All posts in Ramblings

• GGGGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #worldcup #usa #
• Nice work today #GHA Thanks for being exciting #USA maybe next yea…. i mean 4 years from now…. #
• For a long time in my life, I thought that a copywriter was someone who dealt with copyrights. Odd. #
• thought: Youth Ministry Links – Jonathan McKee drops an information bomb concerning the perception of how & where te… http://ow.ly/17UKgv #
• thought: on this date in 2009 – on this date in 2009, I got married to Allie. Best decision ever. But i fell in love… http://ow.ly/17UKgx #
• NT Wright calls blogging & social media “cultural masturbation.” (and i think he’s right). http://ow.ly/249QX #
• After watching this video, I’m not sure why you’d use screens for your sunday morning projectors?http://vimeo.com/5779382 #
• Just worked up the twit-esticular fortitude to unfollow a super popular tweeter. Big day for me. #
• Photo: Thai Burrito at Northstar Cafe http://tumblr.com/xfdcdhg4l #
• “Come my lady. Come come my lady. you’re my butterfly, sugar, baby.” – sang by my wife as she falls asleep – #
• thought: Leonard Sweet on Reading Scripture – Too often we memorized Bible verses, but not Bible stories. Too often … http://ow.ly/17VCw5 #
• thought: christian-eze annoys some people (or why I have 2 twitter accounts) http://ow.ly/17VCw7 #
• Just got 4 recommendations on LinkedIN. Cool. http://www.linkedin.com/in/alehman #
• Photo: Best pizza in Columbus http://tumblr.com/xfdceu5h7 #
• Photo: Dope pizza at Bono’s. http://tumblr.com/xfdcfdy00 #
• Rarely do I make a big enough deal about Jesus. #
• mnmlist : less http://mnmlist.com/less/ #
• Photo: Bono’s Pizza makes tasty crepes. http://tumblr.com/xfdcfyqma #
• I hit level 7 in #GodFinger http://bit.ly/8YIVAr #
• I got ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in #GodFinger http://bit.ly/8YIVAr http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31766955&id=179200331 #
• Photo: Food of the gods. http://tumblr.com/xfdcggisq #
• thought: A video that reminds me of the people I’m surrounded by http://ow.ly/17WwTf #
• Awesome video of world getting destroyed by atari games http://ow.ly/25ckJ (@8bit, you’ll love it) #
• Ministry types: Mars Hill has openings in Children & High School Ministry roles (3 separate positions) http://ow.ly/25qX2 #
• Isn’t it weird that our – church workers – income is from tithes? Makes me feel odd… #
• Meeting with a guy who often offers me a job. I’m not shaving to make myself less appealing…. #
• I just reviewed my own website. You can do the same. Any suggestions? http://www.bounceapp.com/6626 #
• SlideShare presentation : 6 ways to guarantee a lousy fall http://slidesha.re/atKlzc #
• RT @RELEVANTMag RELEVANT Magazine – Josh Garrels http://bit.ly/90Q2lT #
• RT @churchdrop An Entire Movie on the iPhone 4 | ChurchDrop http://bit.ly/8Ym1Oz #

With my current twitter feed, I’ve tried to focus on connecting with 2 groups of people: church leaders & those in my city (Columbus, OH).

This is pretty hard to connect. Lots of my tweets are connected to church & youth ministry & whatnot. And I’m pretty sure this annoys a solid group of people from Columbus who MIGHT OTHERWISE connect with me. Also, I’m sure LOTS of church peeps don’t give a rip about my Columbus-centric tweets.

So I started another twitter account (@AdaminColumbus) and I’ll soon be launching another blog (AdaminColumbus.com).

Theoretically, this should help make both spaces much more engaging and interesting for their perspective audiences. Also, it will help me use social media without freaking out anyone from either camp.

Maybe this is dumb, but maybe it’s awesome…

Adam & Allie Lehman

on this date in 2009, I got married to Allie. Best decision ever.

But i fell in love with her long before that and I’ve grown to love her more ever since.

She’s the best.

When I was in 8th grade I decided I wanted to be a youth pastor. At the time my dad was a self-employed hog farmer.

Before I could even get to college my dad beat me to my dream job and he’s been one heck of a workhorse in the Jr. High Ministry world.

You won’t find his name if you google him, he hasn’t written a book & I don’t think he’ll be making his rounds in the youth ministry-speaking circuit ever.

Bu that’s because he’s too busy working his @$$ off DOING ministry (not just talking about it), planting trees & being an awesome father/husband/man.

Nice work pops. Happy Father’s Day.

