Dean Inserra

I am ready to see Krissie and Tommy.

Story has been a great experience. Thank you to the many at the Well who made this trip possible for me. What an amazing treat!

Lunched at Walter Payton’s Steakhouse. They have an entire room of Payton’s game-used stuff. That was great for a sports histort nerd like me.

Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia: 2 very recent Cleveland players as the starting pitchers in Game 1 of the World Series. I would be PISSED if I was an Indians fan.

Ever noticed that people are too cool in High School to do Halloween, but somehow it becomes a big deal again in College? I guess it is an excuse to get drunk and naked.

This Sunday at the Well we begin our Taboo series. This series will look at War, Money, Sex, (not all at once…that would be weird), and how the Gospel should shape our view of these things.

Some quotes from Story:

“We sit down with the text and ask, ‘what’s in it for me?’ what if it’s just about God?” -Don Miller

“Tell the creation story rather than fighting how long a ‘day’ is.” -Chris Seay

“We must call sin ’sin.’ but we can’t say, “deal with this first, and then we’ll deal with you.’” -Seay

“Everybody wants to reach to people until you start reaching people.” -Ed Young

“There is no correlation between stuff and happiness.” – Michael Hyatt

“We must shift from the behave, believe, belong model to the belong, believe, become understanding.” -Jason Hayes

Greetings from Chicago, Day 2.

Let me begin by saying that I will take stuffed, deep-dish, Chicago pizza over any other style. WOW.

Today I had the awesome opportunity to attend a luncheon held by author/teacher, John Ortberg. He said something that made me give an out loud “wow.” Yes, everyone looked at me.

He said, the way many in the Christian sub-culture view spiritual maturity today allows the Pharisees to win.

DANG.

When someone asks “how we are doing spiritually” (never really know what the means, but it gets asked often), most point to whether or not they are fulfilling tasks (not missing devotionals, staying busy at Church, etc), and avoiding major sins. By those standards, the Pharisees were VERY mature.

Ortberg concluded that the question should be answered in terms of whether or not we are loving like Jesus and having His living water flow out of us.

And…I agree.

I always want to be growing, improving…getting better, at what God has called me to do.

I try and go to a few conferences a year in order to learn from great leaders, and gifted communicators. I just arrived in Chicago and will be attending Story. A group of people from the Well got together and gave me this trip as a gift for our 2 year anniversary. I am very grateful.

I will be checking in throughout the week and letting you in on the great stuff I am learning.

Speaking of, how are you currently growing as a disciple, husband, wife, parent, and employee? We can take the lead from Jesus on this:

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52).

Ready to Trick or Treat with Superman on Saturday and crank up our Taboo series Sunday! Please pray for me as I get exposed to some great stuff, but miss my family a ton.

We did not even get close to answering all of the texts that came in during both of our services yesterday. Here are some quick answers to some of the questions that did not make it to the screen.

How do you “touch no unclean thing and be yoked with those not like you”, but also “become like a jew to reach jews”, how do we reach people?

Follow Jesus. He never stopped being who He was, and part of who He was involved being with the people who were far from him. The “touch no unclean thing” is in the wrong context here concerning our mandate to go into all the World and make disciples.

Is that guy Todd that sings up front “dateable” and if so can I have his number?

He is married. And now…thinks he is the man because of that question.

What does it mean when people say “where 2 or more are gathered there God is also?”

Ahhh. The most taken out of context scripture there is! You will never hear me pray, “Lord, we know you are here with us since two or more are gathered in your midst.” God is everywhere! This passage is from Matthew 18 and concerns handling conflict with another believer. Meaning, if you do it God’s way, go by the steps He instructed…He will be a part of it.

Isn’t twilight and Harry Potter evil?

No clue. Never seen or read them. I am a guy, like sports, and was not picked last in kickball.

Death penalty or not?

Not sure. I am still wrestling with where I stand with this.

Why do you believe that although there is not “segregation” in this country, the church remains essentially segregated?

This is very sad and I think about it often. Cultural issues (legit) play a large part, racism still exists (for all races), and I also think it is hard to bridge the gap unless you start your Church with a diverse launch team in terms of race.

Would love to see us be different in this area.

Wildcat formation: more or less revolutionary than the snuggie?

Less. It is the single wing. High Schools have been running it for years. At least the Dolphins put wrinkles in it.

If we find human life on some distant planet. Does that negate the existence of God?

No. Not sure why it would.

Is homosexuality a sin, or just gay sex?

Lust is lust. Same-sex or not.  Sex is for married people. Scripture defines marriage as between a man and a woman. So to answer the question…more about the sex. This applies to all unmarried people. Not a gay/straight issue.

Often times as a christian when dating a girl with conflicting morals i feel like i can change her. Am i wasting my time?

Yes. Not really sure what you actually see in the people you date if you have “conflicting morals.” Besides, the issue will be heart change rather than behavioral change. That is out of your hands dude.

What a crazy weekend!

On Friday I flew to Detroit to perform the wedding ceremony for Wayne and Jenny Mayo in Marysville, Michigan. That place was beautiful. It was also freezing.

I woke up Sunday morning at 3:15am to catch a flight back to Tallahassee to be at the Well for You Pick Live at 11:05am. I walked into the auditorium at 11:15. Talk about cutting it close to when it was my time to speak.

My friend Johnny Carr, from Bethany Adoption and Orphan Care was on the couch today and pretty much rocked everyone’s world.

The live texting was a blast. I got asked anything from “Why do men have nipples, to “Can women be Pastors and what about someone who was never heard of Jesus?” It is not easy to answer those rapid fire, but it seemed to be a good experience for the folks at both services.

I am whipped. Going to take the day tomorrow to hang with Krissie and Tommy.

Our new series, Taboo, starts next week. It is going to be a whole new world of topics for us at the Well. Please bring a friend!

Top 5

1. Florida

2. Texas

3. Bama

4. Cincy

5. Iowa