Thanks Lauren for the great photo! There are more to come.
Archive for May, 2008
There are many different ways to hear God. I have begun work on next weeks message for the grads about hearing God. As I’ve studied there have been numerous times in the past week where I’ve read or heard something that has really stood out in my mind. It’s as if God has a giant highlighter and colors in the important items I need to see.
Here are a few examples…
1. The Rolling Stone article in the post titled “Jesus and Puke?” that was posted last week. The author of the article said these words, ““…so long as you go through all the motions, no one will care who you really are underneath.”
2. I had a conversation about the article with someone this week and they shared about a commencement speakers comment about the kids in the college chapel. The person shared that this speaker commended the kids up front who danced around with hands raised during worship and then criticized the ones in the back who sat and were not as expressive for not loving Jesus enough and not having a deep enough relationship with him. Once again comments about outward expression… I know well enough as this happened at Hope College and sometimes the ones who were most outward with their worship were the most drunk the weekend before…maybe they still were.
3. Finally today…I read a prayer from someone in the UK from Brian Heasley’s compilation “Writing on the Wall”. These words challenged me:
Outside Looking In
Feeling so alone
In a crowded room
Hands are raised
“Worthy is the Lord to be praised”
And “blessed be your name”
Resound from the lips of others
Who are unaware of my pain
And are telling me what to believe
Without answering my questions.
They pray using “just” and
Multitudes of cliches
Obsessed, it seems, with sounding
Good and holy.
But they leave me like an outsider looking in
They call it the “good news”
Without putting themselves in others’ shoes.
This past Sunday we traveled to Brighton to share the day with the Bennett clan. The day was beautiful and it was a great time together. It was extra special because family from out east was in town. This was the first time that the four kids had been together.
I always find it humorous trying to get a family picture. It is even more interesting trying to get four little kids together for a picture. In all honesty…the kids were great…it helps that two of them really cannot go anywhere.
She loves her new toy…
“The Gospel we preach shapes the kind of churches we create.
The kind of church we have shapes the Gospel we preach.” -Scot McKnight
This morning I read an article named “Jesus Made Me Puke” in which I had a few different responses. Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi went undercover on a Christian retreat with a well know evangelical leaders church. It is important to understand that this leader does have great political and in the evangelical realm influnce and power. I also need to note that I think that he is a bit “off his rocker” to use an olden term…but that is not the point.
If you take the time to read this article you may also have an assortment of responses. Taibbi is an atheist viewing the evangelical church. Although he comes to quick conclusions and generalizes often, we as Christians need to hear his opinion and understand that many non-Christians in our country see us this way.
We need to understand and hear from those outside the church often. We must handle the message of Jesus with care and never stand in the way of the Gospel by adding to it and confusing or scaring people in the process.
Here is just one insight from the article that I thought was concerning: Continue reading ‘Jesus and Puke?’
“…we are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. When we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured out wine to feed and nourish others.” -Oswald Chambers
Today I opened “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers. I looked at the entry for today’s date May 15. At the bottom of the page I had underlined the words above and I wrote the following words seven years ago at the very bottom of the page…
“01 1st Day at work as Youth Pastor at FABC”
Oh how those words were so true then and how I need to hear them again today.
She’s going to be a talker! Thanks Mom and Kimber for the picture.
On Saturday Joanna and I attended the wedding of a friend.
First…it was beautiful. The day was great and Southern Exposure was amazing as usual.
During wedding I listened to the words from the pastor. He shared much of what Chad and Jil had shared with him. My heart was touched and deeply encouraged.
When I first started here at the church I developed a friendship with Chad. He turned out to be a great youth leader and did an amazing job with the high school guys. Over the years we would take time to connect over coffee or lunch. I watched Chad ride the rollercoaster that life too often shares with us. I watched heartbreak and confusion especially when it came to girls. I knew he prayed and desired a Christ centered relationship. It never seemed to be answered for him.
On Saturday I saw a different man who was deeply in love with a woman. A man who stood with great excitement knowing that God had answered his prayers in a way that he would have never imagined. A man who was excited about all life had to offer and experiencing it with Jil.
I praise the Lord for answered prayers and speak a blessing in Chad and Jil’s marriage.
Last week I joined a friend of mine and shadowed him for a morning. He is a Chaplin for a local hospital. I have very limited experience with death, sickness, pain, and suffering and desired to learn.
During the morning I found myself experiencing a wide range of emotions from pure joy to heartbreak. We visited a man with a sick body hanging on with the love of a daughter. An elderly woman who understood everything we said but with great effort attempted to express herself but could only mumble sentences with just a few clear words. A woman who battled sickness in her own body and loss of her husband that morning. Finally a man the age of my parents who looked healthy from the outside but battled pain and despair each and everyday.
It was a challenging morning where I often fought back tears.
I thanked my friend as I returned to my car. He had one more stop that morning. Later that afternoon he called and shared that this woman had received Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and was baptized on what would be her deathbed.
Being around sickness and death forces one to reflect upon their own mortality but also how they are living life. That morning I wondered about the men and women I saw. Where their dreams fulfilled? How were they hurt? Who did they love? How many lives are different because of them?
I think of Jesus’ words when he said, I’ve come to give them life and life to the full. I desire to embrace the life that Jesus has for me here and now by living for him. Following Jesus is not just about a golden ticket to heaven but about embracing the life he has set forth here and now.
I suppose we need to ask ourselves each and everyday if we have taken the steps that Christ has set for us that day and if we have, how have we loved God and loved others?
