One Christian's Journey

Time for Change?

2009-06-02T21:53:00.002-04:00

I am considering a new blog. You can check it out at http://breakingthrough.tumblr.com/ and let me know what you think. Be sure to read why I am thinking of changing. What needs challenged/change in your life?

More thoughts for young leaders from Ed Young

2009-06-02T12:05:00.000-04:00

The Cussing Pastor

Advice from Pros

2009-06-02T05:44:00.002-04:00

As a young preacher, I actively look for and soak in as much advice from more experienced preachers and pastors as I can. And I am thankful when they share. James MacDonald is someone I have a lot of respect for and he shares a few tips for young preachers here.

If you've got experience, who are you sharing it with?

Inside Out Living

2009-06-01T11:14:00.002-04:00

I just finished my first ever sermon series. It was a three-parter that was entitled "Inside Out Living." It was a great series to be a part of and to see how it impacted people. Here's the short version: we are to have three priorities in life: #1 is a relationship with God, #2 is our family, and #3 is community. We talked about one priority each week. The first week I focused on John 15, in which Jesus says "you must remain in Me, apart from Me you can do nothing." God has invited us to have a 24/7 personal, deep, relationship with Him - and if we don't have that as our first priority in life, everything else will be more difficult. Our other relationships will be more difficult, coping with stress and trials will be more difficult - because we will not have a solid foundation built under us to support and strengthen the other areas of our life. I invited folks to try using a watch or cellphone (something that will beep on the hour) to remind them every hour just to notice God's presence with them, as a way to begin remaining in God. Brother Lawrence called it practicing the presence of God.

In week 2, we explored the family. Our family is to be our next highest priority - above all else besides our relationship with God. We talked about how important it is to make our marriage a priority, and I shared my own story of struggling with that (from one of my previous posts entitled "Quality Time." This resonated with quite a few people. Why do we assume no one else is struggling and that everyone else does marriage without any effort? EVERY marriage relationship takes a ton of TIME and COMMITMENT, as well as a lot of love. We also talked about how raising your kids needs to be a priority as well (in front of hanging with friends, golfing, etc.). As a family, we have to plan God into our everyday lives. Deuteronomy 6:4-7 tells us that we should impress God's commandments upon our children and discuss them at all times. It should be a part of the family's life (how we spend time, how we use our finances, maybe setting up family values). Healthy, functional families are incredibly important in this day and age, and both the aspects of marriage and raising our kids right have to be a priority.
The final week, we talked about community, or in essence everyone else. As a corporate body, we the Church have a responsibility to build community. Acts 2:42-47 tell us what that looked like in the early church - they spent all their time TOGETHER, and they shared every good thing they had with anyone in need. The 2 results were that they found favor in the eyes of all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily. If we want similar results, we have to adopt a similar desire to come together to help people. There is SO much more that every church could be doing, without a tremendous effort. And when we are not invested in helping those who are hurting, addicted, and lonely in the community, we are essentially saying "You don't matter, and I don't care." Jesus said "if you want to be great, you have to be the servant of all." As they did in Acts, we must serve others in our community, and that is what will make our church something special. Also, as individuals and families, we need to make community a priority too, and we do that by committing to missional living. This means being intentional in what you do every day. Getting to know people in your neighborhood, at work, at the coffee shop, building relationships with them, praying for opportunities to help and to have discussions - not just living every day for yourself, but for others.

Our jobs are important, as are many other things in life - but those other things CANNOT take PRIORITY over God, Family, and Community. When we cram other things into those priority slots, our worlds get messed up. If you have more than 3 priorities, you have no priorities. Inside Out Living works like this - it begins on the inside with that relationship with God, but it isn't meant to stop there. We have to begin to bring that out into the rest of the areas of our lives and show people every day the difference it makes to us. Later on in Acts, those folks were not known as Christians, but as The Way. The reason for this is because they didn't just believe in a set of principles, they had a unique and entirely different way of life that stood in contradiction to the mainstream culture. Are you just a Christian or are you following The Way?

Sermon Prep - In the Trenches

2009-05-28T10:17:00.004-04:00

As I have gone through life, especially in the last 5 years, I have grown more and more confident that God IS out there, and He IS involved in my life directly. There have been so many "coincidences" that I just can't call them that anymore. The sermon series that I am working on right now has been an amazing experience. The first week I was struggling to get my direction for my first sermon. I had a lot of stuff gathered in front of me, but it just wasn't coming together. I did something I've never done before - I literally got down on my knees, bowed down and said "OK God, I NEED your message, and I'm not getting up from here until I have it. What do they need to hear You say tomorrow?" And I stayed there for a while. Eventually I heard "Remain in Me" and knew I had finally found my direction. I got up and prepared my sermon.

I struggled the day of that first sermon and was attacked with thoughts/ideas of me having bombed the sermon and being a loser - to the point that I didn't even want to preach the second service. But I worked through it, finished the day, but felt lousy. I have told myself and others many times - if I know I preached what God wanted me to, that's all I need to feel satisfied. But, this week, for the first time in a long time - not one single person said a positive or encouraging word to me after the services. No one! It was silent. People were talking, but no one approached me at all. For the first time, I had to deal with whether I really believed what I said - if I did what I know God wanted me to, am I really ok if no one responds in any way? It was TOUGH.

I struggled to get back on track for the next week's sermon, but once I began thinking through it and spending a little time with it, I was totally re-energized for the message of this series. God lifted me up and helped me know that I WAS on track, and it didn't matter what people said or not. The second sermon was delivered and a lot of people were positively affected by it and told me so. Coincidently, after my second sermon, several people told me how much they got out of my last sermon. One person even said - I meant to call you this week and tell you, but I just didn't. I think God was preventing that so I could work through it the way I needed to. Momentum is picking up now, and I KNOW I'm on target with this series and I am so thankful to be used by God in this.

I began last night preparing the final sermon in this series. As soon as I sat down, several key things came together with an awesome passage of Scripture, and even some things I was working on several years ago are going to play in huge with this week's message. I put together a rough 4 pages last night almost effortlessly. I got some key phrasing in place to tie the whole series together really well. The Holy Spirit is really carrying me now. I am SO excited to wrap this up - not because it will be over, but to see it come to completion. I got up today and looked again at the Scripture passage I'll be using this week - love it! I got to work today, turned on iTunes to listen to some sermons while I work today (normal habit). I went to Elevation Church podcast from two weeks ago - the Scripture he's preaching on is the very same one I'll be preaching on this week!

I don't enjoy preaching for me, but I can say that I am SO blessed to be allowed to do it, and I enjoy more than I can explain watching God work in my life to prepare messages in me. If I ever used to doubt his direct involvement in my life, I don't anymore. The key is to keep allowing it to be His leading and not moving to far forward on my own. Any of this resonate with you other pastors/leaders out there?

Jon and Kate: A Case Study

2009-05-26T21:56:00.002-04:00

I've been preaching through a sermon series called "Inside Out Living" and the basic premise is this: You have 3 priorities. God first. Marriage and family next. Everyone else. This past week, I preached on the family. I shared a personal story (from my blog a couple weeks ago) about how my marriage was struggling because we hadn't made it a priority, and how difficult it is with busy schedules, and children, etc. Thankfully, God helped both of us see the path we were headed down and we got things turned around and are kind of doing a self-counseling thing together now by going through the book "The Love Dare" - HIGHLY recommend it to ANY couple! As I shared and really pushed the idea that a relationship with God MUST be your first priority in life, and right behind that your relationship with your spouse, and right behind that your relationship with your kids - then comes everyone else. I then spoke to the fact that you have to put tons of time and commitment into your marriage, as just loving someone may not be enough - as my wife and I never stopped loving one another, but weren't spending enough quality time together. I had a lot of young folks coming up saying things like, "good to know we're not alone" and "I'm in the same situation you were/are." There are tons of people out there who are struggling in their marriage relationship and they have no idea why.

Enter Jon and Kate. They have been smeared all over the tabloids and internet for months now. They were the happy little, or is it big, family that even went to church on TV at first. Now, tonight was the season premiere and they never even looked at one another and it seems like divorce is a real possibility in their future. They both talked about feeling alone in what they were doing, and they both also said, "I'll keep doing this for the kids." "As long as the kids are happy that's what's most important." My wife and I just felt horrible watching it unfold before our eyes tonight. Regardless of what has or has not happened with Jon and Kate individually, here is yet another couple who has the same problem - their priorities are messed up. I'm sure they both have a relationship with God, but it doesn't seem like it's the FIRST priority in either of their lives. And also, it doesn't seem like they've made their marriage a priority either. They have put their kids (and careers) before their marriage - trouble city!!

We prayed for them tonight during our Love Dare time. I got online to see about sending them an encouraging note. Their personal website was crashed because it had so much traffic. Their TLC site was up, I linked to her blog and read her most recent post (a week ago) and there were 640 comments to her post - MOST of them in response to watching tonight's episode. Hundreds of people are wrecked after seeing what's going on between the two of them. I was going to leave a comment, but the folks who had been there before me had more than covered what I would have said. So I went to my blog instead. SO many people were calling them out on not putting their marriage first, and also trying to persuade them that what's "best for the kids" is a mom and dad who stay together and work it out. I HOPE they get the message.

I'm praying for big things for the two of them. Not because they're celebrities or because they deserve it, or because they have a lot of kids. I'm praying for God to do big things in their relationship because SO many people NEED to see that reconciliation can happen in a marriage. It doesn't have to always resort to separation! What an amazing thing it would be if by the end of this season, they were working it out in front of millions of viewers. Truth be told, I hope they stop the show altogether as I think that is one of the main problems, but before they do, I'd love for God to work a miracle and use them to hammer down this point, and I hope they get God involved in it.

It's not easy, but it is clear - you HAVE TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AS YOUR FIRST PRIORITY IN LIFE. John 15, Jesus says, "Remain in me," "without Me you can do nothing." We will have a horrible time with all other relationships in our life until we get this one where it needs to be. Then right behind that has to be your relationship with your spouse - and it takes love, time, and commitment. And parents, we have to raise our kids right - plan God into your family, make Christian living a part of your everyday life. And of course, we have a responsibility to everyone else around us as well. If you can get your priorities straight, it will change your life, for the better. Without these priorities set, you're in for a long, hard road.

Christians are Judgmental

2009-05-21T08:41:00.004-04:00

I include myself of course. It's one of our worst traits, and a major contributor to the bad reputation Christians have today. We're judgmental. Why are we judgmental? Because we're fractured, fallen people just like everyone else. But there's more to it than that. There's this group of ideas that go something like this - they're the world, we're the Church; we're saved, they're not; and the ideas go on from there until we basically see the world as us vs. them and when we see it like that, we simultaneously put ourselves on the right side of the tracks, and everyone else on the wrong side. We're the stuff, everyone else needs help. And then (this is the worst part), THEN - we criticize them for being where/who they are in life.

I just can't get over this. And the sad part is I hear it every day - not from a couple Christians I happen to know as friends that just aren't good people - from Christian radio, from Christian leaders, from pastors, from people who you would HOPE wouldn't be like that. The local morning radio personality here whenever the birthdays of the day are read there is always some "joke" to be made about non-Christian celebrities. My TH morning men's Bible study is thick with put downs for the Democrats, especially since the election. Anytime there are big things on TV, like last night the American Idol finale was on, people begin taking up sides for someone (which is fine), but to the extent that there is namecalling and insulting put out on social networking sites like Twitter and blogs that put down the person they "don't like." I have heard preachers in the pulpit criticize and make fun of other denominations than their own (and those folks are Christians too!). It all SMACKS of pride and hypocrisy, and we tell the world by the things we say that we are judgmental and see them as less than we see ourselves.

I HATE THIS. When we look to the example of Jesus, was this what He modeled? Absolutely not. He always reached out to, befriended, healed, helped, and loved the outcast - those who the religious type of His day wanted nothing to do with because of how "sinful" they were. This judging that we do every day is not what we are supposed to be about, and it certainly isn't making a convincing case for people who look at us claiming to love and accept everyone, and then not living up to it. Are we perfect? No. But are we responsible for our words? Yes. Are we ruining the witness of the Church and of Christ's Gospel by being judgmental of others? Yes.

I encourage everyone to read Gabe Lyons and Dave Kinnaman's book "unChristian." It addressed the main problems Christians are facing right now with our identity, and being considered judgmental is one of the main ones. We're also seen as hypocritical, narrow-minded, old-fashioned, and hating homosexuals. This is what we've done to ourselves, because people listen to what we say and they watch what we do. Our creed doesn't match our deed. And it's going to take a lot of work to get our reputation back. And one of the places it starts is by choosing to use our words to love people, instead of criticize them - even if you don't really mean it, it still comes across the same. Again, I don't exclude myself from this charge - I need to do it just as much as everyone else. So let's encourage one another and start living and speaking in truth and love.

Some of My Favorite People

2009-05-20T05:32:00.004-04:00

I think one of the biggest benefits I enjoy by being connected to the people I am through blogs, Twitter, etc. is all the stuff I am exposed to that makes my life better that I otherwise would never have known about. So, to keep sharing the love, here are some of my favorite people, and why you should check them out:

If you want to learn how to be an amazing leader, you gotta check out Andy Stanley and John Maxwell. I also am going for my second time this October to a great leadership conference called Catalyst - I highly recommend it!

Something I am really coming to love and need in my life is authentic living - as defined by speaking and living in truth. Two people who really add a unique perspective to my life, who both live in truth moreso than a lot of others are Carlos Whittaker and Anne Jackson. These two keep it real in a way we all need to be exposed to.

Some men who I highly respect as preachers, because they are unashamed of the Gospel, bold in their Biblical preaching, and model integrity and holy tenacity as church leaders are Steven Furtick, Matt Chandler, and James MacDonald. I also recently came across Tullian Tchividjian and am very interested in some of his ideas and highly admire him.

My wife and I are really striving toward living a lot cleaner and greener this year, and also in light of saving money on electricity and water, etc. we are looking for lots of ideas to help us out. These guys have TONS of ideas: http://www.carbonrally.com/ Also I encourage you to read Matthew Sleeth's story and see his ideas for how we can be more responsible for God's creation.

And the guys at Evernote have changed my life in such a great way I can't possibly not mention them as some of my favorite people. They offer a FREE service that you can put on all your computers and phones, and that is also on the internet that allows you to store tons of notes, documents, pdfs, etc. and sync them up to all other locations you have set up so that you can make a note on your phone while on a trip, and send it to your database where all your other notes are that you will access on your computer when you get home. You can also check the internet site from wherever you are and access the stuff you worked on at home last night. I don't know what your needs are - but there was a big hole in my information transfer needs that they filled - so check them out!

That's it for now. If you're not on the list, trust me, you're one of my favorite people too. I'll do a round 2 sometime, so look for your name there. Anything you've really enjoyed in your life you'd like to share with me?

Oh, and if you couldn't tell, everyone's name is a link to their site. Click.

The Love Dare

2009-05-18T20:49:00.002-04:00

My wife and I just shared our 5th anniversary. We went out to eat for dinner at one of our favorite places, and as a gift for both of us, I picked up a copy of a book that my best friend Kevin recommended. It is called "The Love Dare." The book is designed for couples to go through together for 40 days. Throughout that time period, the book challenges the couple in many ways. You are asked to examine the things that make you upset, to begin to control your anger and have patience, to share your feelings.

We started today. The very first thing we read about was having patience - especially when your spouse does something to make you angry. Our challenge is to use patience whenever we get upset for the next day and then talk through what that was like tomorrow night. We also spent some time talking about some of the things that make us upset, in an effort to stop doing the things that make us mad to begin with.

As you might expect, the things that she was doing that made me mad - she did not know it was making me mad. Now that she knows, she can take steps to stop putting me in that situation. One thing we talked about was navigation in the car on trips. I thought she was criticizing me in the moment while I was driving - she thought she was helping by suggesting something I could do that would be better. Now that we've talked about it, it'll be better.

The whole point of the book (I assume, since I'm only on day 1) will be that if we as husbands and wives would take time - real, quality, regular time - to sit down and get real with each other and talk this stuff out, we would have healthier, stronger relationships. But so often we just try not to make waves, or we think it will get better, or we think they will pick up on the subtle clues that we leave (THEY WON'T!). In order for a relationship to become unshakable, it first has to be shaken. It's not easy to talk about this stuff through, but it is absolutely essential to any relationship that wants to last.

What has been going on in your relationship that you need to talk about? Will you commit to practicing patience when you're upset and talk through the things that make you angry later when you're calmed down? Is your relationship important enough to do whatever it takes to make it last? Mine is.

The Old Self Wants to Party

2009-05-16T05:51:00.003-04:00

When I was in college, I spent many weekends out at bars, parties, etc. Mainly drinking, dancing, being loud, hitting on girls, trying not to get in a fight - but feeling ready for one at all times. There was a sense of excitement and adventure leading into a Friday night. Everyone was getting cleaned up and putting on nicer clothes - everyone was in a good mood. You go out and get your buzz going and the night just swept you away. I'm just going to be honest - I loved it. I don't know why really, maybe it was the anticipation of feeling good, the possibility of "romance," and the bravado associated with going out with your friends. But I definitely enjoyed it and did it a LOT.

Fast forward 5 years after I graduated from college. I am still drinking a lot on the weekends, and also pretty much every weeknight too. Except now I am living alone in a different state and I am noticing an ever-increasing rise in the amount I am drinking. I had very little to no self-control. Whatever amount or type of liquor was in the house, as soon as I started drinking I wanted to go until it was all gone, and then some. Thinking back, I was like this in college too. In college there were nights when one friend and myself could drink over 40 beers together. I was once asked by a psychological counselor if I knew that amount of alcohol could have killed me. Oh yeah, I had to see the counselor because I got in trouble numerous times for underage drinking while in college and came within inches from being thrown out of college. I had to see a counselor as part of my punishment. I didn't see back then that I had a problem, only that I was just doing what I wanted to do.

Nice flashback, now back to the future. I was drinking large amounts of beer and also starting to desire hard alcohol more often (stronger buzz). I got married, and she didn't partake hardly at all, but didn't ask me to stop. It was part of who I was when she married me, but I always felt guilty to myself. Maybe because I knew she deserved and expected better but it hadn't caused any real problems yet so it wasn't an issue. I began to realize just how much I was drinking and desired to quit. I started buying smaller amounts, so the opportunity wasn't there. I'd buy a six pack for the whole weekend. But I would also buy another six pack and drink it real quick when I got home (before my wife got home) and then have one from the other pack open when she arrived so if she smelled alcohol on my breath I was covered - but I had 7 when it seemed to her like I had only had 1. I was lying to my wife. I finally stopped buying it altogether because I couldn't even have it in the house, but if we were out somewhere I would have some. Same problem - once I got started I didn't want to quit. I could go for 6 months and not have a drop, and be okay with that. Then we'd go to a work party or something and I'd have one, and another, and 3 more, and - well you get the idea. I couldn't stop.

