Tag Archives: God

Feb 3 2012

Been thinking about Hurting.

“In this world, you will have trouble…” – Jesus

Isn’t it fascinating that Jesus comes to this world, spends his life spreading the Good News, performing healings, flipping the occasional table, pressing people to know God as their Lord, tells people of this Kingdom of God that seems to be like the utopian society that their government was telling them they could have, and yet he tells them that they will still have trouble.

Seems a bit off, doesn’t it? I mean come on, “If our God is for us, then who could be against us?” Right? Doesn’t that mean comfort? Doesn’t that mean whatever I want, whatever I think I need, it is taken care of? Jesus comes, dies, rises again, sends the Holy Spirit to live in us, and reminds us that we will have trouble; that things aren’t going to be so “peachy-keen” after all. Continue reading →

Twitter-Facebook
Feb 1 2012

Conflict on Facebook and Twitter is Dumb

It’s funny to me how “drama” seems to follow people like a cloud of gnats on a hot summer day. But, more than that, recently I have been watching as more and more people have been jumping onto Twitter for its streamlined and  seemingly more “private” home. But, there is something that I can’t get over and find it somewhat troublesome when it comes to how people are using it.

The use of Twitter for resolving conflict or sharing a beef with someone is becoming more and more prevalent. And I have one question to ask in response to the idea that Twitter might be a positive way to share your personal issues:

Why give something from your heart to a world that doesn’t care when you could give it to someone who cares the world for you?

I just struggle with it. For a couple reasons:

  1. Who, through Twitter, really cares? Let’s be real honest with ourselves. When I swipe through the posts on Twitter, when I see someone complaining about someone else, I typically keep skimming on by. Maybe that is just me, but it just doesn’t seem profitable for me to get involved with someone else’s “drama.”
  2. Is public profession of frustration the best way to handle the situation? As I look at it, every situation that I have ever had in life where I was frustrated with another person, never (or very rarely) became resolved by telling everybody else about it. Most times, it took me “manning up” and approaching that person or persons about the problem that I had with them. There is just something about talking with a person one-on-one instead of slandering them to the world.
  3. It’s self-promotion and self-pity. If we are honest with ourselves, all we are doing when we post something that is rooted in our frustration with someone else, is fishing for affirmation of our position. And most times, that position is rooted in our own desire to be right or justified in our emotions. That’s not healthy, it’s not beneficial, and does nothing to resolve the situation.

So there are some thoughts. I just don’t see the value in trying to handle conflict through social media. It’s not loving. It’s not fruitful. And frankly, I think it’s just plain dumb. There I said it.

Jan 31 2012

A New Event JAM-PACKED with Fun and Purpose

That’s right- “If and overnighter and a retreat had a baby, this is what it would be.”

We are really excited to be taking 100 Senior High Students and Leaders on what should be one of the coolest, most jam-packed overnight trip to Ft. Wayne… EVER. It all takes place on March 9-10 and you really don’t want to miss it!

During our worship times and group times, we are going to be taking a serious look at Matthew 5:16 and focus in on these words: “Let Your Light Shine.” Come join us!

Here’s how it works:

  • Friday Night: Komets Hockey Game, Food, Worship, Stay in a Hotel
  • Saturday Morning: TAWG, Food, Laser Tag
  • Saturday Afternoon: Food, Worship, Jesus
  • Saturday Night: Jesus, Food, Jesus
  • Home by 8:30pm.

This might be the best event for $42 if you sign up by Sunday. The Final Deadline is February 26 and the cost goes up to $50. We are staying in a hotel and it’s going to be an awesome time to bond together and have a ton of fun. If you have questions, email me or send me a facebook message!

Jan 29 2012

At The Center of It All…

It’s 10:15pm and my buddy Joe just called me. That has nothing to do with the rest of this post, except to cite when this took place.

