From The Bleachers

I just want Biblical proof please...

2008-09-17T10:31:00.006-06:00

As this political race heats up, I am getting more and more upset with the complete lack of integrity in the Christian voter. There are plenty of things to dislike about McCain. There are plenty of things to dislike about Obama. So on and so forth. However in the blog world, the issue of pro-life vs. pro-choice continues to come up. I have yet to read someone with a good argument concerning the pro-choice issue.

Somewhere down the line the "emergent church guy" has decided that it is not just about the unborn, it is about the born as well; Old, young, middle age, gay, lesbian, Christian, Non-Christian, black, white or Hispanic. As stated in my previous blog, you are right. However where the world do you get of calling someone who takes a stand on an issue as divisive? I have seen this word used on several blogs (I am not calling any particular person out). R U serious? To be divisive means that you are causing a perverted dispute.I do not think that there is anything perverted about protecting the unborn. Divisive would be saying, "If we make abortions illegal, women will be dying in the back ally." That sounds like a perverted dispute to me. So...we cannot take a stand, because some women/man will make a choice to have sex with some women/man causing an unwanted pregnancy. This women will make the choice to go to an ally, risk her life, and have an illegal procedure performed. Should we have legalized crack houses that hand out sterilized needles to protect the user from HIV? Or, will, by making abortion illegal, cause people to actually take responsibility for their actions? Emergent church guy, please come up with a better argument.

Obama has taken it a step further. He voted "present" on an act that hit the Illinois senate floor. The act was called the "Born Alive Infant Protection Act." Transcript of Obama's verbal opposition to Born Alive on the IL Senate floor, March 30, 2001, pages 84-90. Boiling it down: Doctors where inducing labor for women in the late 2nd/early 3rd trimester. It would put them in violent labor therefore killing the baby. Several of those baby's would survive the labor. Those babies were put in rooms where hazardous waste was disposed and left to die. The lucky babies were put in "comfort rooms," given blankets, and left to expire. On pages 84-90, Barack says, (in summary), We cannot vote for this bill because it will cause fetus' to be labeled as children and thus overturn Roe V. Wade. In essence it would be a slipper slope and liberals must make sure that doesn't happen. So what does Mr. Barrackbone do, "not voting." You know, at least give me a candidate who has a backbone!

Emergent church guy, please give me a BIBLICAL reason why it is OK to vote for a guy who openly supports the murder of a born, not unborn, child?

**For the record, I am not pro McCain/Palin so don't try painting me with that brush!

Road Less Traveled

2008-09-03T11:52:00.014-06:00

For the first time in my life, I am going to the voting booth this year as an educated voter. I know that is sad to say, but in the past I voted for the guy who sounded the best or against the party that most people seemed to be frustrated with. Understand, I am not a republican. I am also not a democrat. I helped put Clinton in office his second term, and I assisted Bush for both terms. Considering he was running against Kerry, last election was an easy call.

This election is going to be "historic." That is such an over-used term. Every election since the beginning of elections has been historic. However, there has been an evolution from Democrat vs. Republican to Liberal vs. Conservative. You also have the democratic party as the "anit-christian, pro-abortion, evolutionist, pro-homosexual/transgendered/lesbian"party. And guess what? It is true. They are all of those things, look at the records. I love how many modern day "Biblical Scholars/Writers/Pastors" are trying to raise social issues and global warming as the issues of the day. Let's not forget: 1) Global Warming is under much debate and has yet to be proved it is an issue at all. 2) Social issues have always been part of the human fabric. Jesus says, (Buddy paraphrase)...Whatever you have done to the less fortunate, looked down upon, unprotected, you have done to me. The Words of scripture also say be careful how you treat people because you may be locking eyes with an angel... He also says that the poor will always be with us. Interesting thoughts. The modern day Pharisees, or as they like to call themselves "revisionists" have hid behind their intellect to argue the democratic position as being a what Jesus would have wanted. I am not suggesting that Jesus is democratic or republican. As a matter of fact, I am suggesting that Jesus is...God!!!