Finally it all came to a head when I was back in Ohio for a friend's wedding (a Friday night). I was preaching that Sunday at my church. I hadn't had a drink in months, but I decided to just have one with the reception dinner to celebrate. It was over as soon as I had the first drink. I can't tell you how much I had that night, but it was a lot. I was told the next day how obnoxious I had been and also how rude to my wife - I was told this by my wife. I felt...devastated. How was I ever going to get up the next morning and stand before a church and tell them how God wanted them to be living when my life was in shambles. I finally realized I was an alcoholic. I don't know anything technically or officially like to what degree I was one or anything - I only knew that when it has control of you and not vice versa, and when you do things like lie to the people you love in order to get away with it, you have a serious problem. Driving back to Virginia I was a wreck. I cried, I apologized to my wife and to God. I begged Him for forgiveness, to do something to allow me to preach the next day - although I was the most unworthy person ever to do it. On the 6 hour ride, I got a lot straightened out. I received forgiveness and grace, slowly, but it came. I remembered reading something recently about where had all the strong men of the Bible gone - men who would vow things to God and live their lives resolutely. The next day, January 1, 2006, I took a solemn vow to God never to drink again. I knew it was the only thing I could do that I would take serious enough to keep me in check in the future. If I vowed something to God, I could not break that - I wouldn't allow myself to. So I sealed it in Him, and have not had even one sip since.

I have slowly been experiencing healing from my past experiences. That weekend I reconciled with my wife for what I had done, and I reconciled with God. There was one other big thing looming that took more than a year to face - my parents. I had lied to them all the way through college. They had no idea I was drinking and when they asked, I denied it. They never knew I came within inches of being thrown out of college and was on probation for a year. I knew I needed to confess to them, and finally one day I did. It wasn't easy, but a huge weight left me once it was over, and I feel like my relationship with them is better now for having done it. Also, this past January 1, 2009, I had two neat experiences. First, I celebrated being alcohol free for 3 years. Also, on the very same day, my boss (whom I have known for a while now and who I have had many deep talks with) told me that he was giving up alcohol for life, and it had a lot to do with me. I didn't know this, but he went on to tell me he had been having a very similar problem to what I struggled with, and he felt it controlling him. He didn't want this and he knew my story and struggle and how I handled it, and he chose to stop as well. It hasn't always been easy for me, and it hasn't for him either as a lot of what we do as a company is take people out for drinks to celebrate. I just enjoy my never-ending free refills of Diet Coke and the conversations. When people finally realized he wasn't drinking anymore, they were confused and it was hard for him to try to explain, but he's stuck to his guns now for over 5 months. I ask him from time to time how he's doing and we both enjoy sharing the experience of freedom and talking about it.

It wasn't until I was out to dinner last night with my wife that this thought hit me - I struggled with alcohol so I could help someone else who was struggling quit. My struggle had a purpose, and my striving to conquer it and being open and sharing about it with others has made a difference to at least one other person. Actually more than one - we both have a wife and children. The healing continues.

Also when we were out last night, we went to a place that serves good dinner, but after a certain hour is basically a nightclub for young folks. As we were leaving around 9pm, tons of people were beginning to trickle in. They were all dressed nice, coming in with their friends - you could see the sense of adventure in their eyes and the willingness for the night to sweep them away. I still remember that feeling, and for a few moments I longed for it again. That part of me is still there - it's the old self who wants to cast off all responsibility, and go headlong into the night. But instead I walked back outside to the car with my wife and we enjoyed driving around town that evening with the windows down and having a great conversation.

I don't give in to the old self anymore. Since I finally got drinking out of my life and regained control, God has been using me in big ways. He is teaching me and preparing me for big things - as He is you. I know that if I let the old self start partying again, I would head off the path and down a ravine as far as my journey through life. As for me, I'm going to stay on course, and take joy in knowing I'm the person God wants me to be - imperfections and all. I'd much rather be following Him than my old ways. I think this is the first time I have written about my story. Thanks for listening.

Eyes Wide Open (review)

2009-05-15T05:53:00.002-04:00

I was recently given a copy of Jud Wilhite's new book "Eyes Wide Open" to read and review. The first page of the introduction says "Too many of us live with a distorted perspective of God." This book goes on to address the many ways our view of God becomes distorted and what we can do to begin to change that perspective and begin living with 'eyes wide open' - really seeing our relationship with God as He sees it.

There are four areas in our lives that our vision needs help in - in relation to God, our identity, change, and influence. Jud starts out working on the way we see God, which in turn affects the way we see ourselves. Once we have corrected the way we see those two things, our lives begin to change and as they do it is our responsibility to have an influence on those around us - to help bring about the same in their lives.

The book is filled with stories from Jud's own experiences as well as those of people he has had interactions with. The stories all illustrate problems we have in our own lives and help us to begin to see the problem. What is the problem? We (for the most part) see God as someone who demands perfection or else, and so we try to live our lives by being as perfect as possible (which ALWAYS fails and leaves us hurt, guilty, and feeling worthless). This is what the devil wants - he wants us to think we couldn't possibly do anything for God - at least not until we become better individuals. That's living with our eyes shut to the real reality of God and what He has done/will do in our lives. When we open our eyes to the way God sees us, and get our sense of identity from Him and Him alone, in His grace - then we will begin to understand that there's so much to do right now, even while our lives aren't perfect. There is a life to be lived that's bound up in God's promises, not in us striving for perfection. "You may still feel like a mess, but... you'll be God's mess."

In and among the many stories, you will also find life-changing insights. Here's how we're living - here's how God wants us to live. Here's something we struggle with - here's how to get past it. One of my favorite parts was towards the end where Jud was discussing authenticity - which is a popular word in Christian culture today. He shared that Jim Gilmore had mentioned to him that "the Bible...doesn't talk about authenticity as we do today. The Bible talks about truth. Living in the truth and sharing the truth." This was a big insight for me as I have been talking about authenticity a lot lately. I have a new perspective on that now - a more Biblical one - we find authenticity in truth. I now challenge myself with how can I live in truth?

The book is a relatively short one and is very easy reading, but don't go too fast through it as there are life-changing words on every page. Regardless of who you are or where you are in your walk with God (whether you have one or not) - there is something in this book that you need to hear. You may not even realize it, but everyone is struggling in one way or another and while Jud doesn't address every problem out there today, he does take you through a process that will help you at least get to where you need to be with God and with yourself in order to begin living out life the way it was intended. Each of us is has our own unique responsibility and path to influence the world around us, but it begins by having our eyes opened to the realities of God's grace and acceptance, and finding our identity in Him and Him alone. "No matter how shaky your life may seem, God is still working.... He has plans for you.... Plans to live with your eyes wide open and fulfill your unique calling."

Why Do We Bother With Prayer?

2009-05-09T18:56:00.003-04:00

I have been thinking about this a lot lately - why do some prayers that people pray get answered and some don't? More importantly, if there are prayers that don't get answered, then perhaps God picks and chooses what He wants to do. And if that's the case, why would we even bother with praying? And if God is influenced by our prayers, then that would seem to indicate we have some power over God - that we can in some way tell Him what to do. This would hurt the idea of God being sovereign though. If God's in entire control, which I believe He is, then we can't actually move God to do anything (we have absolutely no power to influence Him) - and again, why would we bother to pray?

So, I am actually teaching on this tomorrow and I've had some time to do some reading and get more information from some other folks. There are three main criticisms we have for prayer. First, that it's just a ridiculous idea. Why do we have to tell God what to do - doesn't He know? Do we really think He cares about our tiny problems? Isn't prayer essentially bullying God into what we want Him to do? All of these things boil down to - it's ridiculous to think this works at all, for numerous reasons. Second, prayer is unnecessary. Look how many people get along just fine without prayer - they have jobs, make money, good health, etc. They get through life without prayer just as well as we do with prayer, sometimes better. You're just wasting your breath - you'd get that stuff even if you didn't pray - it's totally unnecessary. And third, prayer is unproductive - it doesn't always work. What about all the things people have prayed for and NOT gotten? Tests that were failed, aunts who never got better, lotteries that were never won by you, peace in the world that hasn't happened. People pray about that stuff and it doesn't happen, so prayer doesn't really work. Let me address each of these individually.

First, prayer is ridiculous.
Us getting what we ask for depends on us asking first. But this isn't because God is dumb and needs to be told, or that we coerce Him to do our bidding. It's more that He's always ready to give, but we're not ready to receive. When we pray and ask God for things, it is our way of submitting to Him and acknowledging that we are ready to receive from the only One who can give. It's us reminding ourselves and God that we are totally dependent upon Him. God doesn't just drop tons of gifts all over the place regardless of whether people are ready - He waits for them to ask. So, it's not ridiculous, it's the way we let God know we are ready to receive what we know He can give and wants to give.

Second, prayer is unnecessary.
There is an important distinction to note in this discussion. There are two types of gifts - creation gifts and redemption gifts. Creation gifts are bestowed by God as the Creator, and to all creation. Whether you are a believer or not, because you were created by God, He bestows gifts upon you - life, air, rain, food, and the rest of the benefits of being a part of His creation. Redemption gifts are given out to those who have been redeemed - those who have accepted Christ. These gifts are wisdom, hope, increasing faith, strength to get through tough times, forgiveness, etc. These things are not given to all, but to those redeemed.
Creation gifts we get without asking, so yes, there are things that all people get whether they pray or not. But there are other things that people definitely do not get unless they pray, and these are the things we REALLY need to get through life. Those people who make money and have families, but are not redeemed, they have a much tougher time getting through life than a believer because they don't have access to the redemption gifts, except through other people who are believers who touch their lives. So prayer is necessary.

Third, prayer is unproductive.
In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus says "Ask and it will be given to you....everyone who asks receives." But this isn't true, is it? Tons of people ask for things they don't get. This statement is not to be understood as an unconditional, no-strings-attached, offer to anyone in any condition. Prayer is not magic. It's not, 'well I prayed it so God has to do it.' You can't control the sovereign God of the universe, regardless of how much you wish it was that way. If you got everything you asked for, do you really think that would be a good idea? Are you so smart that everything you ask for would REALLY be for the best? Or, since you're not the only person who's praying, what if everyone got what they wanted? Looking further into verses 9-11 of Matthew 7, Jesus uses the illustration of parents and children. If a child asks for something (like something to eat), what parent would give them something useless like a stone, or harmful like a poisonous snake? The parent knows what's best for the child based on what they ask. How much MORE does the all-knowing, good God know what is best for us? Regardless of what we ask Him for, or how often we ask, or how persuasive we try to be - God is not going to give us something that is harmful or useless. He is only going to give us what is good for us - or for the situation we are praying about. God wants what is best for everyone, and this is evidenced through the way He answers prayer. So, when our prayers seem to be unanswered, it's because God knows it's better not to do that (it's for your own good) - it's not that He doesn't hear. Jesus assures us of that in verses 7-8.

So, if you've stuck with me through to this part, you might be thinking - well then what's left to even pray for? Why even bother if God is so picky? He's only going to do what He wants anyway... Yes, He IS in control - He's sovereign and that's far better than us being in control. He will give you good things, when you are ready to receive them. Prayer is necessary for us to let God know that we're ready and we're depending on Him. Prayer also shows God that we trust Him - that we believe He CAN do what we ask.

Prayer is our conversation with God, and it's important, necessary, and it works. But we have to understand how it works in order to benefit from it.

*Many of my thoughts in this post are based on John R.W. Stott's "The Message of the Sermon on the Mount."

Talk Yourself Down

2009-05-05T20:34:00.002-04:00

Today Anne Jackson put up a post on her blog that talked about the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder. Her question was, what do you do when the devil latches on and screams at you that you're not good enough, you're worthless, etc.? You can check out her post and the ton of great responses by clicking here.

I had a similar problem this past year - the devil on my shoulder was leaning on me real hard and tempting me to the breaking point...almost. He was in my thoughts, all the time, working out tons of scenarios that could happen. My inside voice was saying the way wrong things I didn't want it to even be thinking. I was being tempted big time and I wasn't sure how to stop it or what to do to get past it.

Then, the answer came to me as I was reading Chapter 8 of Oz Guinness' book "God in the Dark" one day. He had a few quotes by several different men in there, and I found a few similar ones at the same time too. I'll share them:

"Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?" - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"Unless we train our emotions, they will lead us around by the nose, and we will be captives to every passing impulse or reaction." - Oswald Chambers

"For my part, I run with a clear goal in front of me; I am like a boxer who does not beat the air; I bruise my own body and make it know its master." - The Apostle Paul

"We have to take ourselves by the scruff of the neck and shake ourselves, and we will find that we can do what we said we could not." - Oswald Chambers

"Moods never go by praying, they go by kicking." - Oswald Chambers

The main point is that we need to take control of the situation. Whether it's a foul mood, temptation, not feeling good enough, or just feeling like the world is getting too overwhelming - we need a new perspective. We need to stop listening to ourselves (because we know our minds can race 100 mph and come up with all sorts of nonsense and fantasy) and begin talking to ourselves. Not in the straight jacket rubber room sense, but speaking truth into the volley of lies and deceptions. Speak Scripture to yourself. Have a couple memorized that specifically deal with a situation you're struggling with and when it comes up, repeat those and ponder them for a while.

You can also call a friend to get some encouragement or a reality check - again, getting a different perspective. You literally can also take over the conversation raging in your head - NO, I'm not like that, I won't do that, it's NOT over. Resolve to think on what you DO want to happen, not what you think could happen in the worst case.

And if you're in a foul mood, sometimes you just need to kick your own butt - snap out of it, watch a funny movie, go for a run, lift weights - go get it out, but take the bull by the horns. Stop letting life run you down and start running your life again. Help is available to you through the aid of God and His Holy Spirit - you're not in this alone. And God is bigger than anything else. Get Him in on your side and the opposition will shrink away.

One last thing - I'm not peddling some you-can-make-it-so-life's-always-easy method. It's not. Life can beat the ever-loving crap out of you sometimes and you just want to crawl in a hole. That's real. But don't let that rule your life - you can bounce back, you can fight it, you can get past it, over it, through it. I know it's not easy, but He's there.

Compassion

2009-04-27T15:54:00.007-04:00

I got to see something pretty cool while I was at work today. Some of my fellow Twitter-ers are in India right now for Compassion International and are doing some really cool work with a lot of children there. If you don't know what Compassion is, check it out here. It's only $32 per month to sponsor a child, and if you can't do that but want to do something still they have an unsponsored children's fund that you can donate whatever amount to.

If you would like to know what this group particularly is up to, check them out at http://compassionbloggers.com/. There are many folks over there, but I am only familiar enough with two to recommend where to find their own personal blogs, which have a lot of stuff about this project too. They are:
Anne Jackson http://www.flowerdust.net/
Pete Wilson http://withoutwax.tv/

They are posting videos and all kinds of other links this whole week and next. Here's a video from Anne Jackson:

There are SO many people in this world that need help. If you're able to, help more. There are millions of people trapped in sex trade, millions who need clean water, millions who need food, millions who need warmer clothes. And many of those people live in your area too. I don't have a strategy for how to figure out who to help - I just go by what I'm able to do when I hear about it or see it. The main point is - DO SOMETHING. As citizens of a wealthy country, we have more than enough resources to route these problems, if we only will.

Natural Selection

2009-04-25T07:57:00.005-04:00

We all know that the theory is that evolution occurs via the process of natural selection. The stronger, more healthy animals survive, and the weaker, sickly ones die. Hence animals continually evolve into better, stronger animals. Now, I'm no scientist, and I don't have a textbook in front of me, so excuse the lack of exact correctness, but I think I at least captured the gist. You want the good genes to be passed on, and the bad ones to die with the weak. This is called natural selection.

So here's a question - why do we as a society spend literally billions of dollars trying to cure cancer, or AIDS, or tons of other things that humans contract? Doesn't it stand to reason that nature is selecting these folks so they can be taken out of the equation and humans can continue with the passing on of good genes and evolve? For all the people out there who BATTLE to find cures and who spend their lives donating to and researching for these causes - how do you reconcile the fact that we as humans have an extremely strong urge to fix people when something goes wrong - although natural selection would say that's just how it is, so let it be.

There's something wrong with this system, and we all know it - we feel it and recognize it every time we see it. When someone we know gets sick, we just know it isn't right. When we hear of someone getting cancer that makes us uneasy. When we see on the news people in Africa suffering it bothers us. It feels at times as if humanity is being attacked and we have to defend ourselves from these things. We don't like the idea that the weak and sick should just be picked off - as a society, we resist the natural selection process.

Why do we resist? Because we love people. We feel compassion and empathy. Sure, it's fine to stand up for natural selection when it's out there in the world, but when your mom or your son, or your spouse gets cancer or has a heart attack - it's a lot hard to say, 'well, looks like it's just your time.' We love those people and we find natural selection severely lacking as a sufficient worldview in these instances. Nature selects to be sure. But there's more going on here than just biology.

When you seek your answers simply within the realm of biology, it leaves you short - there are times when it doesn't make sense and we fight against it. That's because biology isn't the only thing going on, so seeking answers within biology will always leave you short. God created this world and everything/everyone in it. It is only when we go to God for answers does it start to make sense. God is where love and compassion come from. And it is only through a relationship with God that we will begin to understand more fully what is going on in the world around us. Biology is present and active to be sure, but there's more to it - and the proof is in these instances above. If nature gets her way, that's not a satisfactory answer to us. But when God gets His way, the answer is always good. When the question involves influence that supercedes science, you have to look to the One who supercedes all else for the answer - God.

Failing Again

2009-04-22T09:27:00.002-04:00

I was talking with someone recently who has been struggling to get back into a relationship with God. They said they were going to try to start setting aside 10 minutes a day to just stop doing everything else and pray. I encouraged them in this but provided a caveat - don't worry about it if you can't make a full 10 minutes, or if you don't have much to say, or if you miss a day here and there. It's ok - God sees progress, and is happy to have it.

After about 5-6 days, I talked with this person again and said, how's it going? OK was the response. They had done well the first two days and then hadn't prayed at all for the last 3. This person was very bummed out about that and feelings of failure were evident just below the surface. I encouraged again - "God is not disappointed in you." "He's not?" was the answer through sniffles. This person, who was trying to do things for God, felt like a failure because they weren't able to be perfect in it and felt like they never would be able to. They thought God thought less of them for not being a "strong" Christian and not being able to do even this one task.

I explained it like this - God knows our hearts. He knows what your desire is - and it's to get closer to Him. How could that make Him upset? Wanting to do a prayer time and not making it happen isn't a sin. God doesn't look at us and focus on our failures, letting out a big sigh and saying "well, I guess you failed again didn't you?" NO! God's love and grace is boundless, and you trying to get in touch with Him but not doing it perfectly yet makes Him overjoyed that one of His children is trying to draw near to Him. We feel like such a failure sometimes, but God doesn't see us that way. Satan is the accuser. He's the one who says "you can't do it" "you're worthless" "you'll never get it right" "well, you screwed up again." These are not the words of God. The words of God are encouraging and loving - "keep it up" "try again" "I love your efforts" "I love you just the way you are and nothing you do or don't do will change that."

I am reading a book by Jud Wilhite right now called "Eyes Wide Open." This book addresses a lot of the same issues - living a life in full acceptance and realization of God's love and grace. So many people are living with this heavy weight on them, when they don't have to. If this is you, keep in perspective where negative influences come from - they don't come from God. He's happy with progress - He knows the motives of your heart. And NOTHING you do can change the way He feels about you. You are His child.

When I finish "Eyes Wide Open" I'll be publishing a review of it on my blog, so stay tuned for that. I encourage you to purchase this book and read it if this is an area you are struggling in. You're NOT a failure.

The Homeless

2009-04-20T14:38:00.003-04:00

We had a guest speaker at our church yesterday named Roy Marshall and he runs a local ministry providing food, money, and other needs as he's able to the homeless and needy. Our church has supported him, even as recently as the high school class I teach donating 250 food items to his stock. To give a little backstory about Roy, he also owns a place called The Gym and he splits his time between running the Gym and helping others. He's a great Christian man and he's had a big influence on my life. Almost 5 years ago he spoke at my church and God used his message to change the course of my life. It was a defining moment in my history and that message set me on the path I am on currently. Yesterday was a repeat performance in that God once again used him in a mighty way to affect me and many other people.