I had a shift in my heart tonight. It goes to the tune of this:

At the center of Freedom, is Joy. A Joy that passes all understanding and completely releases a person from the bondage of what they were, who they were, and ultimately into the character of who God has created them to be. Continue reading →

Jan 25 2012

Helping a Student Know

Last Wednesday, Derry, at the end of the message portion, offered students the opportunity to respond, by standing, to their recognition of what God was doing in their heart. Many stood in response to the two different opportunities, whether that was to accept a relationship with Him for the first time or to reaffirm a relationship and not the standards of religion. Afterward, I had a leader ask me how to revisit the night, and those decisions, in their small group the next week. I gave her three pointers. Continue reading →

Jan 19 2012

What If You Stopped Thinking About It?

Psalm 37:4-6 says,  ”Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.” I guess I just wonder what it would mean to commit our ways to the Lord, to trust in him, to take him at his word. To allow him to shine on us and reflect His Glory, reflect His Power, His Presence, shine to all those around us. Continue reading →

Jan 18 2012

What If You Are Right?

So, what if you’re wrong? But, what if you’re right?

What if that thing that you have been driving toward, that thing that you have constantly been talking about, bringing up and thinking through, what if that is right? What if you are actually dead on with what needs to be done and what should go forth? What are you going to do with that knowledge? What are you going to do with all of that passion that comes behind that “right” idea/answer/thought?

And maybe more than what are you going to do with it, but how are you going to know?

But maybe that’s not the most important question. Cause you know when you know, right?

Jan 17 2012

For Me, It’s Only the Church

Yesterday’s post and some other variables have contributed to me really analyzing what I call the church. My job is focused on developing relationships with students and leaders and to help coordinate the programs that are directed toward students and more specifically, high school students. That seems trivial to describe it that way, but I’ve been pretty convicted, lately, on the word “church”.

I, like so many others, would say, “I’m going to the church to meet (fill in the blank).” And it seems like nothing to say that that way, but it means a ton when it jades our view of what the church actually is and how important my view of the church changes how I view the church.

See, of my biggest concerns from yesterday’s post, at the top of that list is a fear that we (younger generations) don’t see the importance of the entirety of the Church. We dismiss the older generations that have relegated themselves to “rules” and “legalism” and fail to experience “grace” and “genuine recognition of their lives.” And the reality is, the moment that I dismiss or even begin to show resentment for that group of people, is the moment that I am the exact person that Paul is speaking about in 1 Corinthians 12 when he talks about dividing the parts of the Body and not finding purpose in being joined to differing parts.

The reality is, the Church is no building. That was a major point to Jesus’ theology as he preached and began to describe his death, resurrection, and Second Coming. When Jesus clears the temple courts in John 2, he specifically says that he can prove his authority by raising up the temple again in three days. The point was, the teachers thought he was talking about the building when he actually was talking about his Body. Later, Peter will relate this temple that is being built up as the people of God, the Body of Christ, into the completed temple that is being rebuilt.

The point of all this is, I’m convicted to end my careless use of a word that is meant to describe something that is infinitely more powerful, uncomprehendingly transformative, and  unequivocally more grace-filled, than some empty, groupings of bricks, mortar and metal. The Church is you and me and my grandparents and your cousins and our friends and the homeless man and the girl from Taco Bell.

So, I’ll see ya at the ministry that I work at. Stop by. I’ll be glad to meet you there.

Honestly, I have no idea why this is a big deal to me right now. And I really don’t think this is going to make my life, or anyone else who talks to me about the building, any easier or more accurate. But, I do know this- I want my love for Jesus and my love for his Church to permeate  from my soul and my character. And apparently, this is that God wants to challenge me. So, I figured I would share!