We have allowed liberalism to enter into a Biblical worldview. God was definitely liberal. He is liberal with His love, His grace, His mercy, His gifts, and His Son. To use another definition of liberal, He is not bound by authoritarinism, orthodoxy, or traditional form. As a matter of fact one of the reasons that Jesus came was to crush the heel of the religous organization (i.e. see any interaction with Pharisees/Sadducess). He was very liberal. However, when a person is in favor of taking a baby who is "unwanted" or MAY "effect" the health of the mother, that is not liberal, that is....anti-Biblical. We can argue that there are so many other issues than abortion that we need to be concerned about. I agree with you, there are a ton: Homeless, Poor, Abandoned, Unemployed, Disabled, Fatherless, Motherless, Economical, Taxes, Education Reform, I.D. vs. Evolution, Spending Reform, Deficit Reduction, The War, Terrorism, Health Care, Ear Marking, Tax Cut for big business, Tax increase for big business, Oil, Alternative Energy, I could go on, but you get the point. Do not allow an eloquent communicator to distract you from the truth. The truth is still, abortion is murder. It is a barbaric practice by professionals. It is the innocent sheding of blood.

So is the war in Iraq...not even close. We have liberated (there is that liberal term again) a country from the tyranny of a diabolical dictator. There are children who are being educated in schools for the first time ever because those schools were being used as stockpiles for Saddam's weapons. Let's not forget the mass slaughtering of Iraqi's by their beloved dictator. Who knows how many more thousands of Iraqi's would be dead at the hands of Saddam had it not been for our liberation of Iraq? But, I can see why the liberal position would not support the war. They talk about social issues and caring about people. What about the people of Iraq? They have been freed, yet, liberals do not care about that, because it cost them something. It's easy to a liberal, because it costs nothing. Conservatives, well that goes against the grain. I think Jesus called it the narrow vs. the wide road....

The Best Part of Waking Up!!!

2008-08-27T11:21:00.003-06:00

I am having a very hard time getting used to my new shift. I have spent the past 9 mos. leaving for work at 1:30 p.m. It was beautiful. I could wake up, go to the local coffe haus, study, go home, eat lunch, leave for work, repeat. As of Monday, my alarm disrupts my life at 5:30, leave the house at 5:45, clock in for work at 6:30. It is taking some getting used to. Granted I am only working 3 hours a day now, but this early morning thing is for the birds. Literally, let the birds enjoy the morning and I will take the afternoons anytime!

My schedule will now be wake-up, go to work, eat breakfast, go to local coffee hause, study, go to school...

Faith like a child

2008-08-25T10:23:00.003-06:00

Sunday morning my little boy and I went on a "daddy date." We definitely need to change the name before he hits his teens or he will be pummelled! We went to get him a suprise. One suprise was a spiderman potty seat, pretty exciting for a three year old! The next suprise was a brand spanking new pair of shoes! This is pretty darn exciting for him. I have to admit, being able to provide that as a father is pretty exciting as well. I think about not being able to do that, and the people that cannot do that, and it breaks my heart.

It was pretty fun. We tried on three pair of shoes. Each pair enabled him to run progressively faster. It is interesting to see how marketing, advertising, and cartoons work. Obviously the shoes don't help him run faster. But, I had no problem cohersing him into believing that the pair I thought would meet his needs the best would make him run faster!

The lesson in all of this was faith. He has faith that his shoes make him run faster. I don't want to crush that for him. I cheered him on as he ran through the store. As we ran through the mall parking lot I was his biggest fan. I think I reffered to him as Dash at least 50x's. He has faith like a little child. He believes all kinds of things that aren't "factual" or even real, but he believes them. I want to encourage him to own it and run with it. Obviously as he grows in his faith, he will learn fact, and he will understand reality a bit more. As he grows, I will be there to cheer him on and build him in his faith!

First shall be last!

2008-08-25T09:58:00.003-06:00

Today is the first day of my last semester. December 19th cannot come fast enough for me. Woohoo!

Today is the first day on my new route! I have being working second shift for the last 9 months. I am now begin work at 6:30, gonna take some gettin used to!

Today is my wife's first day of school. Pray for her, she is in a very tough environment.

Today is the first day in 9 months that I will be able to tuck my little boys in! The simple things in life...

Today is my first day wearing my new pair of work shoes! They definitely make me run as fast as Dash!