Roy's main point is this - why are there millions of dollars worth of buildings and resources in this county (also known as churches) that are not being used but a few hours a week and that the homeless are continually turned away from? Why won't we let them stay in our churches? Why do we send them elsewhere? And no, we do not need to build a homeless shelter - that's just shoving it off on someone else. That's what we're so good at. We send money to organizations, we fund missionaries, we donate food - but we do all this while constantly avoiding ever talking to, or looking at, or touching those around us who are poor and needy. WE never really do anything, but ignore and hope someone else deals with it.

To insert a real story into this - I was a deacon in my church for 3 years recently. We have a fund that people donate money to and it is our job to hear requests for help and give out money and do things to help people. When the year started, the chairman asked who would hold on to the checkbook? Silence. Long silence. NO ONE volunteered. Everyone had excuses. We all donate money to the fund, we all accepted positions as deacons, but no one actually wanted to hold the checkbook and deal with the situations. This went on for MONTHS. It was ridiculous. And I was one of them. I had my own excuses but I can't honestly say I had any right to say no, I just did, and so did everyone else. Pathetic.

Back to Roy's sermon - he reminded us that the poor will always be among us. Why? Because that is the path God has chosen for them to walk, in order to continually give Christians opportunities to live out what they say they believe. So that we can begin to see Jesus in those people. Jesus himself said, whatever you did to the least of these, you have done to Me. Throughout Jesus' life He was despised and rejected - and He still is today - because the least of these in our society represent Jesus to us and we despise, reject and ignore them. Why are we even going to church? If we refuse week after week, month after month to see these people (they're all around us but we don't see them) and reach out to them - why are we wasting our time in church? How could we hear the Gospel over and over and do nothing? James 2 reminds us that those who hear the Word and do nothing are deceiving themselves.

In closing, he said, so what are you going to do? Don't let this message slip away like so many others and the memory fades and old habits set back in. DO SOMETHING - NOW. So, what is my church going to do? I don't know yet, but I have talked to some folks and this has gripped us. I am planning to send out an all-church e-mail with my ideas for short and long-term planning and action to get the ball rolling. Ultimately, I do not hold a position in the church so it will need to be picked up by those who do, but we're going to get things going.

What are you doing to help the homeless and needy who surround you? Are you going to keep refusing to see them and offer them anything other than directions to somewhere else they can get help? If your church doesn't have this one figured out, there needs to be an immediate change in your priorities. If you wonder if there's any validity to this, just examine everything Jesus ever said and see if it lines up.

Quality Time

2009-04-15T10:35:00.003-04:00

My relationship with my wife has been missing something for a long time now, but I didn't know what it was - nor did I realize we were missing it. Neither did she. But we both felt something - something wrong. I began sensing an estrangement between us several months ago.
Let me set the landscape for you. I work a full-time job (requires me being away from home roughly 50 hours a week including travel time), I am working on an MDIV part-time (occupies most evenings and some weekend time), and I have other things to do each week too that take up time (paying the bills, mowing the yard) and the hours stack up. My wife works 2-3 days a week, attended a Saturday morning Bible study for a while, and does some things with friends and family even though I can't always go. We have a 9 month old son, whom we both love dearly. I usually get home around 6pm, and I spend a good hour entertaining him until his bedtime while Sarah gets a little breather from watching him all day. Then I study, she busies herself around the house, and sometime later we go to bed around the same time. That's pretty much every week.
We were irritated with each other often - not arguing or getting mad, just irritated. We hardly ever go out on "dates" anymore. The time we have spent together has been in front of the TV. I USED TO think this was good quality time together. It's not. It's time spent with the TV, at the same time as your spouse. It all adds up to the fact that we have slowly grown apart due to lack of real quality time spent together and we never even realized it. We were roommates raising a son.
I had been feeling this for a while, and I tried little things here and there to get closer to her or spend more time together in pieces, but nothing really worked and it didn't catch on as I had hoped. I still hadn't realized what the real problem was. And she wasn't ready yet. I began to pray about it - God, I don't know what needs to happen, but we both need to realize it before things can change - and they NEED TO.
I left my house yesterday morning for work, once again feeling like my wife was disgusted with me and not knowing why. I hate leaving the house like that. I prayed on the way to work again - something needs to change. My wife called me early in the afternoon to say she wanted to talk when I got home this evening. Uh oh. Usually means I've done something wrong.
Once Ross was asleep, we sat down to talk. She told me all about how she doesn't feel close to me anymore and that after a lot of thought she thinks it's because we don't spend any real quality time together anymore. She said she'd always heard about people who get divorced who say, 'we just grew apart' and thinking that was crap, but now she felt like that's where we were, and she didn't want it to lead any further down that path. I agreed. We finally had come to the same conclusion and both felt compelled to do something about it. We spent a lot more time talking and working out our weekly schedules so that at least for now, we are scheduling time together regularly throughout each week. I suggested (since I had just realized the fallacy of this) that our time together never involve TV. She agreed that this was a good idea. We are also going to start going out on dates every other weekend.
I can't tell you what a weight was lifted from both of our hearts last night as we talked and cried and worked it out together. I also realized that I needed to do a better job providing spiritual direction to my wife (and eventually my son), not only as the head of the family, but as someone who is in seminary and is gaining all this info. and not connecting it to her life. I am going to help her in her walk with God going forward too.
This is a very personal matter, but I felt compelled to share it because I fear many young couples, especially who have busy schedules or who are just starting to have kids may be in a similar situation and not yet know it. Last night we recommitted ourselves to this relationship and to actively working on it. It takes work and effort, and it takes QUALITY time - just any old time may not get the job done. It has to be quality, special, the two of you only, time. Don't be one of those couples who "just grew apart."

Hell and the Resurrection

2009-04-12T13:41:00.002-04:00

Today after the second service, someone actually told me "You just preached one Hell of a sermon." He meant that, but he was partially joking too since my sermon was on Hell. An Easter sermon, on Hell?? Yes, indeed. Here's the abstract from today's sermon. (it will be hard to condense this, but I'll try)

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important thing for every single person on the planet to not only know about, but to see as absolutely necessary and important. Why? Because the resurrection is the only thing standing between us, and an eternity in Hell. A lot of people don't take Hell seriously, but it's a reality, and it's no joke. People are on a path right now in their lives, and it's either a path of turning towards God and asking forgiveness for their sins - this path leads to Heaven; or they're on a path of turning down God and wanting nothing to do with Him, and that path leads to Hell.

What is Hell? Hell is a place of eternal torment for the impenitent (those who choose to be without God). Going by Scriptural descriptions, it is a place of fire, destruction, and is referred to as the outer darkness. A lot of people joke around and say they might be going to Hell but it will be okay since they'll be with their buddies - it will be a party! There is no together in Hell. It's a place of isolation, disintegration, and absolute darkness. You are 100% alone. You can't see or hear anyone or anything, and you are removed from God's presence and thus your soul is ruined and rots for eternity, without any connection to God. The use of fire in the Bible is largely metaphor - but only because they couldn't put into human terms the horrors of Hell, so fire and burning was the closest they could come to describing the eternal torment that's there.

But wait, if Hell is all that, then what about the concept of a loving God? A "loving" God wouldn't create a place that horrible would He? Why would He play favorites and send some people to be punished and not others? Is He really as loving as we think He is?

Well, the Bible says God didn't create Hell for people, but for Satan and his demons. See, they decided they wanted nothing to do with God, so He created a place where He was not - where they would spend eternity. But people have free will and are able to choose what they want to do with their lives too. And for the people who choose to be without God, He has created a place to honor that decision. Hell is simply a place where God is not. The gates of Hell close from the inside. You have shut God out, and in eternity, when He finally separates your soul from all influence from Him, you will just continually rot away in torment - being away from His presence. God doesn't send people to Hell, they choose to go.

Romans 3:10-12 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one...there is no one who seeks God." See, Hell is the place where God's wrath is poured out for all the sins committed throughout time. We all deserve to go to Hell and suffer that wrath. But John 3:17 says that Jesus didn't come to the world to condemn it, but to save it through Him. And 2 Peter 3:9 says that the Lord doesn't wish any should perish but that all would come to repentance and be saved. God has created this place, but He doesn't want you to end up there. That's why He sent Jesus to earth, to die on the cross and be resurrected. Jesus was without sin, innocent. He took all the wrath that God had for us and our sins and He bore it Himself, through extreme suffering and even death. Why? So we wouldn't have to go to Hell. So we could instead spend eternity with Him.

Understanding Hell is necessary for us to understand and know the love of God. Until you know how much He paid, you don't know whether to shake His hand, or fall down at His feet. Jesus spoke more than anyone else about Hell - that's because He knew how big this is.

God didn't create you for Hell. He created you to be with Him forever. But it's your choice, and although it kills Him when you reject Him, whatever your choice is - God will honor it. For eternity.

We have to remember how horrible Hell is, in order to remember how wonderful the Resurrection is.

Your World is Framed by Your Words

2009-04-07T22:03:00.002-04:00

I heard Steven Furtick say this in his most recent sermon from the book of James (on iTunes). I don't know about other people, but my voice and my words are VERY impressionable. And I am realizing that is something I need to guard against and watch out for. I'm so impressionable that even hanging around someone with a different accent than me for a couple hours and I start unconsciously beginning to use their accent. I watched a Sunday of Ice Road Truckers on the history channel and I was speaking perfect Canadian English to my wife that evening (without the expletives!). That isn't the real problem, although it points to just how impressionable I am with what I hear and then what I say.

I worked a job a while back with someone who got very angry all the time. Within a month or so, I began to become that way too - getting angry at little things, and angrier than I normally would. But I didn't notice it at first. Eventually after another month or so, it hit me - whoa, what am I doing? Why am I so mad? This isn't me. Or is it? No, it's not. I had picked up on the attitude and the way of reacting to things from hearing it over and over and being around it. It rubbed off on me.

In my current job, the trend is that as soon as there is a hint of something that could be problematic, people rush into worst case scenarios, and we CAN'T do this, we WON'T do that. Also, we get very argumentative in debates and go and go at each other trying to be proven more right. I don't know HOW many days I have been driving home from work, rethinking conversations I partook in during the day, and thinking - why did I say that? Why did I get swept up in that? Why can't I just keep my mouth shut and not participate? Something else I have found myself doing at work is participating in "joking around" about people. Translation - insulting behind their back. I don't like that I do it, just calling it what it is though. All these things are normal in my office. I shouldn't say normal - maybe frequently occurring is better.

And I regret my participation in these things often, but I am so impressionable that when those things are actually happening I rarely recognize it in the moment and pull myself back. I really want to work on this area of my life. Your life is framed by your words, like Pastor Furtick said. You either bring life with your words, or you bring destruction. You either lift up, or tear down. You either spread lies, or truth. You either respect, or disrespect. And very often what is heard in your voice is an outward expression of what's going on in your life. James reminds us how important it is to tame the tongue. In 3:5-6 he says, "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

Master Po said, "The greatest warrior is the one who has conquered himself." I want to be a great warrior, so to speak. I want to be a great influence on those around me. In order to do that, I HAVE to get control over myself and what I say, or don't say. I want to choose to only speak when my words will bring life and wisdom into a situation, not destruction and lies and rash, desperate thoughts.

I have tried having my headphones on more often, but I think this is the wrong tactic. It only avoids the conversational realm. I must be in it in order to master it. How well are you in control of your tongue? If your world is framed by your words, what type of world are you building around you?

Making Faith Complete

2009-04-04T21:29:00.002-04:00

Here's the abstract for my sermon tomorrow. There are two types of Christians in the world: those who are living out amazing and abundant lives, and those who aren't. Why the difference? It is a matter of faith - but not in the amount. Jesus said even the smallest amount would be sufficient to move a mountain with. So, what's the deal? First, James 1:22 says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceives yourselves. Do what it says."
If you hear the Word preached or read the Bible and you don't do what it says - you're fooling yourself thinking that that's a great way to get through life. It's not. Matthew 6:33 says "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness." First and foremost, put God in charge of your life. Then, submit to that Lordship and do what He says (that's the stuff in the Bible). If you don't do this, you can be a saved Christian, but your life won't be that amazing and abundant one Christ intended that you have.
WHY? James 2:14-22, "What good is it...if people claim to have faith but have no deeds? Can such faith save them?....You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did."
The idea here is that there was a kind of completion that Abraham's faith had similar to something being fully developed, or matured. So, YOUR FAITH IS MADE COMPLETE BY WHAT YOU DO. This is the main point. Many Christians are living lives of incomplete, or not fully developed faith. Why? Because they are deceiving themselves and not doing what the Word says they ought to be doing.
Mark Batterson wrote a great book called "Wild Goose Chase." I highly recommend it. Here are a couple quotes from that book that apply to this situation. "Jesus didn't die on the cross to keep us safe - He died to make us dangerous." "It's time we started playing offense with our lives." "The world doesn't need more people playing it safe all the way through life to death. It needs daring people with daring plans, in pursuit of the passions God has placed in their hearts." "Getting where God wants me to go isn't nearly as important as becoming who God wants me to be."
When people find out they're terminally ill, they immediately change disposition and begin spending time with family, donating money, traveling - they live as if they don't have much time left. They realize how much they've squandered the previous part of their lives. Do yourself a favor - let me give you a diagnosis that will change your perspective. Here it is: You don't have long to live. No one knows when they will die - so you really might not have that much time. Regardless, isn't it time you began pouring your time and energy into the things you are passionate about instead of wasting most of your life on things you "have" to do that don't inspire you or impact anyone else?
My paraphrase of James 3:13 - "You want to know who has it figured out? It's the people living our their faith through their deeds." What you do with your life will show whether or not your faith has been made complete.

Final thought from Curry Blake - "If your gospel isn't touching others, it hasn't touched you."

Buried somewhere inside...

2009-03-31T20:41:00.002-04:00

I have a lot of creativity buried inside me I think. I have moments of wild passion and my heart strains out of my chest to follow after something that has inspired me to write or photograph. But most of the time it's somehow overlooked, neglected, and forgotten. How do I tap into it more often? Sometimes I want to write so much and nothing comes out. I feel it, but I don't end up thinking it. Same with photography - mostly due to not having a camera handy and especially just not feeling like I have time. So many other things I HAVE to do. Well, I'm taking off from school this summer and I'm going to try to make time - really concentrate on drawing out my inner, hidden, creative self. I know it's in there, and I'm sad when I have moments of realizing it's inside and not out and active, and I can't just make it so on the spot. I think I just need to make time. I also think I need to take more thoughts down in note form. I re-introduced myself to my moleskine today. The world doesn't need more people who put their energy into doing what they HAVE to do. It needs more people who are willing to realize there are passions inside them that need to be drawn out and pursued with great ambition.

Be a Real Man

2009-03-30T14:34:00.005-04:00

The older I get, the more I realize how backwards my views on being a man were when I was younger. I used to think being a man meant being physically strong, knowing how to do everything, not taking crap from anyone, and having lots of people respect you.

Then I got married. And I realized that trying to gain those things meant that when I always had to be right, it hurt my wife's feelings. And that not taking any crap meant being a jerk. And showing off and spouting off to get people's respect actually took it away. I have talked in length with my friend Kevin about how glad we are that we're getting older - because it means we're further away from the young idiots we used to be. It's the process though. It's called maturing, and if you're a man you need to do it. Being a real man is about inner strength, taking responsibility, leading humbly but courageously, and following God.

Then I had a son. Now everything I do is up for potential adoption by my son as he grows up. Suddenly I want him to be different than I currently am. I don't want him to have problems with anger like I do. I don't want him to waste his time watching TV and playing video games. I want him to be passionate and bold about his beliefs. And I realize that these are all the things I wish I was, but am not.

So, what to do? What to do is to stop going on being the man I don't want to be, and start becoming the man I do want to be, and the man I want my son to grow up wanting to be like. It's time for us men to start living the life of the strong Christian we're supposed to. Stand up against injustice, give generously, lead humbly and wisely, get your strength and wisdom from God, respect, honor and cherish your wife, and for the sake of their future and yours, spend lots of time with your kids - loving them and affirming them. Watch what you say. Leave your pride behind and live for others for a change. It's time that being a man meant something more than sitting around being bossy and watching football. Stop being a control freak, stop micromanaging, start encouraging. Start being a real man. It's time for us to get off our butts and start working hard - for God, and for our families, and for others. And get in shape so you CAN work hard. Stop living for yourself like some selfish little kid - shut up about how great you are and prove it. Prove you're great by not trying to be. Help raise your kids, love your wife, lead your family financially, spiritually, and morally. Be a man of integrity in your job - don't squeeze out extra minutes if you're hourly, and if you're salary, don't use that as an excuse to not put the hours in. Are you spending time with other men, sharpening one another as iron sharpens iron?

The world needs you. Your family needs you. The people around you need you. When they look to you for leadership and integrity, will you stand tall as a real man? Or will you not be up to the challenge. Start now. I am. Get involved.

What Have You Done This Week?

2009-03-30T12:45:00.003-04:00

That mattered. For eternity. Listened to a great sermon this morning by Francis Chan on "Living a Life that Matters." He used a great visual illustration on how important this is. He uncoiled a rope that was maybe 100' long. On one end was a little red tape wrapped around maybe 3 inches of it. He said, this red part - this is your life here on earth. And all the rest that comes after it, this other 97 feet and 9 inches is eternity (if you imagine the rope going on forever). This time we have is so small, yet so significant. What we choose to do with the time in the red part determines what we will be doing for all the rest of time. Either we choose God, or we choose not God, and we spend eternity with Him, or not with Him (hell, in agony from the absence of God's presence).

He asked two questions at the end of the sermon. First, "what have you done this past week that matters in light of eternity?" And second, "what have you done this past week that will not be remembered in eternity?"

Thankfully, I was able to recall things done that have mattered - maybe this was a good week for me. But there were a LOT more things that were on the list of things I've done that won't matter in the end. All the TV I've wasted time watching comes to mind.

What have you done this week that really matters in light of eternity? What will you start doing? What will you stop doing? When will you stop saying, "I'm going to" and start saying "I am" or "I will." There will be a day when all who stand before Jesus have to account for the way they chose to spend their life. Make that day a day He is proud of you. Live a life that matters.

The Choice is Simple

2009-03-21T22:01:00.002-04:00

The more I study in depth the Sermon on the Mount, the more I become convinced that there is a very simple point that Jesus keeps bringing you back to. In everything, you're either choosing God, or you're choosing yourself. When he talks about not being like the hypocrites who draw attention to themselves when fasting and giving to the poor - they're doing that for their own benefit and those things are supposed to be for the benefit of God and others. They're choosing themselves, not God. He also says, you can only serve one master - you cannot serve both God and money. What'll it be - God, or your own greed?

The more I thought about it, there really is only those two choices in just about every aspect of life, no matter who you are. The main difference between Christians and non-Christians? One has chosen God, the other has not. There are lots of ways to argue around this that I'm sure many people can come up with, but reading through chapter 6 of Matthew, it seems Jesus is trying to draw out this point - you have a choice, and there's only two options. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

An Empowering Statement on Faith

2009-03-16T21:17:00.001-04:00

My cousin, Paul, posted on his blog this evening one of the most interesting and insightful ideas that I have read in a while. It deals with the way Jesus used His faith, and it directly correlates with how we are using ours. It's very thought-provoking and I highly recommend reading it - you can read the entire thing in a few minutes. You can read it HERE.

