universities?
- When will we have campus missionaries on all of these campuses? Who will go? 

Tues Top 10 List - Unanswerable Questions

Saw this on Mark Conner’s blog a few weeks ago…

10. Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin?

9. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

8. Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

7. Why is the person who invests money for you called a "broker"?

6. Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called "rush hour"?

5. Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

4. If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the “terminal”?

3. Can you cry under water?

2. Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

1. How do "please keep off the grass" signs get there?

Got any answers to the above?
Heard any unanswerable questions lately?

Tues Top 10 List - Boracay Vacation

After a week in Boracay with my wife and 3 sons (and no cell phone and no blogs or tweets or flutters) listening to the waves, breathing fresh air and basically doing nothing - I felt like I woke up Monday morning, not only on a different island, but on a different planet.

I’m once again breathing “air” that I can taste, and waking up, not to the heavenly sounds of the ocean crashing on the beach outside our door, but to the hellish sounds of Jeepney horns and police whistles.

Here’s my Boracay ‘09 vacation top 10 list:

10. White sand

9. Blue water

8. Green plants - don’t see too many of these in the city

7. Reading meaningless mind-numbing novels

6. No cell phone – mine drowned in the rain on the 2nd day, and I didn’t miss it at all

5. Sleeping ‘til I’m finished 

4. Big waves - that’s what a beach is all about and that’s why my fam loves the beach during rainy season

3. Being outside all day – we’re not really an indoor family

2. Rest - don’t know why I resist it so much since it was God’s idea in the beginning, wasn’t it?

1. Family – not sure how it is with your fam, but we kinda like each other and love hanging out together, esp in Boracay!

What do you like about vacation?

Tues Top 10 List - Why Young Adults Drop Out of Church

Posted something like this a few months ago. But I found this cool chart on Dr E. "Slim" Stetzer's website and couldn't stop thinking about how to re-reach these drop outs.

Slim Stetzer is a stat-master, and friend of Every Nation. He usually knows what he's talking about.

So, in case you were wondering what happened to all those young adults (18-30 year-olds), here's why they left your church:

TUES TOP 10 LIST - Highest Paid Athletes

This Tuesday Top 10 List was inspired by two great weekend athletic events: Wimbledon and Nathan's Famous Hotdog Eating Contest. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut defended his world gluttony title by swallowing 68 hotdogs in 10 minutes, and Andy Roddick almost beat Roger Fed in the Wimbledon finals. Almost beating Roger is about as good as it gets, unless you are a Spanish lefty with freakish topspin.

While i was thinking about my new American sports heroes, Joey and Andy, I stumbled on Sports Illustrated's latest ranking of the higest paid non-Amr athletes, and the SI highest paid American athletes.

So, here they are, some of the highest paid people in the world:

10. Kevin Garnett
American Basketball Player
$34,750,000

9. Shaquille O'Neal
American Basketball Player
$35,000,000

8. Alex Rodriguez
American Baseball Player
$39,000,000

7. Lionel Messi
Argentinian Footballer in Barcelona
$39,900,000

6. Manny Pacquiao
Filipino Boxer
$40,000,000

5. Kimi Räikkönen
Finish Auto Racer
$40,100,000

4. David Beckham
British Soccer Player in Los Angeles
$45,200,000

3. LeBron James
American Basketball Player
$42,410,581

2. Phil Mickelson
American Golfer
$52,950,356

1. Tiger Woods
American Golfer
$99,737,626

COMMENTS:
- All amounts above are combo of athletic earnings plus product endorsements
- Gambling winnings and birthday cash not included
- Who the heck is Kimi Räikkönen? Anybody ever heard of him/her?
- Manny Pacquaio - too tough, too strong, too fast! He's da man!
- "To whom much is given, much is required" -- Jesus (Luke 12:48)

Tuesday Top 10 – Largest Muslim Populations

The eyes of the world have been on Iran and the violence and chaos following their election. As you tune into the news reports, I hope you watch and pray for millions of Muslims to come to faith in Christ.

As you you pray for the world, here are the 10 nations with the largest Muslim populations.

10. Morocco - 27,736,000 Muslims

9. Algeria - 30,442,000 Muslims

8. Nigeria - 49,000,000 Muslims (EN)

7. Egypt - 57,780,000 Muslims (EN)

6. Iran - 64,707,000 Muslims (EN)

5. Turkey - 64,714,000 Muslims (EN)

4. Bangladesh - 110,849,000 Muslims (EN)

3. Indonesia - 116,105,000 Muslims

2. India - 122,570,000 Muslims (EN)

1. Pakistan - 150,365,000 Muslims

The (EN) symbol indicates nations with Every Nation churches, missionaries, church planters, and/or campus ministers.

Who will "go and make disciples" in Pakistan, Indonesia, Algeria, Morocco and the rest of the Muslim nations in the world?

Above info from mapsofworld.com

Tues Top 10 List - Rich Nations

Last week i posted a blog about the 10 poorest nations in the world.
Here's the logical follow-up: the richest 10 nations in the world, with GDP per capita in US$

10. Equatorial Guinea $44,100 - where?

9. Ireland $45,600 - "It's my island"

8. USA $46,000 - "we're #8!"

7. Singapore $48,900 - richer than America

6. UAE $55,200 - indoor snow skiing in the desert - only in Dubai!

5. Kuwait $55,300 - richer than USA and UAE

4. Norway $55,600 - rich, but it's frozen all yr

3. Bermuda $69,900 - rich, but the B triangle is like the hotel calif...

2. Qatar $75,900 - richer than USA, UAE & Sing

1. Luxembourg $80,800 - both residents make $80K

from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked -- LK 12:38

Tues Top 10 List - World's Poorest Nations

Poorest 10 nations in the world, with GDP per capita in US$:

10. Central African Republic - $700
9. Ethiopia - $700
8. Niger - $700
7. Solomon Islands - $600
6. Comoros - $600
5. Somalia - $600
4. Guinea-Bissau - $600
3. Liberia - $500
2. Zimbabwe - $500
1. Democratic Republic of Congo - $300

Religious people seem to be obsessed with "getting the anointing" or at least getting around people they perceive to be anointed. They flock to crusades and send money to TV preachers to get that elusive mystical modern version of the anointing. In reality it's not that complicated, elusive or expensive. Here's Jesus' explaining how He got the anointing:

 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, Because he anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor (Luke 4:18)

If you want the anointing - the one Jesus had - try ministering to the poor. (But if you are content with the modern version of the anointing, just place your hand on the screen, repeat after me or send in your best love offering.)

- Observation: 9 of the 10 poorest nations in the world are in Africa

- Note: we currently have Every Nation missionaries, church planters or established churches in 3 of the poorest - Zimbabwe & DRC, plus we start in Liberia next month.

- Question: Who will go to the other poor nations of the world?

- Answer: Here i am Lord, send someone else, or send me?

- Source: mapsofworld.com