Today is the first day my son is wearing his new pair of shoes (second really) but it works for this list! They make him jump higher and he is much faster than Dash with them on!

Here it is to many, many, more firsts!

Fragile....Oh, it must be French!

2008-03-05T11:18:00.004-06:00

It's kinda cool how God works in my life. Many times a thought will come to my mind, not just any thought, but a God thought <-- know what I mean? Once I receive that download, I see preachers on TV talking about it, I think about it at random times, I dream about it. I can't get away from it. So, I did nothing with the thought as is usually the case. I just let it marinate. Anyway. I have been sitting in my regular seat at the quaint little coffee shop that I ascend upon everyday. I am supposed to be studying, but today, I just can't. I have literally been studying everyday for at least the last 2 weeks, and I just can't do it today. So, I decided I was going to blog. So, a God thought hit me. I have been pondering the words, "In our weakness He is strong." Pretty generic, not really profound or groundbreaking, simple, sweet, and to the point. So, I decided not to blog, because posting with the words, "In our weakness He is strong" doesn't render any response. So, I decided to talk to Lukus, the manager of the coffee establishment. As I was talking to him a young man walked in. I say young, he is 22, so &*) years younger than I. He began talking about how he and his fiance broke up awhile ago. He talked about the communication issues they had, etc...He than talked about how his daughter would have been 4 on the 23rd of this month. I paused a moment and realized that he said "would have been." He said that she went in to have tubes in her ears, had an allergic reaction to penicillin and passed away. As a father of two amazing boys, this absolutely broke my heart. How does one move passed this? One thing that I pray for, and often, is that God would not allow my wife and I to experience the loss of a child. I have petitioned God many, many, times for the health, life, and safety of my family. How could you get out of bed after this kind of loss? How could you face the world? How could you worship the Creator of life when the life He created has been taken away? I have no idea. As I sat back in my well worn chair, I had the God thought, "In our weakness He is strong." I am not going to even pretend that I know what this young man is going through, I don't ever want to know.

What I do know is that the human condition is fragile. The word fragile implies extreme delicacy of material or construction and need for careful handling. <-- I stole that from m-w.com. Two weeks ago an motorcycle officer in Dallas was in Hillary's motorcade and crashed, with nobody around, and he passed away. Last week a twenty year old young lady was driving to work when a semi, loaded with steel pipes, was going to fast and went off the freeway. He fell 20 feet to the pavement below. Unfortunately, the young lady broke his fall. They both died immediately. This young man at the coffee shop lost a child because of a routine procedure.

Life is fragile, handle with care. In our fragile state, He is strong. We don't have any idea what today holds for us. We need to embrace our weakness, and lean on God's strength. It is very easy to do when we are suffering, but how do we do this when things are going well?

This one goes out to Charlie Pannell

2008-02-18T10:25:00.001-06:00

There are no words

The World On Time (Pt. 2)

2008-02-07T10:22:00.001-06:00

I am sitting here in the local caffeine establishment listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival trying to wake up. It has been a long couple of weeks. I start studying at about 8 am till 1230, than I go home, eat lunch, and head to work until about 9 or 10 at night. I recently started working at FedEx. This is my second tour of duty with the company. I am a courieor, again, and enjoying it. It is a lot of fun. So, back to this topic of authenticity...

Authenticity
2 a: worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact b: conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features c: made or done the same way as an original 3: not false or imitation : real actual

I looked up the definition of authenticity and the above is what they had to say. Webster was a pretty inteligent guy, he was fluent in 26 different languages. To be able to define every word in the english language is fairly impressive if you ask me. Enough rabbit trailing...The first part of this definition challenged my thinking quite a bit. When I think of authenticity, I am brought to the heart of this generation which is to be yourself. Nobody likes fake people, just be yourself. However, going back to the definition; Authenticity requires being worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact. I am immediately reminded of the scripture in Rom. 12:1&2
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do 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.
By examing these definitions of authenticity, God's and Webster's, they seem to clash. Scratch the surface and you will find that the dual definitions are actually united. Authenticity requires thought, examination, struggle (spiritual and intelectual). For too long we have preached authenticity as a blind acceptance or blind faith. Just be who you be. That is not authenticity, that is rebellion. You are not only rebelling against God, but yourself. You will never become who God designed you to be. Our community loses, and so do you. Blind acceptance doesn't transform, it tears apart. If I am going to be an authentic follower of Christ than I am required to Test my beliefs as worthy. Worthy of acceptance. Worthy as fact. When what I do, lines up with what I believe, it will be who I am. That is when I will truly be authentic.