Great stuff!

Grinding out the Sermon

2009-03-15T19:44:00.002-04:00

The Sermon on the Mount, that is. I am co-teaching a high school class at my church on Sundays and we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount since oh, about early December. We're about halfway. I think I once taught Revelation in a shorter time frame than this. But I was younger then... Anyway, it has been really great. Our class is comprised of various age high school students, military academy students, and one young man who is an atheist. There is nothing better for young folks to hear about and to be challenged with than the way Jesus told Christians to live life. The Sermon on the Mount was counter-cultural when it was first given and it is just as counter-cultural today. And that causes a lot of questions.

Questions are great though - I wish more churches did like Erwin McManus does at Mosaic where he incorporates a question and answer time at the end of some of his sermons. People have questions, we need to let them ask them, and do our best to answer. I realized this recently. We (the teachers) dictate what few verses we will study each week, and it's all focused around that narrow topic. We usually end 10-15 minutes before our hour is up so we are using that time now to allow any and all questions that the students may have. Of course, when you allow teenagers to ask "any" question, you don't get easy ones like 'what's the book right after Acts called?' No, we get more of this type - "Why does God always get credit for the good stuff that happens but not the bad stuff He allows too?" "Why do you need God to get through life?" "What is your definition of adultery?"

But this is one of the most important things we can do I think - allow them to ask questions and do our best to answer them. They have the questions in their minds, whether you allow them to ask or not, so wouldn't you rather let people ask and get them closer to figuring things out? I would. We get a lot of questions during class too that point to the problem mainstream Christianity has today. Jesus says, you can't serve both God and Money. Hand goes up - "Don't lots of Christians today do both?" YES! And that's the point! Even among the Christians, these ideas from the Sermon on the Mount are counter-cultural. Hardly anyone actually does them. If they did, Christianity would have quite a different reputation. Is it any wonder that Jesus refers to many of the bad examples as hypocrites, and Christians today are believed to be many things by non-Christians, and one of the main things is hypocritical? It's no surprise. The hypocrites back then were the Jewish leaders. The hypocrites today are many of the Christians still.

The entire Bible is worth studying in depth and reading over and over. It's a work that must be taken as a whole. But if you just want to start living the way a Christian is supposed to - OR if you want to know what those people you know who say they are Christians are supposed to believe and act like - just read the three chapters of the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5 - 7. That will get you started. After Jesus finished preaching that, the people "were amazed." If you want some amazing guidance for your life, read the Sermon. It's life changing!

One

2009-03-05T16:13:00.003-05:00

Listening to an old sermon series from Elevation Church today (from last summer). It was entitled One and involved some prominent pastors from around the country preaching to many (over a thousand) churches about their ideas on if they got one prayer, it would be ______. Craig Groeschel preached to Elevation the second week and it was pretty awesome stuff on the idea of the Church becoming One. It's something I've been passionate about for a while now - ideas like how denominationalism has been so divisive and how critical we are of each other instead of working together, etc. This was his final thought:

"When the world stops hearing about Jesus and actually sees Him through the Church, they won't be able to say No to Him. What would happen if we the Church across the world united and took all the resources that God has given us and we became one? What do you think God could do through us this week if we became one? Here's what God could do: By Monday - starvation around the world could be eliminated; by Tuesday - every person could have access to clean drinking water; by Wednesday- everyone with a medical need could receive proper medical attention; by Thursday - poverty could be completely irradicated; by Friday - every orphan with a need could receive adequate attention; by Saturday - the whole world could not only know the name of Jesus but they could see Him, if we became one; and on Sunday we would worship like we've never worshipped before, because the world would know the glory and the power and the love of Jesus through His people. That's why if I had one prayer to pray, it would be "Father in Heaven, make us One."

This is my prayer too.

Peculiar People

2009-02-24T09:56:00.003-05:00

Listening to Purple People Leader series on iTunes this morning, by Steven Furtick of Elevation Church. Great message! My favorite quote from the first sermon - "Stop trying to fit in and stand out for the glory of God!" Cool is not what we try to do to be like them. Cool is what we do that is different - fidelity, not getting drunk, telling the truth, living with integrity. Start being exceptional! He's rocking this sermon series in a big way! I'm pumped up. "You're not an abnormal person living in a normal world, you're a normal person living in an abnormal world."

I am trying a new multi-media experience this morning too, which I am really liking. I have iTunes on, listening to his sermon, but I also have some KJ-52 on in the background on Windows media player, playing at the same time but at a little lower volume. It sets his whole sermon to a rocking soundtrack and I love it!! It's really neat to see how the music changes and how that influences how you "read" what he's saying. I'm going to be doing this with a lot of people/soundtrack mixes in the future. I am a big fan of multi-tasking. So, this morning, I'm working, listening to a sermon, and music all at the same time (while drinking coffee! - OH!!!).

Work as for the Lord, and not for men.

Here's the link to his sermon - http://www.elevationchurch.org/mediaPlayer.php?sermon=158

Keepin it Real

2009-02-23T21:49:00.002-05:00

I love the internet! It has been such a good friend to me over the last few years. It has helped me get jobs, informed me on tons of stuff, showed me the upcoming weather, and allowed for many a game to be played during boring times. But it has also been an interactive network of people who are inspiring me and influencing my life in a big way. I download sermons through iTunes and listen to them while driving or while at work. I read tons of blogs - thank you Google Reader! I check out church websites, and other websites that have helped to really get me thinking. I also read tons of books. Ok, not as many as some people I know, but more than the average bear. I finished three books last week!

And it was in one of those books - "it" by Craig Groeschel - that I was reminded of something very important. I need to make sure I am worshipping God, and not the things written about God. It was something Craig said he had gotten caught up in one time. He was reading everything he could get his hands on about churches and worship, and leadership - but in the meantime he hadn't been spending significant time with God, and it hurt his ministry. I too fall into this temptation. How tricky is that? Reading books about God (when done in excess) can lead us away from Him. The truth is, you'll never get more benefit than having that personal relationship with God. And that means spending significant time with Him, and in His Word, every day. Books and the internet are certainly good tools, but all things in moderation.

Don't forget to keep it real by staying in the real world and worshipping the real God.

New Video Tool - Animoto

2009-02-18T05:54:00.002-05:00

One of my friends showed me this the other day and I loved it. This is a video of Ross's first 7 months. The song choice isn't an exact fit, but I still liked it. Enjoy!

Prophetic Words from the Past

2009-02-16T22:17:00.004-05:00

I just finished reading God in the Wasteland by David F. Wells. I had to read it for class, and I cruised the entire thing this afternoon/evening. The book mainly deals with the church's struggle with modernity, but towards the end there was a few ideas that really stuck out to me. Here is what he said:

"...a church that can find in the midst of our present cultural breakdown the opportunity to be God's people in a world that has abandoned God. To be the church in this way, it is also going to have to find in the coming generation leaders who exemplify this hope for its future and who will devote themselves to seeing it realized.... They will have to rise above the internal politics of the evangelical world and refuse to accept the status quo where that no longer serves the vital interests of the kingdom of God. They will have to decline to spend themselves in the building of their own private kingdoms and refuse to be intimidated into giving the church less and other than what it needs. Instead, they will have to begin to build fresh, in cogently biblical ways, among the decaying structures that now clutter the evangelical landscape. To succeed, they will have to be people of large vision, people of courage, people who have learned again what it means to live by the Word of God, and, most importantly, what it means to live before theholy God of that Word. These leaders must successfully accomplish two major projects. First, the church is going to have to learn how to detect worldliness and make a clear decision to be weaned from it.... Second, the church is going to have to get much more serious about itself, cease trying to be a supermarket serving the needs of religious consumers, and become instead a force of countercultural spirituality that draws from the interconnected lives of its members and is expressed through their love, service, worship, understanding, and proclamation."

Now, the most interesting thing about all that is that he wrote it back in 1994 - 15 years ago. That's why I believe it was in some ways prophetic. From my perspective, these things are coming to pass. There is a new generation of leader being established that is doing things differently - better. The past is the past, and I'm not saying there was anything wrong with the way things were done. But continuing to do the same thing in the future is just poor logic and a lack of wisdom. The things he wrote about back then are happening now. If you don't see that, take a look around at the many failing and dying churches that were started within the last 50 years. Then, if you want to see what the new era looks like - go visit the websites I list under "My Influences" on the right side of this page. You will find that these guys are doing things in a new way - but they have reclaimed a tight grip on the Word of God and are letting it determine their worldview once again.

When you look around the landscape of Christianity in America - what do you see?

I have the song "God of this City" stuck in my head tonight...

Fatherhood Fraternity

2009-02-08T21:16:00.003-05:00

One of the coolest parts of being a dad is talking with other dads about being dads. I just recently caught back up with a friend from college and we were both discussing how great fatherhood is and how cool it is that we both were. I have another friend from where I vacation who posted a video on his blog of him tickling his daughter, and it was almost the same thing I do with Ross. It was great! There are a couple guys at work with older kids, so it's nice to talk to them sometimes and they let me know that the current crisis I am facing will be shortlived, or not nearly as bad as so and so that will happen later.

There's always been the brotherhood of men, and I greatly enjoy sharing stories of feats of strength, hunting and fishing, and other things that only guys find entertaining (like how I lost part of my big toenail). But there's another fraternity within all men that is comprised of those of us now raising little men and women. For those of you who aren't yet fathers, I can only say that it's like nothing you can imagine. It's both the most challenging and rewarding thing you'll ever do. And once you are one, you won't be able to ever imagine what life was like before and you wouldn't have it any other way than now.

And from my wife's experiences and discussions with her friends, I know there's a sisterhood of mothers out there too. When you think about it, it's what life is all about. Finding groups to belong to, sharing common ideas and interests, and supporting those in your group. This idea encompasses all realms of society from biker gangs, to the Ruritans, to well, hopefully, local churches. It's called community. And it is integral to making it through life. We all need people around us and we all need support and friendship. As Seth Godin says in his book Tribes, people tend to break out into groups of similarities. My current one happens to be fatherhood.

Take some time and think about what communities and tribes you are in right now and what those mean to you. Jim Kallam Jr. wrote a book several years back that is one of my absolute favorite books about how churches should be, called Risking Church. If you want to learn more about why community is important in the church and how to begin cultivating a good one, this is a must read. Without God, and without each other - we will struggle horribly with life. But with God, and with a supportive community around us, we will, as Jim says, "struggle well with life."

Wisdom from Willard

2009-02-05T14:10:00.003-05:00

Dallas Willard wrote a great book a while back that I read for school called "The Spirit of the Disciplines." I am currently listening to him on mogulus.com/monvee. He just said something really profound. He said (in effect) "no Christian should spend any amount of time worrying about the longevity of any local church." John Ortberg, who was interviewing him, asked him to repeat it just to make sure everyone got that. He said, Jesus Christ is building His Church, so we shouldn't waste time worrying about whether it will last or not - it will, and Jesus has it under control.

This struck me as so insightful. SO MANY PEOPLE are focused on their local church and whether or not it is growing, how it's doing financially, etc. That is not really what we're supposed to be focused on. We're supposed to be focused on being Jesus to the world - meeting the needs of those outside the church, reaching out, spreading the good news of the Gospel. When it all comes down to it, the longevity of any given church should have nothing to do with those other things. We should always be doing those things and spending our time thinking about them. Jesus is taking care of the Church.

Now, this is not to say that the Church isn't vital and important - it absolutely is. It was set up by Jesus, it is the bride of Christ, it is His Body. But it is not contained in a congregation or a building or a name. It is all of us, every Christian man and woman living and being that Body and working out the Gospel message in our lives and making a positive difference in the lives around us. That's what matters. We do that in part THROUGH the various functions of a church, but there is a distinction here that bears thinking about. Are we putting our time and energy in the right places? Are we letting God be in charge enough? Are we fighting the right battles - the ones that make an eternal difference?

Essentially his main message today is that we need to live out a radical trust in God. Don't worry about results, don't worry about anything really - trust it all to God. Let Him account for the numbers or whatever. It's about living deeply. It's about trusting deeply, and the freedom that comes along with it.

Deadly Vipers

2009-01-31T07:29:00.003-05:00

I am listening to the audio version of the book "Deadly Vipers: Character Assassins" by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite right now. I've listened to the first three chapters so far. It's really great. The premise is that as a Christian leader, I ought to be living out a life of radical grace, and radical integrity. And there are assassins who try to sneak in and destroy me in the process - such as the assassin of Zi Qi Qi Ren, the assassin of essentially lying to yourself, or presenting a false reality so that everything looks good. This book is written for anyone, but it really catches the ear/eye of guys who, like me, really enjoy martial arts movies. The one statement that has already been committed to memory is from Master Po - "The greatest warrior is the one who has conquered himself."

This reminds me of something I read in an Oz Guinness book on doubting - we need to stop listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves. Essentially these two concepts mean the same thing. When we listen to ourselves, or let our minds run wild, we think of all kinds of doubts, fears, lusts, fantasies, and many other things that ruin our integrity, composure, and grace. This is to allow the assassins to come in and kill. But when we begin to talk to ourselves, speaking out loud the things we know - the words of God, our knowledge from past experiences, our determination, our inner spirit begins to roar and drown out the many whisperings of doubt and enticement that lead us astray. We have eyes to see the enemy sneaking in and we turn on him and defeat him before he has a chance to attack.

But, as everyone who has watched a martial arts movie knows, it is a very difficult thing to master yourself, but it is absolutely essential in defeating your enemy. We must first conquer ourselves.

Good Theology

2009-01-20T05:23:00.005-05:00

I am currently taking a semester of Systematic Theology in seminary. Before I got into school, there were some confusing words that all seemed like they meant the same thing to me. I now know the difference and will explain. "Exegesis" - this is essentially where you are figuring out what was originally said in the Bible, to what original audience, and in what historical/cultural context. "Hermeneutics" - this is taking exegesis (the original message) and applying it to a new audience today. "Systematic theology" - this is sort of combining exegesis, hermeneutics, and philosophy and using it to help people understand who God is and develop a Christian worldview. So, the theology part is the goal of the church leader/teacher - to help people develop right ideas of who God is and what a Christian worldview looks like.

I am reading through "No Perfect People Allowed" by John Burke right now. Yesterday I read two chapters that were far and away the two best pieces of theological writing I have read to date. When more time affords, I will be putting up individual posts on each of those chapters. But suffice it to say, that book is on the top of my "Must Read" list. The best part - I've seen John in person, I've exchanged a couple e-mails with him, and I listen to him preach via iTunes. He's a regular guy, down to earth, funny, etc. But he has a heart for God and a wisdom from God that few possess, and that makes him really worth listening to. He is the lead pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, TX. I mention him a lot because I believe when you find good theology in the world, you should point to it. So that's what I'm doing. There are lots of good writers out there who have written good Christian books, but this is really good theology like I haven't encountered many places. What good theology have you encountered lately that you should share with others? If the answer is none, why not?

New Beginnings

2009-01-12T20:39:00.002-05:00

I am starting another semester of school today. It promises to be a hard one. I think I'm ready for 16 weeks of Christian Theology though.

A follow-up to my last post on depression. I'm much better now, and was in fact even before I went to bed that night. I was able to get working on my small group lesson for the next day (with the high schoolers) and getting involved in that helped take my mind off of other things. I had a good prayer session at the end of the evening and went to bed in a good state. It never lasts long (at least it hasn't yet), but it happens to us all sometimes.

I guess I never told anyone about one of my secret weapons. It's a Presbyterian Book of Common Worship that I have. I have NO IDEA where I ever got it from, or even when I got it. I've never been to a Presbyterian anything until recently (I go to a men's community Bible study at a Presbyterian church on Thursday mornings). But, one day about 2 years ago, my eye caught it lying on a shelf in my office and I picked it up for the first time ever and began to look through it. I found a series of prayers, divided up by morning prayers and evening prayers, and there's one for each day of the week (so 14 in all). I really like these prayers. They give me a place to start, and things to focus on, and it's a great way not to meander in my prayers too much. They also focus on praying for lots of different people (the government, the lost, the sick, the many others), and the Church on various continents, etc. It's a great reminder to pray for all these different folks. But it's also very eloquent. I love the way some of them are worded - they say just the right things.

I haven't always prayed these every morning and evening, but during the times that I have, I have felt much closer to God. It in a way helps me remember to spend a decent amount of time praying, and remembering what to pray about. We went on a mission trip last year and I had it with me, and I offered to lead morning and evening prayer time. It was a really powerful thing for us that week, and the prayers had huge applications for what we were doing, and even lined up with our daily activities sometimes. It was cool.

So, that was the last thing I did the other evening, was go through my evening prayer in my book of common worship, and it really helped me reconnect with God. My question to you is this - what little insignificant, overlooked, hardly noticed thing has been sitting right in front of you for a long time that you need to pick up and examine for once? It just might change your life.

It's not always good

2009-01-10T20:52:00.003-05:00

Tonight I'm in a bit of a depression. I've got a lot of things weighing down on me. If I spent too much time dwelling on them, they could surround and overtake me. Just got me to thinking that if someone read my blog up until now, it would seem like my life is always on the positive, and always moving forward - like there are no real problems that slow me down. Guess that's cause I write about the good things. But tonight I'm writing about the not so good things.

Transparency. I've heard this word so much in the last 4 months. I think it's a key word. It means not sugar-coating life, being authentic and real. Admitting what's really going on. I want to be more transparent. I get depressed sometimes. I have a great life - great job, great family, great future. But I get depressed sometimes, like tonight. I want to give up sometimes, to just stop caring about the things that are weighing me down. It would be easier that way, or so I think - I don't actually know. I want to go to bed and just sleep it off, and feel better in the morning. But part of me wants to stay up and deal with it - figure things out, get through it.

It's times like these that God strangely seems silent and far away. He's not of course, but this is an area of weakness and Satan and his demons are experts at taking advantage of weakness. I'm not saying people who get depressed are weak. I'm saying it can be a chink in our armor and the enemy guns for it when it's exposed. Every time I try to think about God or talk to Him tonight, it's like my thoughts are immediately cloudy or diverted and it's almost as if I get whisked away before I know what's happening. I KNOW God can help me through this, but it's almost like I can't quite get to Him. Alone, that's what the enemy is pushing for, me to feel alone, even though I'm not. But it feels like it, and alone is a heavy place to be. It weighs down and doesn't let up.

I'm not going to keep writing on here until I "work things out," but I know I eventually will. My depression is usually short lived. But I just wanted to say to everyone out there, this is who I am. I have a good relationship with Jesus, but it's not always good in my life. Just bein real.

Sermon on the Mount

2008-12-27T10:44:00.003-05:00

We're studying the Sermon on the Mount in the HS class I am teaching at church. Fortunately, it is something I have studied in depth in the past, and the book I read while going through it was John R.W. Stott's "Sermon on the Mount." It doesn't have an impressive name, nor does it have an impressive cover, but that book is SO good! It really has helped in bringing out the importance of the message and all the ins and outs of it.

We have been creeping through this passage of Scripture, but I think it's exactly what we should be doing. We've studied 26 verses in 4 weeks. Slow huh? But when we focus in on just one topic, we can really explore it and see how it ties in with other parts of the Bible, and really learn the application of each part.