(remember when you used to run a video camera the whole time while skiing down a ski slope and yelling “SWEET!” millions of times? We’re gonna show that video at your funeral or something.)

Sometimes – I believe – God blesses people in very specific ways. Cancer being eradicated, checks showing up in the mail, lost people being found, drug addictions being conquered, losers (like myself) getting hooked up with incredible wives. All instances of unexplained favor of God.

But othertimes…

I think God allows us to set ourself up for future blessing. I’ll explain.

About a year ago, my wife and I started going through Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. The day we got back from our honeymoon was the last day we’ve ever used credit. Since then we’ve built up a small emergency fund & paid off her car super-aggressively. Huge blessings.

We still spend money poorly at times & sometimes we still struggle to pay bills on time.

But yesterday – on our car ride home from a North Carolina vacation – our car started making weird sounds. We took it to a shop and realized that we’d be out $1000 due to the breaking of some fluid line and the ensuing damage to our breaks and whatnot.

Now – the car shop may have been screwing us on the price & the damage may not have been as bad as they said (though I think it was) – but because we started attempting to be faithful with the stuff God put in our hands – we were able to use some of our emergency money and just pay for the car to get fixed. Before I was married, paying for anything costing over $200 was impossible.

I always had my credit cards (note: plural) maxed out and had VERY little money in the bank. Paying bills was always stressful (if not impossible).

Our experience yesterday was a tremendous blessing from God, not because the almighty dropped an envelope with cash from the sky, but because he’s been blessing us in small amounts throughout the past year and instead of squandering those bits of grace, we’ve been treasuring them.

Everyone of us lives with a connectedness.
And that connectedness effects us. Big time.

Did you know that obesity spreads like the flu?
You can – in a sense – catch and transmit obesity. If your closest friends are obese, you’re 60% more likely to be obese.
There are a lot of reasons this could be true, and we could debate them. But you cannot debate the correlation.

Did you know that upon the death of a spouse, an individual’s becomes 57% more likely to die than if their spouse were still alive?
Again, the exact, specific reasons for this aren’t crystal clear, but the correlation is still there.

If you’re surrounded by a group of people who are generous and give of their money, time & skills, you’re WAY more likely to take part in the exact kind of behavior.

Generosity is – in a sense – contagious.

We are created with an interconnectedness. We were hard-wired for relationships.
Interconnectedness is hard to measure and explain.
But the correlation is really hard to miss.

When Adam & Eve sinned, they were sentenced to death.
And way too many of us don’t really believe that they were.
We read the story and think that God took it easy on them by not striking them “dead” on the spot.
But he did.

From the way we’ve been created, death isn’t just a chronological event. It isn’t just the last day our heart beats…
For humanity, death is seperation. Death is a disruption to the innerconnectedness which so obviously pumps “life” into much of who we are.
Without interconnectedness, we’re nothing. We’re robots. We’re merely a shell of the creature we were made to be.

Think about it.
All of the senses. Taste. Touch. Smell. Site. Hearing.
They’re all a way to perceive others. They’re all a way to begin, sustain, fix & grow our interconnectedness.

Jesus prayed that once he was gone, his followers would be united.
I don’t think that prayer for our unity was just about us all getting along.
I think it was a prayer that we’d experience a life of such deep & abundent connection.

**For more, check out this video.

It’s my wife’s – Allison Rose Lehman – birthday.

Celebrate her.

on facebook.

or twitter

or her blog

or her website.

(and if you’re into it, you’re invited to be apart of a long running inside joke)

My dad works with this guy. This guy has a son. The son has a big head. Watch and enjoy.

(Also. If I were designing shirts for babies, I’d make the opening for their head much wider…)

To watch the video: click here.

It’s been an exciting time for my wife and I lately. Here’s what’s been going down:

• My wife, Allie, has been recently been hired by Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources as an layout design artist. My prediction: the Ohio State fair might be a little more beautiful this year…

• My wife and I will be moving – in 2 days! – to our new apartment. This will turn our commute to our church from 25 minutes to 8 minutes. We’ve hated not being able to have students over to our house with the frequency we’d like and also feeling a bit “out-of-touch” with the community we’re serving in.

• I spent the past weekend visiting with my In-Laws. They’ve got a pretty incredible coming-of-age ritual for the males when they turn 17. I was honored to get to share some words of wisdom with my brother-in-law. Great stuff.

• I’m throwing together some of the final touches on the summer calender for our student ministry. It’s gonna be a good time…

I love you guys.

Just wanted to let you know.

If you need anything, don’t hesitate to get ahold of me. Have an awesome Monday.

Grace & Peace
Adam