The World On Time

2008-02-06T11:18:00.000-06:00

I went to my blog and noticed that it had been a few days since I last updated. There are a few reasons for that. The top one is that I don't feel as if I have anything to say. Nothing that would be productive anyway. Until now.

Authenticity

2 a: worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact b: conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features c: made or done the same way as an original 3: not false or imitation : real actual

The frailty of our human nature demands acceptance. The desire to belong. The desire to be respected, or admired. Our hearts long for authenticity. We desire to engage with authentic people. We desire to be authentic to others, as well as to ourselves. Honesty, respect, value, greatness, love, belief, realness, are the treasures that have caused us to embark on this journey called life. Once we realize we are on this journey we must than navigate uncharted waters. The compass that will ensure our arrival (notice the dileberate leaving out of safe arrival) at our next port is authenticity.

Authenticity is not something that is for the faint of heart. Embarking on an authentic journey is scary, fun, disappointing, exciting. It will lead you into the best of times and yet turn its back on you into the worst of times. True athenticity transforms lives.

Cowboys and Indians.

2007-10-16T13:50:00.001-06:00

This time of year is when I become a baseball fan. I do not keep up with it much during the regular season, quite frankly it bores me. 182 games over 7 mos. is too much for me. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked up and saw that my Cleveland Indians were playing for the right to be in the World Series. It would be awesome to see them take it all the way! Go Tribe! So before anyone accuses me of jumping on the "band wagon," Let me remind you that I root for the Cleveland Cavs, although I might like the Dallas Mavs better, and the Cleveland Browns as well, and let's not forget The Ohio State University. I am a Buckeye through and through.

Speaking of The Ohio State University, who would have thought that they would be #1 and in position to play for a second straight National Championship? I did not. I expected them to be competitive and finish in the top 10, but not sitting at number #1. I know that the season is far from over, much can happen, especially this year. However, I will enjoy this ranking while it lasts. In theory considering Michigan is in turmoil, and JoPa is inches from the grave, we control our destiny, but we will see. I have not bought my tickets to the Championship game. I will however dream of what may be another national championship under Coach Tressel!

This is the part in my blog where I admit to the world that I am a Romosexual! I like Tony Romo. He is a class act. Living in Dallas, I have been able to watch and listen to this guy. He appears to be a solid guy, not to mention a pretty darn good Q-B as well. I am not saying that I like the Cowboys, I like the Q-B. Quite frankly, I am sick of the cowboys. You would think that the only sport in the country is Cowboy's football, not mavs, not rangers, not stars, but Cowboys. The local news station didn't even show highlights of the Indians/Red Sox Game.

**By the way Bryan, the 5th and 6th innings last night were pretty entertaining. I am torn. I am an Indians fan, but I am a bigger Bryan fan and to see your Red Sox losing is...um...I can feel your pain, really.

Home Sweet Home

2007-10-15T12:33:00.000-06:00

I have to say that I am actually enjoying being in our new house. It is the first time that our dwelling has not been attached to someone else, except for the two weeks we lived in our house in Missouri. It is quite nice. We have a huge bedroom, with a gynormous closet and a very big/huge master bath. I am loving it. I cannot hear my wife when she calls for me from downstairs, that is a huge positive....I mean negative. Maybe we will have to install an intercom....or not. Our boys are loving the back yard. Aside from the money that we have had to spend, it has been a huge blessing thus far. Although, I had forgotten just how much work home ownership involves. Of course, my wife and I cannot just live in a house, we have to redecorate. I am in the process of putting in a beautiful slate floor. That last sentence is a great example of calling things that are not as though they are. The slate is beautiful, hopefully it will remain that way after I am finished installing it!!!!! Once the slate is installed I will give installing the bamboo floor in the rest of the downstairs. Pray for me!