This week (tomorrow) we'll be studying murder. Jesus said not only is murder wrong, but thinking anger and using insults is as well. And he includes them all in the same discussion! How could what we think be as bad as actually killing? As I explored my study aid and went through the Scripture myself, here's what was revealed. Insulting people, and anger, and ignoring people you dislike - all these things destroy life. Your words and actions (or non-actions) carry much weight and when you use them against someone else, you are hurting. That hurt sometimes builds to the point of depression, which sometimes results in suicide. But regardless of the outcome, anytime you do these things, which start in your mind as angry thoughts and come out as insults, you are not valuing that person's life and are taking away from their ability to live a full life, as Jesus hoped for everyone.

I can't wait to go through this with the kids. I think it has enormous application in the life of a teenager and I think they'll get a lot out of it. I highly recommend this book if you are studying the Sermon on the Mount. I didn't get everything above from that book, but that's where I ended up after reading some of the things it did contain.

Everyone counts. If we could remember that and act accordingly, how different this place would be.

Truth + Grace = The Right Way

2008-12-22T05:26:00.002-05:00

I attend a men's community Bible study on Thursday mornings before work at the Presbyterian church downtown. This past week, one of the things we discussed was how essential it is to have a good balance of truth and grace. If there is just truth, then the truth is we are all sinners, we can't save ourselves, and it's enough to crush us. The grace that God extends to us though takes away the pain of the truth - we're forgiven, we're loved despite being unworthy, and our failures are not final. On the other hand, grace by itself leads to disillusionment - there's no accountability, it doesn't matter what we do, everything's fine all the time, and there's no reality check, no reason why we should change. The balance of the two is God's perfect way of letting us know the truth, but not letting us just sit with it and be crushed by it. Truth comes and at the same moment so does grace.

As Christians, we need to exercise this balance in our lives as well. Many Christians want to go one way or the other. There are those out there who like to point out everyone's faults, rip people up and down for their sins, and as we all know - the truth hurts. They never mix in any grace - they're legalistic and they wield the truth like a club, hitting anyone in arm's reach. There's no grace to soften the blow. Then there are those who are just so full of grace they'd never tell you the truth. You know, all your best friends who would never confront you about sin. And the people who won't tell people the hard truth because "we're supposed to be gracious." And we are, but not solely. Grace without truth is just soft, warm fuzzy love and no one ever addresses sin, so everyone always feels like they're just fine.

What we need is a healthy balance, as God has modeled for us in His relationship with us. We need to confront people with the truth, but with grace. Paul said to deal with people gently. No, I'm not saying that even with grace we need to confront everyone we know about their sins - there's no job position in the Bible that calls for a sin accuser. But at the same time, we are responsible for those around us, and we were told to not just overlook it all the time. We need to use spiritual wisdom to know when it's for their own good, and then we need to use a mixture of truth and grace. They're both important, and they should be used in the same amount.

I have seen this work in my church. There was a difficult situation where I knew feelings would be hurt, but the truth was that it had to happen. So I tried to just heap on lots of grace (not false grace either - I meant every word that I said, and it was a good way of keeping me focused on being gracious while dealing out truth). And within a week, the ordeal was over, and everyone agreed that we were moving in the right direction and there was little to no long-term fallout. The grace came along with the truth and it allowed us to confront a situation (not being so gracious we wouldn't say anything and let it continue), but also once the truth was out to begin healing the hurt that came along with it immediately (not letting the truth just camp out and do long-term damage by itself).

This was God's design, grace and truth, so it ought to be modeled by us in our lives.

Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-19T05:47:00.002-05:00

This is not a post against Christmas. It is a post against the way we "celebrate" Christmas. My last Christmas post pretty much addressed this, so I won't go into it again here in detail. The point it this: you're going to buy a bunch of stuff for people who don't need it, when instead you could be using that money to bring people clean water who will otherwise die because of it, or many other worthwhile things that help people. Christmas is the celebration of the life of Jesus. Let's honor that life by heeding His teachings and helping those around us, by being His hands and feet in a broken world. Check out this website for more ideas and for some videos you can share with those around you. If nothing else, you should at least take two minutes to view the video on the top right of the home page. http://www.adventconspiracy.org/ You can make a huge difference. The only question is will you?

Being Jeremy Keegan

2008-12-10T19:34:00.006-05:00

I read some interesting writing by a friend of mine today and long story short I was inspired to just write something a little different today and go a little introspective. So, here are some interesting things about me:

- I really like westerns, not so much Clint Eastwood as John Wayne, and my favorite western is The Cowboys.

- One day I hope to have a farm on which we will raise animals and have a big garden and we'll be much more self-sufficient than we're currently able to be here in town. I just like the idea of having a family on a farm, working the land, being surrounded by natural beauty.

- I enjoy different styles of music at different times of the week. On Mondays, I like to get pumped up with something faster. Wednesday nights I like something quiet. Fridays I like the "music of your life" - like Frank Sinatra and friends. Saturday nights I prefer jazz. I go through phases where I like country music, but it is usually country music from 30+ years ago, and right now is not one of those times.

- I am learning to speak, read, and write Chinese (Mandarin).

- If I could get time to do it, I would absolutely love to sit down and read my two volume set of Sherlock Holmes stories cover to cover.

- My favorite bird is the pelican. I'm not sure what our connection is, but I'm very taken with them. One of my favorite things to do on vacation is wake up early and head down to the shore to watch the pelicans.

- I really like to cook. I would call myself an "experimental chef." My favorite thing to cook right now is chili.

- I used to be afraid of roller coasters as a kid. Now, as an adult, I can't get enough of them - the bigger, faster, and crazier the better.

- I have a white german shepherd named Jack. As a puppy he destroyed most of my furniture. But he's my buddy and the day he goes will be one of the worst days of my life.

- My two favorite TV shows are the Simpsons and MASH

- Things that annoy me are unflushed toilets, people that don't smile back, being interrupted, gossip, and when people discontinue making food I really like.

- I cry every time at the end of the movie Hardball - every time.

- My favorite board game is chess.

- I am very interested in doing things that help the environment, like drinking right out of the milk carton to save water by not having to do as many dishes

- Something I want to be when I grow up is a writer.

- I love having a family more than I ever could have imagined, and I would be fine having several more kids.

I really enjoyed writing this, and hope that it entertains, informs, and inspires you to share more of yourself with those around you. Relationships. That's where it's at. Opening up, being real with people. Try it today!

God - megalomaniac or extreme lover?

2008-12-07T06:59:00.005-05:00

I ran across this question and subsequent answer on J.D. Greear's blog and saw that it provided permission to reuse and reproduce it, so I thought it was worth sharing here. I encourage you to read this in its entirety before you render a verdict. I started to get a little pumped up midway through, and then right after that, I found what I had been missing. I think this is a very unique and important thought process we need to have. Enjoy!

Why God Is Not a Megalomaniac in Demanding to Be Worshiped

The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS)

Providence, Rhode Island

By John PiperNovember 20, 2008

Several years ago Wayne Grudem told me that I should come to ETS more often because I am surrounded by people at my church who largely agree with me and may not challenge me in the way I would be challenged here at ETS. Here people will be more critical, and I will be helped to avoid error and refine my thinking.

So here I am, and I am looking for criticism—or at least penetrating questions that will help me avoid error and sharpen my biblical thinking. That means I aim to leave half my time for questions. That also means I can only give a few theses and a few arguments.

What I am presenting is the nub of what I have been saying over and over for about 25 years. This will not be new. I hope that your questions about it will help me do better if the Lord gives me a few more years, because this message is close to the heart of what I believe he put me on the earth to say.

Thesis 1

My all-shaping conviction is that God created the universe in order that he might be worshipped with white-hot intensity by created beings who see his glory manifested in creation and history and supremely in the saving work of Christ.

Thesis 2

I am also persuaded that people need to be confronted with how self-exalting God is in this purpose. To confront them with this, I give a quiz:

Q 1: What is the chief end of God?
A: The chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy displaying and magnifying his glory forever.
Q 2: Who is the most God-centered person in the universe?
A: God.
Q 3: Who is uppermost in God’s affections?
A: God.
Q 4: Is God an idolater?
A: No. He has no other gods before him.
Q 5: What is God’s chief jealousy?
A: God’s chief jealousy is to be known, admired, trusted, enjoyed, and obeyed above all others.
Q 6: Do you feel most loved by God because he makes much of you, or because he frees you to enjoy making much of him forever?

Thesis 3

I press on this because I believe that if we are God-centered simply because we consciously or unconsciously believe God is man-centered, then our God-centeredness is in reality man-centeredness. Teaching God’s God-centeredness forces this issue of whether we treasure God because of his excellence or mainly because he endorses ours.

Thesis 4

God’s eternal, radical, ultimate commitment to his own self-exaltation permeates Scripture. His aim to be exalted glorified, admired, magnified, praised, and reverenced is seen to be the ultimate goal of all creation, all providence, and all saving acts.

“He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace” (Ephesians 1:5-6).
God created the natural world to display his glory: “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalms 19:1).
“You are my servant Israel in whom I will be glorified” (Isaiah 49:3); “. . . that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory (Jeremiah 13:11).
“He saved them [at the Red Sea] for his name’s sake that he might make known his mighty power” (Psalm l06:7-8); “I have raised you up for this very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Romans 9:17).
“I acted [in the wilderness] for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out (Ezekiel 20:14).
[After asking for a king] “Fear not . . . For the Lord will not cast away his people for his great name’s sake (l Samuel 12:20-22).
“Thus says the Lord God, It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act [in bringing you back from the exile], but for the sake of my holy name . . . . And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name . . . and the nations will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 36:22-23, 32). “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My namebe profaned? And My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 48:11).
“Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:8-9).
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (John 12:27, 28).
“He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15).
“God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
“I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25).
“Whoever serves [let him serve], as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:11).
“Immediately an angel of the Lord smote [Herod] because he did not give glory to God” (Acts 12:23).
“. . . when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at in all who have believed (2 Thessalonians l:9-l0).
“Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory, which thou hast given me in Thy love for me before the foundation of the world” (John l7:24).
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).
“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the lamb” (Revelation 21:23).

Thesis 5

This is not megalomania because, unlike our self-exaltation, God’s self-exaltation draws attention to what gives greatest and longest joy, namely, himself. When we exalt ourselves, we lure people away from the one thing that can satisfy their souls—the infinite beauty of God. When God exalts himself, he manifests the one thing that can satisfy our souls, namely, God.

Therefore, God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is the most loving act, since love labors and suffers to enthrall us with what is infinitely and eternally satisfying, namely, God. Therefore, when God exalts God and commands us to join him, he is pursuing our highest, deepest, longest happiness. This is love, not megalomania.

Thesis 6

God’s pursuit of his glory and our pursuit of our joy turn out to be the same pursuit. This is what Christ died to achieve. “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). When we are brought to God as our highest treasure, he gets the glory and we get the pleasure.

Thesis 7

To see this and believe this and experience this is radically transforming to worship—whether personal or corporate, marketplace or liturgical.

The Gospel Message

2008-12-03T05:19:00.002-05:00

There is a reason why the story and teachings of Jesus was told 4 different ways by 4 different guys and made it into the BIble in 4 different books. BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT. Anyone who has studied literature will tell you how repetition is a literary device used to show importance (and other things). Is it any wonder there is so much attention given to the life of God who came down in flesh? This must be given priority in our study and teaching. Now, that is not to say that the rest of the Bible isn't important or shouldn't be taught - because it is and should. You wouldn't understand the Gospel without the rest of the Bible. Everything before it leads up to it and sets up why it was necessary. Everything after it describes what to do with it and what will happen because of it. But don't miss this - the essentials are in the Gospel. If you are structuring your life around Deuteronomy primarily, you're misusing your Bible. The OT provides you the backstory of the history of God and people and that all points to and leads up to the Jesus part of the story. It is vital to read the OT so that you get a better picture of who God is, how people had relationship with Him, and there are many beneficial things to learn there. Also, a lot of people like the writings of Paul. All that stuff is good, but the story of Jesus is in there 4 times for a reason - because it is the most important part. Whatever part of the Bible you are reading, keep all this in mind, and it will enrich your understanding and will keep bringing you back to the Gospel. One last sidenote - are we teaching and preaching it as that important as well? Same arguments listed above apply to teaching - do we have that understanding? Christ followers need to primarily be living the life Jesus Christ instructed them to.

Our Lives as a Witness

2008-11-19T05:58:00.004-05:00

More and more we are finding that our lives are our witness to those outside the faith, but what does that actually mean for us? Pastor of The Summit Church in NC, J.D. Greear had some amazing thoughts on his blog today, so I thought I would just let him speak on this subject, as I couldn't say it any better. http://www.jdgreear.com/ (go to his November 19, 2008 post)

My favorite part is "we are to live in such a way that our lives BEG a question from people that are watching."

Is this you? Is this me? It should be...

The Cart Before the Horse

2008-11-18T06:25:00.002-05:00

I am reading "unChristian" right now and it is a phenomenal book. The premise is that many of the things we "Christians" do right now is actually rather un-Christian. The writers have spent years researching and compiling their findings into this book to show how outsiders view the church and why we need to change. We are viewed as sheltered, hypocritical, antihomosexual, and several other things. They have many small sections in the book that have been written by many other pastors and Christian leaders and a theme seems to be popping up regularly, and I am encountering it in sermons on podcasts as well, and it is this: We have put the cart before the horse too long in evangelism and it's time we turned it around.

What they mean is that for a long time we have been asking people to make a decision as their first act, and then get to know Jesus. We have emphasized the importance of the decision - with good reason, as we see the decision as being the point where they ask Jesus into their hearts, hence receiving salvation - and this is what most Christians are passionate about, saving people from an eternity in Hell. But, if we take a look at where Christianity has led in the last 50 years, with that as the emphasis, has it been the right emphasis? Many people make decisions and then fall by the wayside - they turn back to their old lifestyles, they stop going to church, they aren't brought into a small group or a church family where they can be discipled and loved. Of course this is not the case in every situation, but there seems to be an overall lack of enthusiasm about Christ and it's coming from Christians. Maybe it's because they decided to become one before they really knew Jesus.

The premise of the writers I am referring to above would say that nonbelievers shouldn't make a snap decision, but that we as churches should invite them to come and be with us, and learn who God is and see what He's done in our lives first. Then, they will be drawn to Him through us - they will learn who Jesus is and what He's done and they will see lives that have been changed and hear stories of restoration and grace and that's what they will be drawn to.

Some would say, well that message is what we call the Gospel, and if it is preached one time, then they've heard it and can respond - what more is there to be done? I don't have a comprehensive answer for that, and I'm not trying to say the old methods were wrong. But there is a new generation out there, and they are a skeptical and cautious group that sees right through our masks. If we call ourselves Christians, they are going to wait and evaluate that claim before deciding anything about us. If we push them for a snap decision, it will push them away in many cases.

We also need to get a lot more serious about discipleship. If we have a bunch of people running around claiming to be Christians who, when questioned, can't explain what exactly they believe in or why, then we are presenting ourselves as blind and ignorant followers of something unknown to even ourselves. C.S. Lewis said, "If you can't turn your faith into the vernacular, then either you don't understand it or you don't believe it."

There are a lot of labels Christianity has on itself right now, many of them not good. What are you doing to change that?

What is Christmas?

2008-11-10T06:36:00.000-05:00

I just heard a Q-talk by Chris Seay on consumerism. I have been feeling this for a while now, and have mentioned it a couple times but not gotten supportive response. I am overwhelmed thinking this right now. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ - at least for Christ-followers it is supposed to be that. It celebrates the beginning of a life that was lived out differently, in stark contrast to the pop-culture of His day. His was a way of caring, grace, peace, generosity, love, and holiness. Christmas is a celebration of the beginning of THAT LIFE.

But what is our usual habit of "celebrating" Christmas? We spend hundreds (some spend thousands) of dollars buying ourselves and each other things we do not need. Exactly how does that celebrate the life of Christ? I'm not sure it does. There will inevitably be the person (or maybe everyone) out there that will tell me the tie in for the gifts and Jesus and will justify it in light of this discussion. But justify this: a child dies every 15 minutes simply because they don't have clean water, yet we spend $600 giving our kid a room full of toys.

What I'm getting at here is not that it is wrong to give gifts. I am ALL for giving meaningful gifts that come from our God-given talents and abilities (things like baked goods, poems, photographs, and the many other things we can do and create). Even smaller gifts, like a book or a journal - something someone really needs, that's ok too. But this addictive consumerism that takes over us and we buy and buy and buy and we are constantly taking inventory of how much stuff we've bought compared to how much we think someone else will buy for us, cause we can't look like the cheapskate - THIS HAS TO GO. What about that process celebrates Christ?

Here's a radical idea. What if we narrowed down our gift giving to one or two meaningful, from the heart, gifts and took the rest of the money we were going to spend and sent it to the Rwanda Clean Water Program so kids could get clean water and stop dying. Or there are tons of other ideas out there in which we can use our money (which we have a ridiculous abundance of - just look at your Christmas bills if you think I'm wrong) and use it for the good of those who are not as blessed as we are. Your family could sponsor a child, or buy mosquito nets to help prevent malaria, or decide to buy gifts only from a website that is fair trade, send Operation Christmas Child boxes, or many other things. Isn't this more of an actual celebration of the life of Jesus than just consuming?

If my suggestions make you mad - and you're mad at the idea that we do away with the huge spending on piles of gifts, I urge you to prayerfully and Scripturally consider your habits. I challenge each of us to choose habits this Christmas that honor the life of Christ, instead of choosing ones that ignore it. Read the Gospels and tell me what Jesus would think of our Christmas. All the money we throw away each December - that money can be STOPPING problems in other parts of the world. It's your choice.

I come second

2008-11-09T21:33:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading an amazing book by Eugene Peterson called "Working the Angles." The three angles are prayer, scripture, and spiritual direction. There's no huge imagery or illustrations that tie deeply into the whole "angle" thing, and there's no subliminal reason that there's only three. In Peterson's mind, there is only prayer and scripture for us to be putting energy towards, and we are also supposed to have and be a spiritual director.

The concepts that he brings out about prayer, Scripture, Sabbath, and many other things are so life-changing. He says prayer doesn't start with us. God spoke first, so any speaking we do is second and ought to be in response to God. Wow, kind of changes the idea of "starting a meeting with prayer." He also talks about how God spoke His Word, and then it was written down later. God's Word is spoken, and as such, it is arranged in narrative form. When we submit to others our teaching from the Scripture, are we giving it that value? That whatever verse we pick is deeply and inseperably tied to a huge story that God literally SPOKE to us. Do we read the Bible like that? Again, God spoke, we listen - we come second. He also discussed how we see our day to day structure. The day begins when we go to sleep - because we get out of the way and God does amazing and infinite things as the sovereign creator that He is, and then we wake up later and ask to be a part of it. The Jews saw each day ending at sundown, and beginning in the dark while they were asleep. God comes first, creating and moving in the details things we can't possibly imagine, and then we get up and become a part of it each day. We come second.

Whether you agree with his ideas or not, I think it is worth considering the overall point that everything we do ought to be done with a proper posture and mindset - that God comes first and we come second. This one thread should run constant through the way we pray, the way we live out each day, the way we study the Bible and interact with each other, and maybe even the way we prepare to go to sleep. Think about it.

