Expose the Matrix w/ Jess Bousa's Forthcoming Book: Cultural-Deficit Disorder

After the Miss America Pageant crowns the winner, what happens to the definition of beauty in today’s culture? TV shows are cultural artifacts, which give an answer to a question. The question the Miss America Pageant answers each year is, what is beauty? The winner is the answer with her whitened teeth, breast implants, nose job and more. Her image distorts the already distorted definition of beauty.

How has cultural artifacts influence the way you view yourself, others and God?

Jess Bousa’s forthcoming book, Cultural-Deficit Disorder: Unconforming to the Patterns of this World, shows you how to expose the cultural matrix influencing why you do and think what you do and think. If you do not exert pressure on the cultural forces (i.e. movies, music, TV, technology, etc.) at work around you, then you will conform to them. Responsibly questioning what’s often ignorantly accepted and unconforming to the destructive patterns in culture unlocks the matrix and liberates you from patterns not conductive to spiritual growth.

Download a talk I gave at Valley Forge Christian College’s (Phoenixville, PA) Youth Culture on “Cultural Exegesis: Decoding the Cultural Matrix” @

https://docs.google.com/a/gardencitychurch.net/fileview?id=0B4_rGJowYl1TZTdlMTBjNTEtZGU0My00YTE4LTliOGYtY2ZjN2RhYTI3MWIx&hl=en

Follow the Jess Bousa Facebook Fan page for the latest on the book (i.e. release date, pre-order deals, speaking engagements, etc.) @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jess-Bousa/168542879898

Follow the “Expose the Matrix” blog series @ www.exposethematrix.com

The blog topics include, but not limited too:

· Do I have Cultural-Deficit Disorder (CDD)?

· Why does sex sell so well?

· Is Reality TV really real?

· Should I get plastic surgery?

Download FREE resources or PURCHASE “The Discipleship Dare: Living Dangerously for God" @ http://thediscipleshipdare.com/

The Dust Has Not Settled @ Calvary in Dover, Delaware (The Discipleship Dare)!

The dust has not settled at Calvary AG Church in Dover, Delaware. It has been 8 weeks since they launched 40 days of Discipleship w/ Jess Bousa (author of "The Discipleship Dare) who dared the congregation to make discipleship a priority (1/3/2010).

The Discipleship Dare (http://thediscipleshipdare.com/) is still alive and well @ Calvary. They are still starting groups using the book as a tool. They are still leading classes based on the book. It's amazing to see what God has been doing there. Below is a report from the field by Angela Coon, the senior pastor's wife, who bleeds discipleship!

First read the press release about Calvary's numeric and spiritual growth w/ The Discipleship Dare titled: "Popping the Discipleship Lid Off Your Church @ https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4_rGJowYl1TMGYzYmExOGQtYmI5Yy00YjMyLWIzNmYtYzdiMGEwZmQyMzUy&hl=en

Angela Coon said, "The dust hasn't settled yet. We're still doing our [The Discipleship Dare] class until the end of March because of the two weeks lost to snow and one to a rescheduled Business meeting. We had a great class today -- God really moved. It began with a marvelous testimony of God's provision -- we couldn't help but take time to Praise the Lord. Then the presence of the Lord just manifested himself in a mighty way and one guy went to the piano and started playing "Here in His Presence" and we started singing it. Then as it quieted down to a hush people were led to pray. There was weeping and interceding. It was so neat.

We were on "The Commissioning of a Disciple." We had 20 minutes left so we discussed "Worship" and "The Presence of God." It’s like we experienced a couple of the chapters, really neat. We had great services today too. WOW! What a presence of the Lord in the services and Pastors sermon really hit it home. It was the second part of a two-week sermon on the Vision of the church. Once again discipleship was front and center. It’s exciting to see what is happening.

People are still buying [The Discipleship Dare] books and starting groups of their own or doing it one on one. One guy told me today that he was mad at the book. (Seriously). He said, “it just shows how far off we Christians are in how we're really supposed to be” -- myself included. It's seems to really be challenging them to rethink the comfortable place they have been in.

I hope the dust is never settled. I hope we never settle for anything less than living life as a disciple and making disciples as a lifestyle. God is moving and He is faithful. He has promised that He will do it, so I'm watching and expecting and seeing results. Praise God."