Torn Identity

2007-09-20T08:42:00.000-06:00

What do you do when you don't know what to do? That is where I am right now. I am not exactly sure what to do with my life. I am in school full-time, remodeling a house, and my wife is supporting the family (something she is absolutely hating). Do I drop out of school and get a ministry job. It's kinda disheartening. I feel like I love youth and am gifted to communicate and build leaders in that generation, and am a pretty good youth pastor. My mentor keeps saying that, "We are too old for that, we need to leave that for the younger guys and just mentor the young adults who are working with youth. When your mentor says things like this it makes you question things. I respect his opinion and insight a great deal. On the other hand, I feel that God may be calling me to plant a church. This would be good except for the fact that my wife wants nothing to do with it. She feels that once again she would be forced to support the finances of the family while I plant a church. She is so far over that role. I completely understand. I am completely over the role of my wife supporting our family. I strongly believe that is my position. However, w/o a degree, which I am pursuing, I cannot make the money I would need to support my family. I know that I could get a ministry position that could support my family, but is that the right thing to do? I dunno.
I am just sharing my heart. I am a man in search of destiny and I am not sure where that journey is taking me. My whole life, even before I was serving Christ, I had a vision to work with young people. For the first time in my life, really the last year, I have am operating without a vision. It is a scary, frightening place to be. I am praying and believing God to show me what's next. In the meantime I remain torn. Just "being" a Christ-follower is easy when you are doing the thing you were designed to do. Just "being" a Christ-follower is miserable when you are not sure what you are supposed to do anymore.
I know I sound schizophrenic (don't know if that is spelled right) to those who I talk to about the future. I don't know if it's that as much as it is a man who is desperately searching to find his find his Zihuatanejo. In the movie Shawshank Redemption, what drives Andy to escape from his prison, is the hope that he has to make it to the island town in the Caribbean, called Zihatanejo. That is exactly what I am looking for. I feel as if this last year has been a "prison." Prison is pretty harsh, confinement might be a better word. For years youth ministry is what drove me, it is the reason I woke up in the morning. I literally did not feel like I ever worked a day in my life when I was in full-time ministry. Now, I do not have that. That driving force, that "This is going to impact eternity" thing. I long for that again. I know my family is important and I am definitely doing my best to be Jesus with skin on to them. However, It is a whole lot easier for my wife to respect me when I am providing for our family. It is a whole lot easier for me to respect me when I am providing for my family, when I am living life with passion and not just existing. I need a Zihatanejo.

Breaking and Entering

2007-09-17T09:07:00.000-06:00

*Well, Saturday was a first for me. I became a house burglar. Well, burglar would be strong since the house I broke into was empty. Oh yeah, it is also the one that my wife and I have under contract. Crazy thing. Our realtor's husband let us into our house last week. Apparently he damaged the key box somehow. So, our appraiser could not get into the house. They sent the keybox to the bank which owns the home. That bank is in California. The keybox has the only key. The bank said it would take two months to address the problem. Are you kidding me? Gimme a sludge hammer, it will take me two minutes. Instead me and my sidekick, Nate broke in and changed the lock and put a new key box on it. I have too admit it was exciting. Could there be a new career in my future?????????

*The roach problem has been addressed and is improving. Woo Hoo!

*Our small group has become a small church. We currently have about 20 people involved. Unbelievable!

*My fantasy football team lost. That makes me 1-1. Can't win em all! That's such a stupid saying! You can win em all, and I want to.

*Speaking of not winning them all. The number 1 and 2 high school football teams played at SMU here in Dallas Saturday night. Northwestern (Miami, Fl.) vs. South Lake (Carrellton, TX) were on ESPNU. South Lake lost their first regular season game since Nov. 2001. What an incredible run!

*Im' out faster than Bill Belichoke at a press conference!

Roach Klip

2007-09-13T12:14:00.000-06:00

*Great news. Our "nanny" is in town. Gotta love that. It has been a great year of being a stay at home dad, but I have to admit, I am glad it is over! I will also admit that I am slightly disappointed. I mean for the last year, I have been hanging with my boys, I am kinda missing the time. It was awesome being able to do what I did. There are very, very few men that have the opportunity to spend as much time with their kids as I have. It has been very rewarding. I am sure that I will see the fruit in about 20 years! Thanks for the memories.