Tolerance

2008-11-04T15:08:00.001-05:00

I was listening to Ed Young's sermon on iTunes from this past Sunday and he put words to a distinction we need to recognize. The term tolerance used to mean "acceptance". You tolerate it, you accept it. In this way, Christians should be tolerant. And it is something we try to be - accepting. We accept people with various lifestyles, problems, attitudes, etc. Or at least we should. But today it has a different connotation, which goes askew of this original meaning. Now it means "approval." Now, in order to be tolerant, we not only have to accept something, we have to approve of it, or applaud it. If we do not approve of lifestyles, problems, attitudes, etc., we are labeled as intolerant. There is a need for us as Christians to be tolerant (accepting) of all people, but we need not applaud their lifestyles and actions when they go opposite to our values and teachings - AND THIS INCLUDES OURSELVES. People who attend church regularly need to stop approving of their own lifestyles and habits as well, when they also run counter to a life that would honor God. So, we should be tolerant (accepting) of everyone, but not to the point where we applaud things we know to be sinful. When people do come, the opposite reaction is not the best either - to condemn them for what they are doing. What the church needs to do when people are hurting or need help is to put down our stones and get our our bandaids (thanks Jud). If imperfect people can't come to the church and receive all the help they need, where can they go? If we're not that place, what are we?

An Ongoing Conversation

2008-11-02T19:53:00.000-05:00

In Eugene Peterson's book "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" he says that he realized at one point that the most important things he could do as a pastor were Scripture and prayer. Scripture, being God's Word, is a way for God to communicate to us, to literally speak to us. And for those of us who read it often we know it can come to life in front of us and jump right into our souls and speak to something we've been working on or tell us something we need to say. Prayer on the other hand is our way of communicating to God, and sometimes we know God also communicates to us through prayer as well. He realized that he must also combine the two as much as possible - prayerfully reading Scripture, and praying scripturally. And there's lots of other comparisons and illustrations you can draw from his ideas if you want.

The thing I pulled from those ideas is that there is supposed to be an ongoing conversation between you and God when things are as they should be. Brother Lawrence called this Practicing the Presence of God. Every fiber and moment in life is created by God and full of His purpose. We, as His men and women, need to be in tune with God at all times. How better to know what His will is for our lives, and how better to know what He wants us to do in a given situation, or what to say to someone? And what a great constant reminder of who's really in charge and where we should go first when things come up.

Through my first week of doing 60 minutes for 60 days, I have already noticed a difference. I bring more things to God, and I notice Him more throughout the day, and I feel that I am beginning to view more of life through a God filter because He's on my mind more. But I am also noticing just how big of a problem I have as well. There are times when I am on a photo shoot for work and I all of the sudden notice that I haven't heard my watch chime in a couple hours. I at first wonder if it is still working, but alas the problem is that I was so engrossed in work I overlooked/ignored God. Also, there are times when I hear the chime but I don't really stop what I am doing, but instead give God a quick hello, how are you kind of response instead of truly pausing to acknowledge Him.

The good news is, I have 52 more days to improve. I am already planning to probably never not have a chiming watch again, as it is such a good way to stay in touch with God. And I am finding that I don't know more about His will for my life yet, but that I am more willing to be a part of it each day. I can't wait for Christmas!

Radical

2008-10-30T07:04:00.000-04:00

I was on the Deadly Vipers website this morning, and watched an interview with Jud Wilhite and Mike Foster from Catalyst last year. Something they said just kind of stuck out to me so I thought I'd mention it here. It was a statement that is simple, yet profound and worth repeating to lots of people, but especially myself. They said, as leaders, we need to be people of "radical grace, and radical integrity." As I thought about that, I realized you can't really add much to that. Show people grace, and act with integrity, both of which we get from God. Everything else falls under that umbrella somewhere - being humble, honest, preaching the Gospel, etc. - all of these happen, and happen well with people who are full of grace and integrity. The further I go into this calendar year, the more the importance of our relationship with God is being brought to my attention. And, the more I see people living without it. As pastors, or leaders - we can't do this in the lives of other Christians - we can't make them have a good relationship with God. They have to want to. And since everything else (integrity, grace, etc) comes from having a relationship with God - it seems like that better be at the top of our priority list - for ourselves and for those around us.

My first 5 days of 60 minutes for 60 days has gone pretty well. When I am out on a photo shoot, I am realizing that I don't hear the little chime sometimes (too engrossed I guess). But I can already tell that I am much more constantly connected to God than I was a week ago. This has been a great decision and already I am feeling much closer to God, which is helping in my daily living.

60 Minutes for 60 Days

2008-10-26T10:38:00.001-04:00

While I was at Catalyst a few weeks ago, I had some very amazing men speak to me about their churches and about God, and I was positively impacted by many of them. One such man is John Burke, who is the senior pastor of Gateway Church. He also wrote "No Perfect People Allowed" which is in my library, and on my short list. He told us how one of the things his church is doing to bring people closer to God is a 60 Minutes for 60 Days campaign. During this time, everyone in the church sets a time telling device (watch, cell phone, etc.) to chime every hour, and when it does, you stop and take a moment or two to acknowledge, talk to, worship, etc. God. Once we hit the door for the way home on Sunday morning, we begin immediately getting distracted from God by the rest of the world. This is a great way to be constantly reminded that He is right there all the time, and that He desires relationship with us all the time.

They began this a few weeks ago, and I am starting mine today. I wanted to do the 60 days leading up to Christmas as a way to build my relationship up between now and then, and hopefully enjoy an even more meaningful Christmas celebration. I don't usually wear a watch, so it will take a little time to get used to having it on all the time, but I really think it will be worth it. It's a modern day way to begin practicing the presence of God, like Brother Lawrence and so many others have done in the past. And hopefully, my paying more attention to God will conversely make me pay less attention to other things that are the sinful distractions in my life. Try it for yourself!

Standing in the Gap

2008-10-20T21:14:00.000-04:00

Ezekiel 22:30 "I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one." This is one of the saddest commentaries on the Israelites from the Old Testament, but is it a relavent commentary still today? God had said that the land was thick with cheating and murdering, lying and stealing, and all kinds of wickedness - so there needed to be someone or some people to rise up, and build the wall back up in order to protect the land from evil, people to stand in the gap and keep the Enemy out...but He found no one. My TNIV note said God was looking for people of integrity. John Maxwell says you have integrity when your deed matches your creed. There is still a need for men and women of integrity today who will stand up and begin to build a protective wall around this land, who will fight to keep the Enemy from advancing to the inner regions. I'm not talking about publicly condemning sin and telling everyone how evil Satan is. I'm talking about not being a channel through which those things flow. Being instead a wall that doesn't allow it past. God is looking for you to stand in the gap with integrity in order to be part of the wall that protects His creation instead of helping to destroy it.

Catalyst

2008-10-15T23:33:00.000-04:00

To say the least, the three days I spent in Atlanta last week are going to play a HUGE part in my future. I attended Catalyst, a conference on Christian leadership. It was so awesome. I couldn't possibly talk about all the things I heard and was influence by, so I am updating my links on this page with some blogs and homepages of the guys who really made an impact on me. I encourage you, for the good of the Body of Christ and how it will be carried on into the future, to check out some of these sites and open yourself up the be influenced by men who are doing huge things for the Kingdom of God right now. My only challenge to you is to think about this: what year is it? Now, what year is your church operating out of? If your church has been doing things the same way for 10 years, it has probably lost quite a bit of relevance to today's culture. Never would I suggest we change our theology, because God and His Gospel never change and are always good. But in order to reach people that nobody else is reaching, we might need to do things nobody else is doing. Reread these words and let God work in your heart and challenge you. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but our ONLY goal here is to reach more lost souls - not to preserve the past. But neither should any church seek to be so relevant that they become disconnected. The Gospel is our message, and it needs no help - we only need to bring it, to people, today. We've been changed to bring change. Are we trying to preserve tradition at the risk of losing the Gospel?

Fatherhood

2008-10-14T05:22:00.001-04:00

Becoming a father has been one of the biggest challenges of my life so far. And he's only 4 months old! I can't begin to tell you how I am worried already about broken bones and trips to the dentist and his defiant attitude that is only so far away. But, I think I'm doing alright. Taking the first week of his life off from work was a great decision and I was really able to take care of my family and bond with Ross, and not to mention I got to change a couple hundred diapers! It was hard to go back to work, but not nearly as hard as when Sarah went back to work. She only works about two days a week, but on those days, I hardly see Ross at all. And I hear storied of how he is doing all kinds of neat stuff at grandma's house that I never get to witness. It's pretty hard sometimes. But only in that I miss him, and want to hold him and interact with him.

The first several weeks, all the constant crying was hard, but I got some good advice from two people that really helped. First, a coworker said (from experience) - you need to get some good earplugs, to take the edge off of the screaming, allowing you to calm down enough to still do what you need to do. See a baby's cry is designed by God to absolutely shoot right through a man like nothing else, and that's so we'll do something about it. But the earplugs were great - I only used them twice, but both times I was able to not get SO tense that I got frazzled. The other advice came from Sarah, and she said, when you start getting upset, just hand him off to me. I at first wanted so much to be able to "handle it" that I would fight the urge to call her in - like I couldn't take care of my own crying baby! But she was right, sometimes you just need to switch off - when you are tense, the baby senses that and you won't be able to calm it down because you're not calm. (Coincidently, I got to be the calmer one once recently, and now I understand the full circle of it).

It is difficult, but I wouldn't change a thing! I love Ross, and I like having a baby around, and I can't wait for the things he is going to do in the future (famous last words, I know). But I was quite surprised to hear a piece on the morning news this morning that suggested that new fathers are very susceptible to depression because it's so hard, and you should seek counseling and anti-depressants to handle it. They even recommended visiting a website called www.saddaddy.com . That IS sad. I wonder if some of the dads who are that depressed were actually ready (commitment wise) for fatherhood, or if they sort of became daddies and it wasn't their desire at that time. My advice to anyone out there thinking of becoming a father soon - go spend some real time with couples who have infants and young toddlers and talk to them. Hold their babies and play with their kids, and maybe even change a diaper (although really, it's not nearly as bad as you think it will be - honest!). Sarah and I have kept up good communication since Ross was born, and we have been able to alter things for the family as needed. I was spending Saturdays golfing for a couple weeks and then studying in the evenings, and wasn't really spending quality time with the family. We talked about this and I changed my priorities and schedule and it's been better for all of us. And future dads, talk to other dads, and ask them the questions you really want to know, and how they have dealt with things. Most assuredly every couple benefits from having God in their relationship, and having access to his counsel and love and peace. This is a vital part of our family life and should be yours too. God can get you through anything, even being a father, without resorting to the internet or pills.

Battling My Biggest Opponent

2008-09-06T10:42:00.000-04:00

I put this together almost a year ago from one of my treks up to Reddish Knob. It seemed fitting for my thoughts this morning. I have been reading a book by Os Guinness called God in the Dark. It's a book about doubt - where it comes from and what to do with it. The chapter I just finished talked about exactly, dead-on what I have been going through the last couple months.

In the last 4 years, I have taken 3 years worth of seminary classes, I have read approximately 60 books on Christianity, have been involved with weekly Bible study, daily Bible reading, prayer, preaching (infrequently), and much discussion on matters of faith and spirituality. I am not mentioning this for bragging purposes - no, in fact I am still a beginner seeking to learn more and more - I mentioned it to set up the context of the situation. The thing that has been nagging me quite a bit (and increasingly more and more) lately has been temptation. The areas that the temptations come from are things that I know to myself to be unquestioned, resolute areas that I flat out would never go. But the thoughts have been coming more frequently, they have been getting more rationalizing, and more persistent.

The conflict that arises is, how can I - someone so involved in my Christian walk, someone who reads so much, who studies and all that - how can I struggle so much with these temptations? Am I really not such a good Christian? Is my faith really weak? I have prayed for help in this arena, but have seen only negative progress. Why??? What's going on here? What can I do to fix this?

As I was reading this morning, it was as if God was writing me a letter to provide me the answer I had been looking for. Here are some of the quotes from different people in the chapter I read today:

"Moods never go by praying, moods go by kicking. A mood nearly always has its seat in the physical condition, not the moral. It is a continual effort not to listen to the moods which arise from a physical condition, never submit to them for a second. We have to take ourselves by the scruff of the neck and shake ourselves, and we will find that we can do what we said we could not." - Oswald Chambers

"Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?" - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"...address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself" - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"Unless we train our emotions they will lead us around by the nose, and we will be captives to every passing impulse or reaction." - Oswald Chambers

"For my part, I run with a clear goal before me; I am like a boxer who does not beat the air; I bruise my own body and make it know its master." - The Apostle Paul in Corinthians

The problem was not that there was anything wrong with my faith. Christian truth is still true, and my faith is as strong as it really is. The problem is that I have been letting my emotions (that change with each passing situation around me) dictate my thoughts and suggested actions and I have been a slave to emotion - my faith has been captive to emotion. I have been listening to myself (and we all know how our imaginations can run wild if not kept in check) instead of talking to myself (bringing the harsh reality check in when it's needed).

My biggest opponent is my undisciplined self, and the emotional rollercoaster that is allowed to run free if I don't do something about it. I prayed for outside help - what I needed to do was grab the bull I was sitting on by the horns and take charge myself. When those temptations arise from now on, I will confront them with preaching, with reality checks, with menacing and bruising force (metaphorically). I am a tough guy - and I'm tired of being pushed around and feeling like there's nothing I can do. It's time to get tough with myself.

Emotion has its place in life, but that place is not in the driver's seat. Think of all the times that people's emotions get out of control and how that dictates their actions - faith should dictate our emotions, not the other way around. I feel strengthened today, and I hope you do too if you've been dealing with similar issues.

C.S. Lewis says "Faith is the art of holding onto things your reason has once accepted, in spite of our change of moods."

The Church

2008-08-30T19:34:00.000-04:00

This last Sunday I went to church at Nags Head Church, which is the church we go to when we are on vacation at the beach. Over the last several years I have gotten to know a few of the people there a bit, including the pastor's son, Nathan. I just added his blog as a link to visit from my site because his story is one of absolute trials and faith. I'm not worthy of telling his story for him, so please just read his blog to find out what he and his wife and daughter have been through and the story they have to tell - it will melt your heart, strengthen your faith, and rock your world. I don't know him all that well, but Nathan is a friend of mine and he has taught me a lot about church. There are many things that Nags Head Church has: a cool building shaped like a wave, a phenomenal worship band, a Spirit-led and God-honoring pastor who is an exceptional leader and preacher, and a group of wonderful people as the body there. I absolutely love attending there, it blesses my heart so much that it hurts me inside to leave after only one worship service a year. And that's the way it should be.

For all the things that that church has or doesn't have, there is one thing that they are that can be summed up in one word: genuine. They are genuine Christians and it shows in everything they do. The worship wraps around you and you fall into it because it is so genuine and Spirit-led. The words of the pastor, whether they are stern, joking, instructional, or story-telling, they are all genuine, spoken to the people, straight from God.

Is my church genuine? Am I? These things are a lot more difficult to see in the mirror than they are in someone else. It made me take a good hard look at myself and ask, when people are around me, do they see a genuine Christian, or do they see someone who talks the right way and knows some things but doesn't seem quite like the real thing. What is the experience like at my church? It is different. Maybe it's different for me and not for others, but I think regardless, it may not be quite as genuine. As a member of my church, I include myself in the Church I talk of.

If we're not where we need to be, why? What needs to happen in a church in order to get the body functioning as genuine Christians all of the time? If there was an easy answer to that, all churches would be healthy and wonderful because we would know how to do it. As an up and coming Christian leader, I struggle with this immensely - what should the Church look like (what should it be), and how do I get people from outside of that framework into it?

In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer says, "We Christians are the Church, so whatever we are doing is what the Church is doing." Well, that's a good answer, but it's a scary one too. That puts the responsibility on the people in the church, not just the pastor. The whole can not be greater than the sum of its parts. What each church actually is - is the sum of each member of that church and what they are currently doing. If the church is made up of a bunch of genuine Christians with servant's hearts who are surrendered to God's will - you will have a church that is the very same. If your church has a decent leader, but the people generally are just Sunday morning attenders and they're not in God's will and are not surrendered and genuine in their daily lives, then the very same things will be true of your church. Again, this clearly shows that the personality, if you will, of a church does not stem from the pastor, but from all of the people in that church. What am I doing as a Christian? Do I understand the parallel consequences of what I am doing to the type of church I am a part of? The kind of Christian you are is a direct influence upon the church you regularly attend. And every person there has the same level of accountability and responsibility in this regard.

As I continue to reflect on my time at Nags Head Church, it creates a clear picture in my mind of the type of Christians who make up that church - because it comes through not only in the worship, or the message, but the entire experience - from the time you park to the time you leave the property. Now, if I don't think my church experience is the same (as good), then who's partly to blame for that? ME. If I want my church to be a certain way or do a certain thing, I need to be that way and do that thing first. What we do and who are are is what the Church is doing and what the Church is. Think about that, and ask yourself what kind of church you want, and what you're going to do about it in your own life.

Some final thoughts from the message brought to us last Sunday. "We must change so others can be changed by knowing us." "Let it be said of us that we lived our lives as a blessing to others." "In what significant ways is my life being changed by the Word of God?" "I've been changed to bring change."

Let these words be the words we live by as Christians. I will challenge myself with these phrases in order to ensure that I am a vital part of whatever church body I attend. I pray you would challenge yourself with these too.

Nowadays

2008-08-19T20:37:00.000-04:00

Nowadays, things are different. On June 26, Ross Vernon Keegan came into our world and everything has been different. I see the world differently, my priorities have changed, and I am growing in new ways every day. Being a father is one of the most challenging and rewarding things in life. With a demanding full-time job, and earning a Master's degree on the side, it is very difficult to balance everything. So far so good though. The one thing getting me through is the absolutely remarkable wife God blessed me with - Sarah. She is so amazing with Ross. She is so patient, nurturing, and wonderful. No one can calm him like she can, and he smiles for her more than anyone else too. I get frazzled from time to time, but she is my strength and my rock in those times. I can't imagine raising a child with a better person.

I am about halfway through seminary. Through my academic and personal reading and studies, there have been so many new things that I have begun to think about. What exactly is the Emergent Church Movement? Are these guys on the right track or steering off course? Tozer's book "The Knowledge of the Holy" reminds me that I can't ever define God - so how do I know Him? We have discussed that in our Bible study recently. The more I read the Bible, the more questions I have, but we don't reach God through reason but by faith. How do I let go of those questions in the right way in order to actually strengthen my faith, instead of fill myself with doubt? I have been challenged in the ways of church government in some of my recent activities in the church. I am frustrated with antiquated language and ideas. I could go on and on.

I have been doing well with reading through the entire Bible in a year, except the month of August was pretty much disregarded. The more I got behind, the more daunting it seemed to try to catch up. I am on vacation next week and plan to do all my catch up reading then and be back on track for September. It has been one of the biggest blessings in my life though to have such regular contact with God's word. The interaction between what I am reading daily and the books I am also reading, as well as what I study in school is so interesting and enriching on both ends.

I am close to finishing up Tozer's book, and I have Peterson and Lewis books on deck next, as well as a couple by some new guys that look interesting. I think if I was able to, I would read for 2-3 hours a day. Man, am I dreaming though! Oh well, little strokes fell great oaks.

A young woman in my Bible study just left to do a year long mission trip to India. You can check her out at http://kpthemissionary.googlepages.com/. Pray for her whenever you get a chance. Her name is Kim.

I think that's about it for now. I am going to a Christian leadership conference in October called Catalyst. The host is Andy Stanley, senior pastor at NorthPoint Community Church in Atlanta. He is one of my really big guys right now. I listen to his sermons a lot. I think the conference is going to be a huge boost for me spiritually, and possibly in the area of future plans. As always, feel free to comment anytime, just to say hi, or ask questions, or discuss whatever.

