love kids in church

this morning i was not in manteno at 'my' church for the first time in a long time. katie and i went to her parents church in michigan and we were ten minutes late (ususally i am at church by 7:30AM, today 11:10AM). we slid into the balcony during a pryaer time and her parents were singing in the praise team that started up after the song and greeting time, the sermon was thought provoking, but that is not what i was excited about today. in the two rows in front of us in our sections there were 12 kids! Now there were much more than that in the service and our church has much more than that in a typical service, so the number was not that big of a deal or all that impressive, but it was great to see these 12 kids with three sets of parents. it was great because kids went to church with their parents and the parents were friends and all the kids were under 10 years of age. it was fun to watch them play with Bibles and for mom and dad to tell them to sit up, it was fun to watch them whisper and giggle, it was great as it brought back some great memories of me and all my friends from church doing the same things when we were kids. it excited me to see parents sitting with their kids in church and teaching them the ways of the Christian faith, parents bringing their children on the journey with them. that is about it.

the Church broader

currently, i am sitting through an "AA Big Book Conference." so that my friends or family are not nervous i did not hop on and fall off the wagon, but i am making sure the sound is on and just being around. i did not come to learn, but came to make some money. much to my surprise i see some things in alcoholics anonymous that should be applied to the church. for those of you who are like me and ddin't know much about AA, my view has been dramatically transformed...for the better. this is an organization that is functioning in ways the church should!

as the day progressed and the recovering alcoholics shared their stories and talked of a "Higher Power" (ie God) and how their lives were being changed, there was not talk of change in past-tense, but in present and future tense. in other words, they were making it known they are not finished products. as story after story was shared i could not help, but notice how story after story pointed out the necessity of their mentor in their continued growth. those that were being mentored were also mentoring those who were not as far along on the journey as some of the others. this should sound eerily like the way the church functions in its discipleship of one another, yet it doesn't in most places.

often we think that many groups would and should learn a lot from the church and many times they do. this is an instance that the church should see that AA has something pretty special in its approach that allows and even fosters reproduction. i am not sure exactly what i am saying (i am positive this is coming out in a way that is not totally coherent or thought out), but am sure that we, being the church, need to attempt to disciple more and more as that is the way in which we can build the church. that includes building spiritually, numerically, or any other way one desires. God will not use us unless we seek to be used. maybe the church of the nazarene's push "who is discipling you? and who are you discipling?" i guess AA understands discipleship.

the altar is so cool

this past sunday i preached and it was one of those moments when God moved in amazing ways. i could honestly feel the Spirit moving (yes, i know that sounds nuts). i preached from romans 12:1-2 and talked about spiritual gifts and how that if we ever want to use our spiritual gifts in the kingdom then we first need to give ourselves as living sacrifices...paul has some pretty good words for us in romans! these two verses pack so much in so few words. we talked about how worship is an all the time, everyday thing and how sunday should be a day that informs the rest of our lives. through the whole message i felt it was going well, but the response at the end was humbling! as i talked and tried to remove any stigmas people had about the altar i encouraged them that it was the place in the service where we expected God to meet us, the place we expect the Holy Spirit to transform us. as i wrapped up the praise team came to lead us in a final couple of songs and as they started playing and i prayed the altars were lined with people. don't know why all the people came, but do know that they left there transformed by the Spirit. it was a great sunday. the altar is such a cool place!

mission trip

just returned from a mission trip to beattyville, kentucky with a group of 24 students and adults. i am sitting in my office and am thinking about how tired i am, but of how well the trip went. i must say first and foremost that the pace of life in beattyville is much different than in the "north." there never seemed to be much hurry nor any type of urgency. surprisingly enough, that i handled well. there were not always enough jobs for us per day, but that needs to be put in perspective. the students and adults that went were there to work and us following a few groups who thought it was vacation left them planning less work. the pastor that was coordinating everything, ricky isaacs, did a great job and all our students had a great week and the same is true for the adults. we worked on trailers that needed painting, houses in disrepair, inside, outise, wherever. there were a few great stories and you will need to ask our students, but there was one woman that stood out to me.

lorene lived just a short walk from the church we slept in, but is a widow and not able to any real strenuous work. a group of us went down and replaced her lattice on her deck, powerwashed and stained the deck with a sealer after sanding it down. this seems like such a menial task until one knows the fact that her husband died last year after attempting to powerwash the deck. in other words we finished what he started. she was in tears as we prayed with her before leaving, after i gave her a hug sherri had the great idea to invite her to dinner with us...she came and sat with us...it was great! she even gave me a homemade night-lite cover made out of beads and paperclips.