*Not so great news. I thought that having a nanny around would allow me to get caught up with my school work. That has not been the case. I have spent the entire week chasing roaches around my crib. That's pleasent!! I kid you not, I have killed no less than 200 this week alone. It is the nastiest thing I have ever experienced. I can completely relate to Paul when he said, "I know what it means to have little, and I know what it means to have a lot." This past year has been a year with little, except roaches. Makes me want to vomit! The exterminator is there as we speak taking care of business. He said give it a month and we should see a difference. A month?

*Better news. We should be closing on our house within the month, even week. So we don't have to deal with the cookaracha!!!!!!!! YeeeHaaa!

*Cai is getting huge. Caden has the vocab of a 5 year old and turns 3 next year. Chelle is loving her job and uber excited about our new house. I am ready to start remodeling another home. I cannot wait. Remodeling really became a nice sanctuary for me. I expect the same thing to happen. I am sharpening my tools with much anticipation!!!!!!

*I'm out faster than a senator in an airport bathroom!

School Is In Session

2007-09-04T19:35:00.000-06:00

*Well, school is back in full swing. I decided to take all of my classes online this semester. I have to say that aside from the convenience, I am not liking it one bit. It is very impersonal and cold. All communication is through email and blackboard. It is pretty annoying to have to email your prof. and wait for an answer. I have taken some hybrids, which are one week in class, the next week off. I will take those again. But these completely online class, Lord willing, I will not attempt again. I am about a week behind on all of my classes. WooHoo!

*The good news is that as I type this, our "nanny" is on her way! Lindsay is coming to live with us in our beautiful (prophesying), new house. She has committed to take the next nine months to help us with the kiddos! It is a win/win for the players involved. We don't have to put our kids in daycare. Lindsay is a kid lover, especially when those kids are ours! This will allow me to hang up my apron and go out into a world that doesn't involve your kid crying when he missed the opportunity to give Snook a high five!

*The best news of all is that the team from up north, commonly referred to as the cesspool of the north, Michigan, lost to Appalachian State! You have got to love that! Yes it looks bad for the big ten, but any Buckeye worth their salt are definitely elated about Saturday's outcome. Not only that but our quarterback, Todd Boeckman, looked sharp. Save me the comments about them playing Youngstown State. He still looked good. Time will tell, but hey I can dream can't I!

Great News

2007-09-01T07:51:00.000-06:00

I have great news. My wife and I are in the process of purchasing a house!! How awesome is that. We have been living in a tiny little two bedroom house for the last year that has bug problems. No lie, as I am typing this, a tiny little roach was crawling up my computer screen. Sometime in the next 3 weeks we will be living in a very spacious, bug free, 2500 sq. ft. home. It has a great back yard (big by Dallas standards). My very own two car garage, which I had in MO. but I only used it for two weeks as a storage facility! In typical Buddy and Chelle fashion, it is a fixer upper. 99% of the problems are cosmetic, so it will be fun. I will have to install flooring, lighting fixtures, a new patio door, and replace three windows. We also have to paint because some 14 year old broke in, hence the broken patio door, and spray painted the walls. There are various updates to be made, but overall we will have about 40K in equity the moment we sign the papers, you can't beat that! Thank you Jesus!

By George

2007-07-06T06:58:00.001-06:00

I am not sure if I mentioned exactly what we are doing here in Grenada, but let me give you a brief overview. We are working with a group called the Alliance. The Alliance is composed of three different denominations; Baptist, New Testament (Church of God, Cleveland), and Pentacostal. I am not sure the difference between Pentacostal and N.T., but there must be one. Anywho...Our objective is to train up youth leaders to build solid youth ministry. The Alliance represents 50 or so churches. There are six Baptist, 15-20 Pentacostal, 20-25 N.T. We started last Saturday with the Baptist. Very disappointed with the turnout. There were 3 churches, than again that's fiddy percent. If that was my shot percentage in b-ball I would be happy! Last night we met with the Pentacostal churches. I was extremely disappointed with the turnout. We had three churches represented of the 15-20. If that was my batting average, I would be playing with Charlie Sheen in Durham, N.C.