The Covenants

2008-03-01T09:14:00.001-05:00

Most Christians are familiar with the term "the New Covenant", but many don't know the whole story of the covenants. There are actually five covenants mentioned in the Bible. A covenant is a way in which God expresses His plan to humans, in the form of a promise. We have been talking about the covenants in Transformation and had some great discussion last night. A good understanding of the covenants opens up a greater understanding of the other stuff that's in the Bible and how to properly apply it. God's intention throughout all time has been to bless man. But man keeps rebelling, to God modifies His covenant throughout history in order to keep blessing.

The Noahic Covenant
The first covenant was made to Noah. You can find it in Genesis 9:11 and God basically says, Never again will I destroy the earth with a flood. This was an undonditional covenant, meaning man didn't have to do anything in order for God to keep His end. Regardless of all else, God wouldn't flood the earth again. And we have the rainbow in the sky to remind us of that still today.

The Abrahamic Covenant
The second covenant was made to Abraham. In Genesis 17:1-8, God changes Abram's name (meaning exalted father) to Abraham (meaning father of many). He also promises that He will make Abraham's descendants a great nation, that will be God's nation, and that He will give them Canaan as their own land. This too was an unconditional covenant, meaning God would do this, regardless. As you read what has happened in between the first and second covenants, you see that man in general has continued in its wicked ways, so God now wants to establish just one nation as His own, to be "a kingdom of priests."

The Mosaic Covenant
The third covenant was made to Moses, in Exodus 19:5-6. This covenant had a condition though. It basically said, IF you obey Me, then I will bless you. The implication here is the opposite - that if you don't obey God, you will not have His blessing. In fact, in Deuteronomy 28, Moses even explains it very clearly that obedience will be followed by blessing, disobedience will result in God cursing you (through failing crops, disease, military defeat, etc.). (Cursing is not synonymous with cussing.)

The Davidic Covenant
The fourth covenant was made with David, in 2 Samuel 7:14-16. This covenant was also conditional but was conditional not on the entire nation, but upon the kings (David's descendants). God says that if the kings obey, the people will be blessed. God also promises that He will establish that throne (the line of David) forever. This covenant had the same implication as the other though, that if the king was not obedient to God, the people would not receive blessing.

The New Covenant
The fifth and final covenant is the New Covenant, and we find it in Jeremiah 31:31-34. In this covenant God declares that this covenant won't be like the old ones, but instead He will forgive their sins and remember them no more. This is a covenant He will establish in the future, which He ended up doing through Jesus Christ. "I will be their God, and they will be my people...they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." And we know that this was implemented because Jesus died for all of our sins, thus allowing us to no longer be separated from God, but be in relationship with Him in a way that wasn't possible before. And this is the covenant that we are under still today.

There are several reasons why the covenants are so important and foundational to our understanding. First, the Bible is God's Word to us about our past, present, and future and how He is involved in all three. It is a theological history book, showing us what role God has played in human history, and also what His plan is for the future. As we read that history, we can use these covenants as landmarks to see what God was doing in order to bless man throughout history. If you are reading say, in the book of Joshua, and you read that someone disobeyed God and was put to death, keeping in mind the Mosaic covenant allows a proper application of that Scripture. God won't put someone to death today for disobedience, why? Because we are under a different covenant now. All of our sins are forgiven. But, back in that day, there was a different covenant, and that's how it worked. Everything in the Bible is worthy of application to our lives today, but it needs to be properly applied. A good understanding of the covenants is one thing that helps us to do that. We can apply from something like that that God REALLY desires obedience from us. We can also be thankful that God established the New Covenant with us.

Reading about the covenants also helps us really see just how much God wants to have a relationship with us and desires to bless us. He could easily have given up long ago, but instead He established continuing covenants to let us know He has not given up and He still desires great things for us.

Another way that the covenants can be of assistance is that they can literally be landmarks as you study the Bible. If you know when in history God made the various covenants, then regardless of what you are studying, you have a better overall understanding of what the situation was at that time, based on the covenant that the people were under.

In our Bible study last night, there were many great questions about the covenants. Hopefully this will inspire you to study them, and develop questions and then seek to answer them in fellowship with other Christians. What other overarching themes are in the Bible that help us to understand the finer points of our theology? Get into God's Word and discover them today. It is impossible for us to have great understanding of something we refuse to read.

The Power of the Monk

2008-02-23T21:36:00.000-05:00

In school we have been studying monasticism recently. People desired to escape the immoral society and get out into the wilderness alone with God in order to train themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. The one problem in their early thinking was that they stayed there alone with God and never returned to society.

But they were definitely on to something important. In today's society of instant gratification and media surrounding us we often don't ever think that it might be a good idea to step away from that from time to time. But let's face it, with everything going on around us, it's hard to keep up good relationships with those we want to. How much more difficult is it to keep up a relationship with God, whom we can't see or hear physically? He's there, but we don't see or hear him because of all the distractions. We need to get back in touch with the discipline of Solitude.

Two books that everyone should read regarding spiritual discipline are The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard and Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster - in that order. Dallas talks about our big problem in Christianity being the concept of WWJD. We somehow have come to think that if we just want to bad enough, we can make good decisions in the moment - imitating all the good decisions Jesus made when facing the Pharisees and being obedient even to death. We think we can be like Jesus, but we miss an important part of the equation. Much of Jesus' time was spent alone, in a quiet place (like the desert, or a garden, or mountaintop) - fasting and praying, spending time alone with God. And this is where He drew His strength from. It was always after a time like this that He came back to society and did something amazing. He would strengthen Himself in the Lord, through solitude and prayer, and then do the "Jesus things" we try to imitate. But we never imitate His discipline. It's like me watching baseball all the time and thinking that if I were to get the chance to hit against a major league pitcher, I could probably hit a pretty good one - maybe even a homerun - because I am so familiar with it - from watching. But the problem is I never put the time into disciplining myself like major league hitters do. Practicing their swing thousands of times, weight lifting, eating right, studying pitches. I would have false confidence. And many Christians suffer from this - and it harms their overall journey on the spiritual path of life.

We can't be like Jesus in part, we have to imitate the whole. We have to be well-versed with Scripture like He was and practice the disciplines. This is what the monks valued - practicing and honing their spritual skills. One problem some of them had though was that they never returned to society to benefit anyone else with that spiritual strength. And this is a problem we have today too. Sometimes we believe that our Christianity is about us and God. We just need to work on our relationship with Him on a personal level and once we've achieved that, we're happy. But that's because we're selfish. We negate everything Jesus taught us, and in fact, much of the teaching from the Pentateuch as well - that we are supposed to take care of those around us, guiding them towards Jesus. But if we never take our relationship with God back into society, we fail this most important mission - the Great Commission.

So, I admire the early monks for seeing the value in solitude, but I urge everyone (especially myself) to then turn around and come back to society with that renewed strength and be the salt and light this world so desperately needs. Solitude. Think about it...

Recent Thoughts

2008-01-31T22:35:00.000-05:00

I have not been a good little blog host in about, oh almost 5 months now. What can I say? Life comes at you fast. It was very shortly after my last post that I found out my wife was pregnant with our first child. Yesterday I felt it moving in her belly for the first time. July 1 (or roundabout), we will receive our first child, the greatest gift God has given us thus far besides our salvation and each other.

My wonderful cousins Becky and Duane got me some Andy Stanley cds for Christmas which I have listened to 4 times already. He talks about Christian leadership and the things he has to say are really good. Here are some of his big topics:

Never compromise integrity for progress.

Live every day confident that God is with you.

Leaders need to challenge the system, while acting under authority.

Leadership problems stem from heart problems. Guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy can be overcome with confession, forgiveness, generosity, and celebration.

I finished two classes last semester in Hermeneutics and Baptist history. This semester I am taking two courses in Christian history. After this semester, I will be halfway through my degree course on my way to getting a Master's in Divinity from Liberty.

My New Year's resolution this year was to begin a life-long habit of reading my Bible daily - and reading it through in its entirety each year. So far, so good. The more you read the Bible, the more we connect with God and His plan for our lives. And the more times we read the same things, the more wisdom we draw from them (that is of course, the Scriptures).

I am starting a new Bible study group at our church called Transformation which is for 18-29 year olds. Romans 12:2 says that we should not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This is what God's Word is all about - changing our lives. Then we take our changed life out into the world and become the salt and light that will preserve and illuminate this dark, decaying world.

I hope to return to more frequent posting effective immediately. Probably by now nobody is even reading this as they have given up on me as a poster. Maybe there will be some curious souls out there who will check it out. Take care and God bless. Come back soon.

The picture below is me on top of Reddish Knob - the tallest point in Northern VA (I think).

Tirelessly faithful

2007-09-29T12:15:00.000-04:00

I have gone on two mission trips in the last two years. The first was to Jamaica to do reconstruction work on the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf after they were devastated by Hurricane Ivan two years before that. The second was to Gulfport, Mississippi to do reconstruction work on a couple houses in an area that was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. In both cases, when we left to come home, it seemed like things were on the up and up. Our work, combined with the work of many other people, was beginning to shift the momentum of the people there who were directly involved. They were beginning to look like they could come out of it. We could literally see the fruits of our labor in the people and the places. We had gone to the places God had called us and seen Him bless our efforts. We had stepped out of the boat in faith.

Approximately three weeks ago I received a letter in the mail from the CCCD school in Jamaica. This year another hurricane (Dean I think) had come through and done the same amount of damage that Ivan had done before. Roofs were torn off buildings, severe water damage was everywhere - they were back to square one again. All that work, undone in a matter of hours. Then last night we presented a slideshow and other things to our church from the trip to MS. As we came in, we were handed letters from Dick and Joanne (members of our church still working down there). The letters said that things were not good, in fact they were pretty bad. As it looks right now, the house that we worked the most on will be reposessed as they cannot afford the payments required. There are also physical, mental, and emotional problems wearing hard on individuals there. All that work, undone - their house went from unliveable to gone. They are packing up and moving to a temporary location until they can figure out what to do next.

Where is your faith? I have been examining that question this week for myself. The answer is that it is in God and God alone. We are so tempted to put our faith in the things that we do, in our human efforts. It is especially tempting when we see good results. We think WE really made a difference. To really see it from the right perspective though, we should put our faith in God, and let Him use us however He sees fit at that time, and after it's over - regardless of what happens - we need to keep right on having faith in God.

Our merely human cognitive ability is not nearly enough to understand God's ways. Asking "Why?" is probably the most futile question there is. We will only know when we are joined with Him after this life. So if we can't know why, that leaves us with faith. We have to trust God. We have to put things like this in context. Context determines meaning. If we look at these two examples by themselves, it would seem that God is fickle and lets people down, leading you to help someone and then destroying what was done. But this is far from accurate. Because God has been acting for all time, we need to consider these two small events in the context of all events throughout time. Doing so anchors my faith so deeply that it cannot be moved. Sure, my life and things that happen to me will be up and down. Life IS hard, and no one ever said it wasn't. But when things like this happen, I have to go to the place where my faith is anchored and see these events in light of what I know about God. I know He is a good God. I know He is all powerful, all knowing, and that He loves every person so much that He has already won victory FOR US over death and the consequences of our sin. There have been numerous times in my life when I have been comforted by God, provided for by Him, strengthened by Him, given wisdom by Him, and all the time loved by Him. These are the things that keep my faith anchored deeply in God and not in my own human efforts.

Life is hard. Without God in your life, you will struggle miserably with life. But with God in your life, you will still struggle, but you will struggle well. This is especially evident when other Christians come to your aid with prayer, support, love, encouragement, and grace. And so these people need us to help them struggle well in this situation. They need our support (in whatever way we can), they definitely need our prayer, they may need our encouragement, and they always need our love and grace. Sometimes life can beat you down. It can knock the wind right out of you. We need to be tirelessly faithful in our God. We need to look to Him through rough times and when we do, we will find it to be true that He does help us when we're struggling. All these things create the context in which to view the tragic things that happen in life. Help other people to see that context too. Without the context, people tend to draw all kinds of conclusions about the way things work with life and God that lead them away from Him. We need to help them head towards God in a storm. The things that we do here on earth can be destroyed in an instant. But the things that God does, and that His people do in His name (friendship, love, mercy, grace, evangelism, teaching, praying), these eternal things cannot be undone by even the mightiest storm or power. There will always be people in need, and we will always need to help them. And we should keep going back, and keep helping until there is no more need.

Who are we inspired by?

2007-09-12T18:38:00.000-04:00

I want to think about the idea of being inspired. I heard a story on the news today that got me thinking about this. Maybe some of you heard the story of the hate crime in West Virginia, where a girl was tortured by at least 6 other people because of her race. They "hated" her and therefore decided to take it out on her. Well, I would say that hate inspires hate in almost every case. As I thought of what kind of horrible people these folks are for what they did, I began to feel hatred towards them. I thought that they needed to be dealt with in a similar fashion. I would also say that in contrast, love inspires love. When someone shows love to another person, it inspires other people to react in a loving way. Hate inspires hate, and love inspires love. This is almost always the case, except with Christians. We are called to be inspired not by the world around us, but by Jesus. Jesus always inspires us to love, never to hate. True, He hates certain things, but He doesn't inspire us to hate.

So, if I am a follower of Jesus, I am to be inspired to love. But in this case, I find it extremely difficult to feel any love towards these people, and others who commit atrocities such as this. So where does that leave me? I know what I am supposed to do, but I can't think of a way to lovingly approach this situation without letting them off the hook for what they did. No one said being a Christian was easy - at least Jesus never said that. But He did say that we need to be salt and light - countercultural in our behavior.

Matthew 5:38-39 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."

Matthew 5:43-45 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is that gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Jesus has clearly set out for us clear instructions for how we are to react to evil. We are not to do nothing, but instead to turn it around and teach them something about Christ. If someone punches me, it is easier to walk away (still being peaceful) than it is to offer to let them punch me again. It is easy to hate my enemies, but harder to love them and pray for them. But the last verse sums up what the goal is - to gain life, and not destruction. Walking away after someone punches you, you will still probably have a grudge with them. But standing there and inviting them to have another go shows that you have let it go. Now, what is "it"? IT is the temptation to respond in kind. Hate inspires hate. But if you are able to be inspired by Jesus, and not the world around you, you are able to offer the person a second punch because you have truly let "it" go - your thoughts and actions are not headed towards destruction, but instead you are choosing life. (although three punches and you may be gambling that life a little too much - just a joke). The point is that it is natural for us to feel hate, but it is not Godly to respond with it. I honestly don't know exactly how to "love" these people that I was hating this morning, but I do know that I can (and will) pray for them. It is not easy. Few will find the road that leads to life. But if we are inspired by Jesus, and allow Him to direct our actions and reactions, and remember why we are doing so - to truly be sons of our Father in heaven, then we will find life, fuller life than we thought possible.

answers to comments

2007-09-03T15:48:00.001-04:00

So, now that you all are doing your part, I figured out how to do mine. Having a blog is a lot of work! Ok, no it's not. I am just too busy watching cable TV. Ok, no I'm not.

Anyway, in answer to Nathan, the way that particular situation worked, he took ME to a baseball game, so YES, you are indeed my friend! But, in fact, I would take you to a baseball game if the opportunity ever arose.

Now on to Dave's question about Vintage. Ironically enough, Vintage is for young people. Don't kill the messenger now, but it is a young adult worship service that the Nags Head Church has on Monday nights (on highway 158 just south of Jockey's Ridge) that we attended while on vacation this year. In fact, Nathan is the worship pastor there and a big part of Vintage (hence the "woohoo"). I would imagine though that if you were to be on vacation there soon, say, sometime in September, and wanted to go, you know, just because you are feeling the whole Vintage vibe, that they would probably throw you a slice of pizza and enjoy your company.

In fact, this young adult worship is what is inspiring me to begin a young adult Bible study in our church sometime soon.

Scripture to ponder today: 2 Peter 1:3 "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."

He has already given us everything we need, so what's our excuse?

Translations

2007-08-27T19:55:00.000-04:00

First, I want to send a big Thank You out to my good friend at the beach, Nathan, for helping me figure out what was up with the comments. Evidently no one was allowed to comment, but now it is fixed.

Here's also a picture of me and Kevin at a Cleveland Indians game about a month ago.

I have begun reading a book for seminary called "How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth" by Fee and Stuart, and it mentions in here some of the differences among versions of the Bible. I have often wondered this and have heard some different things. Here's what they say: There are three ways in which the Bible can be translated - literally, functionally, and freely. The challenge with every version of the Bible as it is being translated is what to keep the same and what to change. The English language is quite different from Hebrew and Greek, and we are also averaging a couple thousand years difference in time, and a couple thousand miles difference in place and culture. So, to translate everything word for word would end up being odd and nonsensical to us. The opposite end of that spectrum is to update the original author's words too much to the point that it borders on commentary instead of translation. In the middle of this spectrum are the translations that have strived to translate in a relevant way to our world today, yet still preserving as much of the meaning (not exact wording necessarily) as possible. So, on the one hand, there are the Bibles that tend to be very literal in translation - and these are the King James Versions and similar. Then there are the freely translated versions - and these are the Message and Living Bible and similar. In the middle of these are the Bibles with the highest degree of functionality and the ones that have had the wording updated in the most common sense way while preserving original meaning, and these are the NIVs and NRSVs. Here is a quote from the book - "The TNIV is as good a translation as you will get." This is because it has the most up to date wording available (therefore having a high degree of relevance), while also having a high degree of original meaning preserved.

I am not making any personal statements on what Bible you should be reading from. In fact, their recommendation is that you begin with a TNIV/NIV as your main source of reading, and then also have an NSRV or NASU (word-updated versions of KJV) to compare with (as these are the more literal wordings), and also incorporate a GNB or NAB in order to give yourself the best possible set of resources for intelligent reading and study of the Bible. It is also recommended that you have a Bible Dictionary as a resource when you need information about people, times, places, etc. They did also mention that if you had a freely translated Bible (such as the Message) that these are sometimes helpful in helping you to think more creatively about what the meaning of a passage might be, but that this should certainly not be the only version you are reading from.

I found this information interesting and personally went promptly to my stack of 9 Bibles to see which ones I had and which ones I might need to investigate further. Of the ones they recommend, I have a couple NIVs, a NRSV and that's about it. I do have the GNB on my computer though. I also have a KJV, LB, MSG, NEB, and NCV, plus a whole slew on the computer. This book is a great book at helping you to figure out how to interpret the Bible on your own - without relying heavily on commentaries or other sources. You can do it, if you know the proper methods. Check this book out, or borrow it from me in about 4 weeks when I will be done with it. And above all, get in your Bible, whatever version you have, every day!

Update

2007-08-18T14:10:00.000-04:00

I don't have any deep theological issues to discuss this afternoon but do so enjoy blogging that I needed to post something. So, I am sending out an update. Sarah and I finally returned to our church after missing a month straight (2 weeks guest preaching, 1 week visiting friends in Cleveland, and 1 week at the beach). It was good to be back.

I have really been enjoying my Sunday School class study recently. It is John Ortberg's "If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat." We have had some really great discussions and insights from this study and I am thankful to Lauri for bringing it to us.

I successfully completed my summer semester of seminary in which I studied all about spiritual discipline. I am starting my fall semester on Monday, kicking off the first 8 weeks with a course in Hermeneutics (definition later - when I know it!) and the second 8 weeks will be a History of Baptists I think. Not my number one choice for how to spend 8 weeks, but a requirement in order to graduate, so I am agreeable to it.