The Discipleship Dare @ Grace (Bel Air, MD) Day #11 - Comfort

(Join the pastors of Grace as we post "Facebook Notes" (& blogs) for our 40 days of discipleship. Please interact with these notes (& blogs). They are based on the book: The Discipleship Dare: Living Dangerously for God - http://thediscipleshipdare.com/ - we are reading together as a church.)

Hope changes everything. I recently spoke hope into a hopeless situation. This opened this person to the light. Not to say she is out of the darkness, but she sees something better. This something is drawing her to the light.

Offering someone hope is the first step when comforting pain. It's the realization that things can be better that changes everything. Have you spoke hope into a hopeless situation lately? Who around has given up on life?

Do not live another day without identifying and investing into that person's life. You can be the difference between living the next 20 years hopelessly lost. Help people see the light. Speak hope into their lives. It's the first step of comforting pain.

The Discipleship Dare @ Grace (Bel Air, MD) Day #10 - Kingdom of Heaven

(Join the pastors of Grace as we post "Facebook Notes" (& blogs) for our 40 days of discipleship. Please interact with these notes (& blogs). They are based on the book: The Discipleship Dare: Living Dangerously for God - http://thediscipleshipdare.com/ - we are reading together as a church.)

There is another value system God's people adopt when they become children of God. They are values that go against the grain often in culture. They are often diabolically opposed to the things today's popular culture values.

(1) The Kingdom values generosity where as the world values greed.

(2) The Kingdom values love whereas the world values lust.

(2) The Kingdom values selflessness whereas the world values selfishness.

(4) Ect.

Living out kingdom values often feels like you are swimming up stream. Everything else is saying go this way when God says go the opposite way. It's those moments when you are swimming up stream that your life has the greatest impact. Sometimes the impact might not be taken as positively. But its not our job to determine how people will interrupt our actions. It's our job to live out the kingdom values wherever we are.

Don't miss an opportunity to represent Kingdom values. You never know when someone is looking for God in the way you act.

The Discipleship Dare @ Grace (Bel Air, MD) Day #9 - Poor in Spirit

(Join the pastors of Grace as we post "Facebook Notes" (& blogs) for our 40 days of discipleship. Please interact with these notes (& blogs). They are based on the book: The Discipleship Dare: Living Dangerously for God - http://thediscipleshipdare.com/ - we are reading together as a church.)

I can identify with the Israelite's who were destroyed by the Babylonians. They lost everything. In exile, they did not have their Temple or the sacrificial system to rely on. They lost all of their spiritual currency. They were spiritually bankrupt. They could only rely on God Himself.

What a place to be, a place where we have to completely rely on God. Sometimes there will be seasons in life where our talents, skills and past performance will not be sufficient. We need to rely only on God Himself for our daily needs. I need God today more than I ever needed him before.

As Liz and I are beginning the journey to start a new church from scratch, I can't rely on the last things God did for us in our previous place of ministry. We need God more today than before. We can't depend on our old spiritual accomplishments, but on God himself. Only when we are broke spiritually will we experience the richness of God.

I would rather be spiritually bankrupt than momentarily rich any day of the week. I want to depend on God more than trust in wordily riches less. Yesterdays anointing will not suffice. I need today's anointing more than I needed yesterdays. How about you?

The Discipleship Dare @ Grace in Bel Air, MD - Day #8 - Blessed

(Join the pastors of Grace as we post "Facebook Notes" (& blogs) for our 40 days of discipleship. Please interact with these notes (& blogs). They are based on the book: The Discipleship Dare: Living Dangerously for God - http://thediscipleshipdare.com/ - we are reading together as a church.)

I remember someone telling me friends are like elevators. They will either bring you up or down. This tells me that you become like the people around you. It is so true.

I don't think I am the only person that has been told that if I would jump off a bridge if everyone else was. There is something about conforming to the actions of people around us. When we model other people's behaviors, we adopt the attitudes associated with the actions.

Jesus challenges his followers to hang around people who live out the sermon on the mount. He knows people who conform to these teachings will become people of godly character. Are you a person of godly character? Or are you a person of wordily character? Does your life measure up to Jesus' teachings in the sermon on the mount?

The most blessed people on the planet do not seek more cash but better character. The blessing is living in a community that's focused on developing godly character. Are you rubbing shoulders with people of godly character? Who is shaping your character?

The people who have the most influence over my life are people of godly character. I spend time with them. I watch them. I focus on their attitudes and actions. I learn from them. I live like them.