However, before I am judged as Nick Negative, this meeting went suprisingly well. The leaders were very receptive and were able to think outside the box. We will be doing a youth service tonight. So pray. I am sure that they have not experienced what we are about to model. It should be good. We will be meeting with another youth group next Friday, and we are going to be helping a few of them start small groups. So even though there was a sad turnout, we are going to be able to train some youth ministries how to reach their community.

Pray for our last meeting. We will be meeting with the N.T. churches tommorrow morning. Pastor Marcus Christopher is the pastor in charge of youth for his denomination. He also is the overseer for the entire alliance. We are staying in his apartments. I have yet to meet him because he has been in Tennessee at a conference. Last October him and his wife visited Global Youth Net's "Solutions" conference. So, he is aware of our "philosophy." Hopefully he will take it and adapt it to the youth of this nation.

In other news:

This walking thing is doing me some good. We walk to the beach, to the coffee shop, to the...you name it we've walked. The unerving thing is that they have very narrow roads and I think they are all part of the Earnhardt family. They drive crazy fast, inches away from you (literally). I asked our "bus" (it's really a van) driver how fast he drives. He said it depends on who is in the bus. If it is a native, he drives 90mph, if it is a tourist, he will kick it down to 60. If he is by himself, it's redlined. Amazingly enough there are very few accidents. They do this on streets that are as narrow as those in Christiana. It's unreal. My life is at risk everytime that I step onto the road. It doesn't seem to bother the natives, so I just suck it up and pray... in the spirit... a lot.

The island is gorgeous. We have seen the waterfalls, the crystal clear waters of the ocean, and the fruit that is abundant. They have mangos, coconut, papaya, avacados, bannanas, nutmeg, cinnamon, french cashews (kinda like a peach), corn, pineapple, cherries, it is amazing. I have never seen that many types of fruit in one place. Many of it just growing wild. It is the best fruit you will taste. Wal-mart can't touch this place.

I'll try to post early next week. Our internet cafe closes for the weekends, so I probably won't be able to communicate until than. Thanks for your prayers and support!

Paradigm

2007-07-03T08:41:00.000-06:00

I am sitting here in a quaint little coffee shop on the island of Grenada. It is the first time that I have had any form of coffee, that wasn't instant in over a week. Hopefully I will be buzzing soon! The people of Grenada are wonderful. They are very community minded and friendly.

They are community minded until it comes to the church. When you walk into the church, you feel like you have entered into a time warp. The churches are stuck in 1950 while the rest of Grenada has entered the 21st century. Take some time to read through the first half of Acts, and you will understand the religious regime that we are battling here. I have been preaching to congregations and training youth leaders about relational evangelism/discipleship and you would have thought that I had three eyes. The concept of being attractional and organic as a church is not on the radar. Not only is it not on the radar, it is not something that the leaders that I have met with so far will even consider. On Sunday night I had a Pastor smirking at me the entire time that I was teaching about discipleship. The concept that a person could be discipled into the Kingdom of God was flat out rejected. He even went so far to pull out the "culture" card. In our culture we do not see discipleship happen until that person has made a decision for Christ. With all due respect that is why he does not have any lost people showing up to his services. At the end of the meeting two men, in their middle 30's "got it." I was talking to this gentleman after the service and Pastor "Smirk" joined the conversation. Pastor "Smirk" was making excuses, small groups take time, we have a program every night of the week, we could not possibly add another thing. I suggested to start using small groups for some of these "programs." He rejected that idea. So, I said to him, "The bottom line is that 50% of your country is under 25, how are they represented in your church?" Chris, one of the guys that "got it" said, there not. I said what are you going to do about it. He said, "We need to become more attractive." Pastor "Smirk" walked away without saying a word. The good news is that Chris is starting a small group with 5 of his lost co-workers. The bad news is that Pastor "Smirk" is unified with Sister "Same Old" and Elder "Easy Way Out." It is going to be a tough battle, pray for us. By the way, don't even bring up the idea of using any form of music that doesn't come from a hymnal or Don Moen's greatest hits, it ain't happening!