My next time preaching will be October 7 at my church, First Baptist of Woodstock.

We had a great time at the beach this year, staying in a new house that we hope to stay in for years to come. The weather was hot, but the water was refreshing and the time away was priceless. We attended Nags Head Church on Sunday morning as usual and also went back on Monday evening for a young adults gathering called Vintage. They have some really good things going on there.

I am on the third book in a one-two-three punch series I am reading for personal enjoyment. The first two were The Church on the Other Side by Brian McClaren and The Church in Transition by Tim Conder. The third book I am reading now is Beyond Beliefs to Convictions by Josh McDowell. All three address postmodernism and the church. This last book will talk specifically about ways to discuss God, the authority of Scripture, etc. with today's youth - the goal being to move them beyond mere beliefs (which are subject to change) to convictions (rock solid beliefs that move you towards action) so that we will have a strong emerging culture of Christians in an ever increasing world of disbelief.

We have been watching the Truth Project on Friday nights at Bible Study and it has been wonderful. Last night especially, I connected quite strongly with the topic. Towards the end he addressed art from a Christian perspective. I am employed in an artistic job and have struggled to come to my own definition of what I think great art is, and to know why I like something or not. The answer last night was that Christians have left art up to the non-believing culture, and therefore we rely on them to define it and create it. We need to get more Christians back into art so that people out there will have another perspective on art and see another type of creativity beyond what the world has to offer.

Running out of updatable material, so I'm done. I have to start reading for my next semester anyway. This first 8 weeks, I 'only' have 3 textbooks to read. If you haven't yet, talk to God today, see what's on His mind, and promise to talk to Him again later, or tomorrow - but keep talking to Him, and keep listening. That's advice that can't miss.

One last thing - I received my first comment from someone about one of the posts on my blog. I would encourage more of you to do the same. I would love to hear other ideas and opinions on the things I am writing about. No one person has everything figured out, but when we all share our thoughts, our beliefs are strengthened. If you haven't noticed it, there is a little tag under each post that says "O comments" (that means zero) and if you click it, it will take you to a page where you can leave one. Thanks for doing that!

Christianity in the Future

2007-07-31T06:45:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading Brian McClaren's book The Church on the Other Side. This is a look into some of the possible directions the church will be heading towards in the future. He does a great job explaining and contrasting modern and postmodern thinking. And as I thought a lot about these things over the last week or two, I realized that church may be headed into some difficult waters.

He describes modern thinking as the desire to prove everything as true through science and methods. Modern thinking has been the norm for several hundred years and has led society, including the church to where it is now. This is why the preaching style of so many pastors, and the desire of so many Christians who debate with non-Christians, is to show the other person how you are right and they are wrong, therefore they should join your side. This inherently means that you are claiming to have the truth, as you have just proven, and they don't, hence they should join your side now. But for the most part, society is no longer operating under a modern mindset. Society has moved into postmodernism, which means that the main way of thinking is that there is no one way and it is too hard to know the truth, so if someone claims to have the truth, or the answer, or the right way, then we should be skeptical of them, because how can we trust that they actually know the truth? The postmodern platform is that "all beliefs are equally valid, except those that claim to be True." They doubt the ability of anyone to be able to discern absolute truth from everything else. So, postmodern people will be turned away by people who claim to have it all figured out because postmoderns don't believe that it's possible for anyone to have it all figured out.

This puts Christians in a difficult place. Our main method for teaching, discipling, evangelism, etc. has always been to prove that what we believe is worth believing, thus setting up the scenario that everyone else should recognize it and follow suit. But now when we claim to have the only true way, we can actually turn people away, because they are operating under a different set of thinking now.

I think McClaren gives two really good points to help Christians figure out how to begin to move forward through all of this. First, he points out a key scripture that helps us to start to see how we could possibly move through this into the postmodern mindset. In John 14:6, Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." For many moderns, the main focus of this passage is that Jesus it the truth, and as we focus on only that part, now postmoderns begin to become skeptical of us claiming the truth. But Jesus says He is the way, the truth, AND the life. He is all three - none more highly focused on than another. Maybe this means that there can be an integrated way of coming to the Father - through experiencing certain things, applying things to your life, and coming to know the truth. McClaren points then to John 7:17, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God." This sets up that perhaps while following the way and living the life, you come to know the truth - that you don't have to know the truth first.

His second point is something that I believe many moderns overlooked simply due to the nature of their thinking. Modern thinking says that we can know truth, whereas postmodern thinking doubts that we can. Regardless of where we actually fall in between these two ideas, the one thing that we must not forget is faith. No one knows everything about God, and in fact, we know very little about God compared to all that there is to know. Yet we persevere in our Christian walk - by faith. And this is a good point to focus on in an era where truth can't be relied upon by postmoderns to carry their beliefs. We can introduce them to the idea of faith, instead of trying to beat them over the head with truth. We can introduce them to the way and the life, and as they engage in those, their faith will grow and lead them towards the truth.

All of these ideas are very challenging to Christians of today. Many of us don't even realize that we are still very modern in our thinking, and we have no idea how postmodern thinking even works. This is something we need to figure out on a large scale and soon. We don't need to change the gospel, but we do need to begin looking at adapting the ways we introduce people to it. And this idea is not popular among many Christians today. The main line of thinking is that it worked ten, twenty, thirty years ago, so it's a good system. This is not wise or strategic thinking. We as Christians need to open our eyes and see the world around us for what it is, and then figure out how we can connect with the people around us. At times it may not be easy, but it is entirely necessary.

Counter-culture out in the Community

2007-07-18T20:09:00.001-04:00

I saw this sign in Harrisonburg one evening and it caught my attention because it had scripture on it. I shared in my last sermon some of the counter-cultural Christian reactions to the VT shootings. Here is another Christian reaction to it. It is tough for many people to think about - the idea that one wouldn't take revenge on the evil, or dwell on it until you got some kind of satisfaction, but instead to overcome the evil with good.

Romans 12:19-21 says, "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

These words are difficult, but good. Many people criticize this idea by asking, "WHEN will God DO something about all this?!? WHY does He let evil happen?" Everything God created is good. But Satan took the good and distorted it - into evil. God has a plan for dealing with Satan, and ultimately, at some time in the future, He will bring justice to all that has been done. That which is for the kingdom of God will be rewarded, and that which is against it will be punished. There will be a new paradise where God will dwell with man again, as in the garden. God will do something about all this.

Until then though, we are called by Him to be doing what WE can while here on earth to help overcome evil with good. The cultural reaction is to overcome evil with more evil - hatred, prejudice, revenge, and the like. Our Counter-cultural reaction is to overcome it with good - praying for our enemies, showing mercy, passing on the grace that has been shown to us. If we really want the world to be a different place, then we have to be different than the world as it currently is. We have to be the change we want to see in the world. Think about that, and pray about it too, because this is one of the most essential needs in Christianity today.

Guest preaching

2007-07-11T18:29:00.000-04:00

Just an update of what's going on - I just finished preaching two Sundays in a row at my church, and after getting a phone call Monday night, I will also be preaching the next two Sundays at another church nearby. I am pretty excited about this because it will be my first time preaching in a church that is not my own. I preached at a Jr. Angus Showman's weekend in February, in an agricultural barn, but this will be my first guest preaching at a different church. I am not sure what to preach on yet, but I know God will give me the messages. I am pretty confident that at least one of them will have to do with being counter-cultural though....

Salt + Light = Counter Cultural

2007-07-10T07:17:00.000-04:00

I had the honor of preaching a sermon on being counter-cultural Christians this past Sunday at my church. Since the message goes right along with the blog, I thought I would post some of the sermon. Here are some excerpts on being salt and light:

I have been studying the Sermon on the Mount, which is what I'll be preaching from today. John R.W. Stott says this about it:
- “The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known part of the
teaching of Jesus, though arguably it is the least understood, and certainly it is the least obeyed….To my mind no two words sum up its intention better, or indicate more clearly its challenge to the modern world, than the expression ‘Christian counter-culture.’”

Look at what Jesus says the purpose of Christians is in the world in Matthew 5:13-16. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. What do these two statements mean? Jesus picked two items for His illustration that every household used back then and that every house today still uses. Salt and light.

Salt of the earth
Today we typically use salt for light seasoning to our food, and
to melt ice in our driveways. But in ancient times, as well as today, people also used salt to preserve food.
- In South Africa, they make a dried meat called ‘biltong’, which is cut and trimmed to a certain size, then rubbed well with coarse salt. If properly cured, it will keep indefinitely.

If we are the salt of the earth, we are what prevents it from decaying. The world, if left to its own, will decay and rot just like meat. But are we in fact preventing decay? If not, what are the main hinderances to our saltiness?

First, as Jesus says, the salt can lose its saltiness. This happens by combining the salt with other things. Salt is a substance that quickly dissolves in most liquids, and when mixed with food, is quickly spread out and the potency is greatly reduced. - Christians lose their saltiness by intermixing with the things of the world. When we adopt ideas and practices from the world and mix them with Christianity, we have a diluted Christianity. Therefore, our influence in the world is diminished. This relates back to one of my favorite sayings to live by, “As within, so without.” What we put inside ourselves is what will come out later. Whether you like it or not, every single thing that you do in public, in the workplace, within your family – directly influences people in one of two ways. Either towards or away from Christianity.

We need to be the salt IN the world, not amongst it. Salt cannot preserve meat from within it’s container. So Christians cannot preserve the world from within it’s churches.

“When society goes bad, we Christians tend to throw our hands up in pious horror and criticize the non-Christian world. But should we not criticize ourselves instead? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question should be, where is the salt?” – Dr. Lloyd

Light of the World
By saying that we are the light of the world, Jesus is implying that the world is an inherently dark place. We are the light in a dark world. Our light is our good works. We should let our good deeds, that is, the way we live our life, be seen by all. We should not hide the fact that we are Christians, or hide the way we choose to live our lives. The way we live our life, as viewed by non-Christians, is what gives our faith credibility. If we are not living Biblical lives, we will not look any different from the world, and therefore no one will recognize us as light.
Lighthouses line the shorelines of many coasts worldwide. The lighthouses are not typically needed in bright, clear conditions. They are needed at night, and in the fog, when it is so dark you can’t tell what is safe and what is dangerous in front of you. The lighthouse guides boats into safety amid total darkness. So our lives can guide others into safety from the influence of Satan and the world, as they watch us live out Christianity in front of them.

But so often we are tempted to hide our light. We keep quiet about being Christians. We go along with jokes or say nothing when people are sinning in our midst. We hide our light. But this the wrong thing to do because in darkness, people desire light. We want to be able to see something good among the darkness. The people in the world desperately desire to see something hopeful in this world, so if we hide our light, they are unable to see that hope in the dark.

We learn some fundamental lessons from these passages:
1. Christians are different from the world around them

2. We must accept (as Jesus instructed us) the responsibility that this
distinction puts on us. We need to take responsibility for some of the things being the way they are.

3. Neither salt nor light is a substitute for the other. The world needs both. We all have earthly jobs and responsibilities, but these have been given to us so that we can really do our heavenly jobs of being salt and light IN the world.

Counter-Cultural Christianity
When you are expecting something to be the same as it always is, and then you find that it is quite different, it tends to shock you a bit. Like when you pour a glass of milk and find out by tasting it that it has gone sour. You are used to it tasting one way, so when it all the sudden doesn’t, it shocks you. When we follow Jesus’ commands on how we are to live our lives, as indicated in the Sermon on the Mount, we are going to shock people. People are so used to seeing people live a certain way that when someone all of the sudden does something different, it can be shocking. It stands out.

Imagine how your coworkers would react if they saw your boss
reaming you for something that wasn’t your fault, and then after he was done, you went to coffee shop and bought him a latte and took it to him. They would think you were nuts!

We need to be applying Scripture to what we see and hear around us. This will allow us to view the world differently. When we see the world from Jesus’ point of view, we will be better able to discern what course of action to take. We attract the world by being different from it. The last thing non-Christians want to be a part of is more of the stuff that is ruining the world they live in. They don’t want to be a part of greed, pride, hate, lust, lying, and people who don’t care. Even though it’s the world they live in, they don’t want more of those influences around them. If the church is noticeably different than the world, then it will attract those in the world to it because it is different.

If there is a church that isn’t attracting very many non-Christians, then it is probably a church that is not very different from the world that those people already live in. That’s a tough thing to hear, but it’s true. If your church is not attracting non-Christians (and it certainly ought to be), then it is because what they see in your church is not a better option than what they already have.

If you want to figure out how to be counter-cultural, just take notice of the way the world is handling a situation, apply the Bible to it, and you will begin to see a different way to handle it, and it will be pretty obvious to you that it is an unpopular idea. Example – when something bad happens, the people in the world will hold grudges and blame people, and will build up hatred and a mind for vengeance upon anyone that has wronged them. The counter-cultural teaching from Jesus says, ‘love your enemies’, ‘blessed are the peacemakers’, and ‘judge not lest ye be judged’. These are not popular ideas with the world, in fact, they’re not even popular among Christians. I’ll prove it:
1. The VT shootings. Everyone immediately began to blame someone for this tragedy. It was VT’s fault, it was the court’s fault, it was the gun store’s fault, but it had to be somebody’s fault. The shooter was dead too, so they couldn’t exact their revenge on him, so they blamed everyone else. VT is retiring a jersey number this coming school year - #32. They have taken their revenge upon the shooter now by not retiring #33. I KNOW this is not going to win me any popularity points, but then again, I’m not hoping for any. Popularity points are cultural, and I’m called to live counter-culturally. As I react to this event, I am called to love my enemies, and to be a peacemaker. I have prayed for the shooter’s family, as I have prayed for the families of the victims. My sadness for every single person involved leads me towards sorrow, but not hatred and revenge. There is no understanding of why it happened, and there is honestly no way for us to prevent bad things from happening in the future. Bad things happen, and every time they do we begin blaming everyone around us, meanwhile the true culprit, the prince of darkness sneaks away without ever being mentioned. What we are called to do is be salt and light in a dark and decaying world. We are called to be different, to stand out from the hatred and revenge that the world feels when these things happen. We are to react in love, and in mercy, and in meekness. How easy is this to do though? It is not easy at all.

We simply don’t have what it takes to live out a counter-cultural Christianity on a day to day basis. When we received our salvation, God didn’t make us superhumans. We are tempted, we are tried, we are discouraged, and we are broken by the things of this world, by our own corruptness. And when we are, we need to go to God. That’s the whole point – the relationship. We go to God to get our strength, we go to God to be renewed, we go to God for wisdom to know what to do. And when we do go do Him, we struggle well with life, and our city on a hill is seen by all passersby. But when we don’t go to Him, we struggle horribly with life, and our light is not seen.

Matthew 7:14 “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a
few find it.”

I want to end with Romans 12:2 which says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
It’s not any clearer than that. We need to stop being like the world, and thereby losing our saltiness and hiding our light. We need to be transformed, by God’s holy Word. We need to constantly renew our mind with His ideas and His perspective, so that we can see what He wants us to be doing, and thereby preserve this world from decay, and be a lighthouse to the lost and guide them through the darkness to safety.

A.W. Tozer said, “It takes real faith to begin to live the life of heaven while still upon the earth, for this requires that we rise above the law of moral gravitation and bring to our everyday living the high wisdom of God. And since this wisdom is contrary to that of the world, conflict is bound to result. This, however; is a small price to pay for the inestimable privilege of following Christ.”

Always keep this in mind as a rule for making certain you are being counter-cultural, “It’s not about me.” The world says it’s about me. Christianity says, no it’s not. There are more important things to consider than myself.

We are to be Christ-like, and I’ve never heard of anyone more counter-cultural than He was. This world is a dark and decaying place. Will you be the salt and light it so desperately needs? Will you determine to be a counter-cultural Christian?

Gulfport, MS

2007-07-06T08:27:00.000-04:00

This picture represents counter-cultural Christianity. I went with these guys (as well as about 15 other people) to Gulfport, MS a couple weeks ago to do mission work for people affected by Hurricane Katrina. The guy in the front right and his wife actually bought a house down there and have been living there and working with people who need help for the last year or so. The others of us who went down for a week took vacation time from work, left behind our responsibilities, etc. to go help a group of people we don't know. We had no idea what we would be doing when we got there, but one thing was certain - we did what God wanted us to do, and it was evident all week long. The list of God stories is amazing to hear people talk about. I think one of the most amazing things was how quickly and solidly our group gelled with the people in the neighborhood we were working in. It was evident Thursday night as we gathered in a large circle around the tree for prayer that our hearts had been united that week. We had stories of safety, protection, God's spirit working through children, outreach, and God planning out details to perfection. We were blessed as much as the people we helped by this experience.
It was a counter-cultural thing to do though. Most people take vacation for themselves. Many people wouldn't willingly go into a drug and crime-ridden neighborhood to help people they don't even know. They certainly wouldn't take vacation time to do it. And they probably wouldn't take their children there either. But we did, and it was awesome.
Last Sunday I preached a sermon on our trip, allowing people to come and tell the God stories. The basic premise of the sermon was that, just as Jesus called Peter to exit the boat and come to Him on the water, He has called us to come join Him outside our comfort zones as well. And when we are obedient and step out of the boat(comfort zone) in faith, we will see Him do some amazing things. The best part is that getting outside your comfort zone and acting in obedience and faith to help people in need can happen in your hometown on a weekend. You don't need to go anywhere special or take time off from work even! The Bible gives us all the instruction we need on what God desires us to be doing. Are we stepping out in faith from our comfort zones? My Bible study class astutely pointed out that this takes discernment - Peter did make sure it was Jesus before stepping out - and that sometimes being obedient doesn't result in anything visibly amazing. God only calls us to obedience, not to glory. Being obedient to God, even when nobody else can see any good reason why you did what you did - that's counter-cultural.

First post

2007-06-28T18:30:00.000-04:00

I have been inspired by my long-distance friend Pastor Rick, of the Nags Head Church to create a blog. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. This is a high-speed, internet, technology age, so I need to get with it. I am a 27 year old working through seminary on my way to a life mission that only God knows of right now. I am not sure where He will take me, but I am anxious to get there, still enjoying the journey all the way.

I decided to title this blog Counter Culture Christian Guy because that's what I am, or at least am trying to be. Not only am I a Christian guy, but as such I am called to be counter-cultural - in such places as the Sermon on the Mount and other places. Jesus certainly wasn't like most of the people in His day, and He calls me to follow Him. I am not of this world, but I am in it. The only way that the world will know something other than itself is if Christians encounter them with something different than what's in the world. That is counter-cultural Christianity.

I will be writing much more about this and other ideas/issues/stories that I encounter. I am an avid reader and I like to discuss what I am reading about and how it applies to my life. I also enjoy photography and will probably post pictures from time to time to show important events as they occur.

God called me to ministry, and this is just one more way for me to be reaching out. If you are reading this and don't know whether or not you will spend eternity in Heaven, know this: You were created to have a relationship, but you don't have it yet, but you can - for free, but it's your choice. That relationship is with God, your creator and savior.

There are many Bible verses worth quoting, but John 8:32 comes to mind today, "...the truth will set you free." There is absolute truth to everything in this world and it comes from God, but there is also a huge set of lies that are available for you to believe to. Truth comes from God. Lies come from Satan. Seek the truth, and it will set you free.

Until next time, your fellow truth-seeker and counter-cultural Christian,

Jeremy