What about you? What words are you using to describe things that perhaps should be a different way around?

jesus
Jan 16 2012

Why I Hate Religion Too, But I Just Can’t Hate the Religious

I have been watching the latest viral Christian YouTube video blow up Facebook and Twitter and have been pretty amazed with how quickly this one is popping up and with whom it is popular. The video I am talking about is here:

Let me say it, right away, there is a ton in this video. I affirm a lot of the thoughts that this guy raises in this poem/video. The desires of Jesus was for His followers to have a relationship with Him and to pursue that relationship. In doing so, the Church would grow and ultimately be completed by the work that Christ was doing in those relationships.

But I wonder the motives behind all the re-posts, the many emotional proclamations of affirmation, that I have seen around social media. It is media like this one that attempts to lay out a ton of truth, creatively and in doing so, leaves out definitions and blatant biblical points that would refute the very argument being made. And we humans have an innate ability to spin it up and mess it up and take it to heart without seeking the Spirit and allow it to divide us. I can’t tell you how many blog posts I have seen surrounding this video, breaking down its theological flaws and doctrinal mishaps. And some of them have a point. There are a number of theological and biblical flaws to this guy’s argument. But, in all honesty, that’s really not the problem that I have with the popularity that seems to surround this piece of creative outcry.

These “fake” people the author talks about, who are they? And maybe the better question is, who do you identify them as? I ask that question because I know what went through my mind when he started talking about all of that stuff.

My mind didn’t jump to Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. And my mind didn’t jump to David and the facade that came crumbling down at the words of Nathan. And I didn’t start to think about the Rich Young Ruler that Jesus interacts with that clearly is putting on a face for the world. And I didn’t think of Simon the Magician who wants the Holy Spirit and a relationship with Christ so that he can become famous again and do amazing works. I didn’t start thinking about those people.

No, I started thinking about people who are in my midst right now. People whose lives I could look on and make judgement about their heart. Sure, that’s sinful and wrong and not the point of the video. But you did it too. Because you are human and together we cannot possibly comprehend the infinite beauty of the Grace of God that truly is the ocean of Grace that the Church embodies, let alone exercise an appropriate amount of it toward the rest of mankind.

I get frustrated with what I think Jeff wants to identify as Religion as well. Namely, what many of us would identify as Sunday Christians (those that attend a worship service and follow certain “rules” to feel better about themselves.). What frustrates me more, is when my remorse and emotion toward Religion gets intertwined with my passionate love for the Church. And maybe that’s the problem. In my zeal against Religion, I lose my compassion for those that are caught in it. I find myself despising the person that settles for the feel good message and the 3 points to a better life and forget that my mission is for them as well. I hate Religion, but I am commanded to love the religious.

Have we ever stopped to think, critically, about those people that our mind drifts to when we start thinking about the religious? Can we possibly even begin to recognize the many variables that probably go into their stagnation and supposed in-authenticity? The fear of opening up? The hurt that one has already experienced? The history that illustrates the story of a persons life? Have we ever stopped to consider some of these variables? I know I don’t usually stop.

Something to think about. Something I intend to talk about more in the coming days and weeks.

Perhaps the reason there fails to be an ocean of Grace in the midst of our Churches is because of our own inability to extend it to those who need it inside our own Body?

Jan 13 2012

Friday Feature #2: New Crowder Epic Album

Is it really over? If you can believe it, the David Crowder* Band has performed their last concert and they have produced their last album. And this album is absolutely epic. One of the most creative albums I have ever listened to by one of the greatest pioneers of creative music in Christian music (still not sure what that means).

In other words, this is 34 tracks of absolute greatness. I might be biased as this is probably one of my favorite bands of all time, but seriously, it’s like the guys just said, “We don’t care. It’s our last one. And we are gonna just do whatever!” It’s awesome. They even have a number of songs that are straight bluegrass and best-of-all they are hymns!

Favorite song(s)[In Order of Rank]: After All (Holy); Let Me Feel You Shine; Oh Great God, Give Us Rest; Leaning on the Everlasting Arms/Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus (Medley)

Definitely worth check into. They have even jumped to #1 album on iTunes and remained there for at least 2 days!