So here you have an country of approximately 100,000 people, 50% of those under the age of 25, and very few, and I literally mean a handful of that age group, are represented in their churches. There solution is to continue to sing hymns, reject anything that would even have a hint of the world, and keep doing things the same way. Of the 40 churches that we are working with, the largest youth ministry has 36-60 students showing up to their "service." The next closest youth ministry has 8 students. Their is no young adult ministry. It is amazing to me to see people who love God and are willing to protect their methodology at the expense of their tradition. Let this challenge us. Pray that we never get tied to our methodology!

Oasis

2007-05-12T19:06:00.000-06:00

I am sitting in the ATL airport as I write this. My flight was scheduled to leave at 6:50p.m. As I write this the time is 9:08p.m. There was a "storm" that came through ATL at 5:30. The plan that we are taking to DFW had to be rerouted to Huntsville. At first our flight was rescheduled for 7:45, than 8:30, than 9:00, than 9:30, as of right now it's scheduled for 10:00. You have to love flying these days.
Fortunately I am coming off of three days with the Queen, Jeanne Mayo. What an amazing three days. This week represented the "end" of a two year journey with her and some amazing youth pastors from across the country. It has been an incredible run.
I began this journey with Mom fully expecting too learn about ministry. I concluded these two years learning about life. Words cannot express how unbelievable this experience has meant to my wife and I. To be able to sit with Mom and glean from her 40 years of youth ministry experience. To learn from her, to watch her staff and Master's Commission students, and to be served by them all has been priceless. Every time that I visit her house, I feel like I have found my oasis. It is not a mirage, but a real place. I feel refreshed and ready to face the world again. The bumps and bruises have been cared for. It is an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I have had an opportunity that very few people ever have. I am a blessed man. Thank you Jesus!

Still Counting...

2007-05-08T07:37:00.000-06:00

Today is another one year anniversary. It was on this morning, May 8th, that I woke up and asked God for a break through. I had been searching for ministry positions since January and had nothing. I can vividly remember saying out loud, "God, I need a breakthrough." That afternoon I received a voicemail from Andy. He was the executive pastor for a church to remain nameless in Springfield, MO. They had received my email and wanted to do a phone interview. The phone interview went great. Little did I know how drastically this innocent conversation would change my life! Let's just say I got my breakthrough!

God's ways are not our ways!

And Counting...

2007-05-07T12:15:00.000-06:00

Today is the anniversary of my stepping down as the youth pastor of FLCC. Amazing. I cannot believe it has been a year already. It is also the anniversary of Nate stealing the spotlight at our going away party by slicing his achilles tendon. He will do anything to get attention!

It has been a crazy year. It has been a hard year. It has been an amazing year. I have learned so much from this experience. I've learned about myself, my wife, my kids, and God. I have been challenged and stretched more than I thought possible.

I look back over the year and I have to say that I am encouraged. The old saying, "What doesn't kill ya, makes ya stronger" is true. When you work out you actually tear muscle, it repairs itself stronger than it was. That is exactly what God is doing to me spiritually. He has tore down my life in just about every area possible. At least I hope so! But just like working out, it is not something we always look forward to, or want to do. However, if you want a bod like mine, you will pay the price! I would have paid big money to avoid this last year if I could have predicted it. But what good would that have done? I have always prayed that God would mold me into the man that he desired me to be. This last year is part of that process.

Too many times Christ-followers pray for God to get them out of situations, rather than through them. God could easily get us out, but than I would short circuit God's plan to create me in His image. I will admit that about 6 months into the process I wanted out. It was the most pain I have ever felt in my life. I understand what the Bible means when it says, "weeping and gnashing of teeth." It was an incredibly difficult season. Somewhere about January, I decided that I was going to stop fighting it, and start embracing this season. Quickly God began to show me that I could trust His heart even when I can't see His hand. I am coming to a place of peace. What good does it do to worry, or try to take matters into your own hands? God's plan for our lives is for us to enjoy success and not failure. Not worldly success, but spiritual, Godly success! I am so thankful with where I am right now. I truly consider this season a privilege. God loves me so much that He will stop at nothing to transform me into the man that He has designed me to be. I can honestly say I am happy to be going through this season! I cannot wait to see where this journey takes me. I know it's going to be awesome!

So, the next time life is kicking your behind, maybe you should look behind you to see who is doing the kicking. If you look back and see your daddy, you should do as Paul says, Consider it joy!

Igniting Change....