the trip was a great one and our students connected with one another in a deeper way than they had before. there was a lot of painting done and a lot of prayer...there were even a few sunburns. we had services every night and the guy leading them was not going to be there Thursday night, so i ask what we are doing and offer to help...bad and good idea. i preached (that is the bad for everyone else) some of our girls led us in worship (the good). i am finishing a 230 slide powerpoint for tonight (i went through over 1000 pictures to get to that point). God blessed us and the people of beattyville, and i believe he will continue to do so.

way too long between posts!!!

i am sitting in a chair in the corner at my aunt and uncle's house in avin, indiana (right outside indianapolis) watching the rain come down wishing the round of golf scott and i planned on could happen. this lack of posting follows a lack of spiritual growth, it comes on the tail end of a dry spell spiritually, but one in which i was very busy ministering to others. i have done 4 funerals since my last post, spent time in nursing homes and with grieving families and hung out with teenagers. the aspect that stands out throughout this period in time is the amount of controversy and crap that has been a part of my life, both at the church, the Church, and every other aspect of my life. the thing that still holds true through it all is that my love for the church is still just as strong. i also believe greatly that Jesus is the Way, He is hope, and all that we need, all that i need!

as i have seen life and death, joy and sorrow i have been struck by the movement of God's Spirit in all people in all circumstances even when they don't acknowledge His presence. i remember walking through a funeral home one of the many times i visited edythe (the old woman that lived below us in our apartment) and smelling and seeing the end of life, literally death was in the air. a few days later i was asked to do the funeral and remembered edythe and i having late-night conversations. as the time between posts lengthened i was asked to do multiple funerals and the thing that stood out through all of them was that i cannot presuppose on God's grace either way. the consistent statement i made throughout the funerals was that we entrust this person to the grace of God, we entrust this child of God into the hands of a loving Savior. there is much more i plan to say in the near future in regards to eschatology as i spent so much time dealing with life and death.

my wife is in pennsylvania and i will pick her up from the airport tomorrow. we have not had much time for the 2 of us in a while. i am hoping we become more intentional about spending time together to go and do something outside of our home. we need that. i want to still date my wife and i hope we are able to do that.

fear no more

fear is something that can grip us and when we allow it a foothold it won't let go. jesus speaks on fear and worry and tells us there is nothing in this life to fear, but to only fear the one that has power over this life and the next. with this being true, why am i so susceptible to being worried, or thinking the worst in certain situations. it is the fear that began with the first people, a fear of abandonment, a fear of loss, a fear of what we can't control. i have a wife who loves me and though we see differently in some ways, i know that she is mine and i am hers. why then am i so afraid of losing her, why then do i act in ways that i do not desire and respond in ways that are so uncharacterisitc of my personality. she would be the first to tell you that i am a passionate person with strong convictions. so this day i am making the declaration that no longer will i be trapped by fear in any way, but this day all the fears of my life are to be placed at the feet of the cross. as fears will inevitably come again and i will ponder hanging on, with the help of the Spirit never again will they have any place of influence in my life. The Cross replaced fear and Jesus has made a way free of fear. my prayer is that God will take my hurts, pains, struggles, worries, and fears and that they will be laid on the cross and never again contain me. God may your Son who is more than enough, be more than enough for me in fear. may i not worry or be afraid of the things of this life, but may i hold firm to the hope that comes through a relationship with Jesus who is the Christ. and may my wife see the transformation that your Spirit is doing in my life. in the name of Jesus i pray
-amen!

...like a child

as i sat through church this morning (one of the three services i attended in the morning and one still to come this evening), i was struck by a young boy in the front row. as the band played and many sang, this young boy was dancing around to the music, playing some air guitar and just grinning from ear to ear. now, for the rest of us, we stood rigid with arms folded or hands in pockets and occasionally there was a closed set of eyes or two, but for the most part we looked like a group that did not enjoy what was going on all that much. Now, there are definite times when standing solemnly is most appropriate, but every song, every week? This is not to belittle those that truly are worshipping through song (i hope i am one), but to say can the outside world see our passion. this little boy was definitely into it there was no doubt in my mind that he was loving every minute of it, not to mention about to rip his mom's arm off at times. i will admit that he might have been egged on by the group of teenagers smiling and laughing in the row behind him, but he still didn't care what they actually thought.

how often do we not care what people think? i am guilty of being so worried about what others think as to not say or do something in certain types of company. how often as christians are we so preoccupied with being 'cool' or not standing out or not being thought of as 'different'. the question for us remains are we willing to show our passion to the world? are we willing to not be quiet anymore, are we willing to be uncomfortable and make others uncomfortable as well. or are we going to be 'politically correct', not rock the boat, give people their 'space'. what did Jesus do, was he quiet or 'politically correct'? i think that it is fair to say Jesus rocked the boat and had no reservations, it is fair to assume that Jesus would have been dancing around and playing air guitar with the little boy in the front row.