I am entering into a new phase in my life right now. I am in a place where I am trying to figure out what God wants me to do. I am a student minister, not by job but by profession. Let me explain: I am a student minister whether or not I am working in a church for a ministry with that title. That is the calling on my life and that is what/who I am. I have dedicated my life to ministering to students (7th to 12th grade). That looks like whatever God wants it to look like.
I was a “Student Minister” at a church and was asked to leave. It was not because I did anything immoral or even wrong, it was because that church and I were not a good fit and no matter how much I wanted to make it a good fit it was not. I could spend pages and pages talking about why we didn’t fit together or why I believe that I am not working there any more, but I am not dwelling on the past. I am looking towards the future.
There was a lot of hurt when I left, and it had a lot to do with the way things were handled before and after I left. I believe that God wanted us (me and my incredible wife) to do some healing before He took us somewhere else. We have had some time to heal and now I am ready to start ministering to students again. In that time of rest and healing it is not that I stopped ministering to students or lost the heart or fire to do so, it is just that I had to take some time to learn who I am and what God wants me to do. I believe that I am a much better husband than I was 8 months ago, a much better Christian man than I was 8 months ago, and as odd as this sounds, I am a much better student minister than I was 8 months ago. God has done some pretty life changing things in my life, and I don’t know where He is leading next. There are a lot of options out there, and I don’t know which one he wants us to follow. What I do know is that God has a plan for our lives. And this 8 month break/time of rest was very much a part of His plan.
We look forward to seeing what God is going to do in our lives next. He has already started moving and we are doing what we have been doing the last 8 months. We are sitting back, resting, and allowing God to do what He does and does well.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The 4th
This is from the 4th I forgot I wrote it:
So on the 4th of July I sat outside my in-laws house watching fireworks off in the distance, like I would assume that many people did all over our great Nation. As I was watching the fireworks I couldn't help but wonder what the big attraction to watching fireworks is? Is it the colors flashing in the sky? Is it the noise that they make? Is it some innate pyromaniac that is in us all that just loves fire and things exploding? I couldn't figure it out. I will have to admit that when I was younger I was very excited to see the lights flashing in the sky while when I got old it was probably the fire and exploding that would get me out there early so that I could get as close as I could to watch them shoot up from their point of origination. Probably secretly hoping that one of the guys blows off a hand or something, because that would be awesome. Now I am just not sure….
I understand that it is the celebration of our Nation’s independence, and independence that I love and appreciate and sometimes take for granted; the same independence that many men and women have died and continue to die for; the same independence that allows me to worship the all-knowing and masterful creator God. The same independence that allows my neighbor to worship Buda or Allah or whatever God they so chose to worship. What a great Nation we leave in. As I watched those fireworks wishing that I was back inside playing games I couldn’t help but reflect on my independence in this county that those fireworks were celebrating. This thought eventually led me to thinking about the Independence and freedom that I receive by being a child of that same God that I worship and have pledged my life to back in the 7th grade.
How blessed am I that I worship a God that loves me so much that he would give me freedom from the bondage of sin through the death of His one and only Son. He didn’t have to give me those freedoms but did because of his love for me. When I read books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy and see what it took to atone for your sins I scream praises to God. He saw that we were not cutting it so He gave us another way to atone for our sins with His Son freeing us from the old laws and giving us total freedom and independence from our sin.
As I was still watching the fireworks wondering why we have not got to the point where we can cause a firework to blow up into a picture, like a Scooby Doo or a Fred Flintstone or some other iconic cartoon character that everyone could see. I mean we can send shuttles into space and have space stations orbiting 100’s of miles above our heads but we can’t make a firework blow up in to Scooby Doo’s face? We need to get somebody on that, let’s make fireworks something to oooooohhhhhhhh and aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh at because the colors are getting pretty old.
After having that thought I drifted back to being thankful to the Father for freedom. For allowing me to grow up in the USA, for letting me grow up in my parents home, for giving me the friends and family I have, for my AMAZING wife, for His love, for His Son. I went on and on with all the things that he has blessed me with until someone said something about something and I was snapped back to the LAME fireworks show that never took the shape of Scooby, WEAK!! Even with the pointless fireworks show that I saw I still had a good July 4th. I had an encounter with God and it was pretty incredible.
So on the 4th of July I sat outside my in-laws house watching fireworks off in the distance, like I would assume that many people did all over our great Nation. As I was watching the fireworks I couldn't help but wonder what the big attraction to watching fireworks is? Is it the colors flashing in the sky? Is it the noise that they make? Is it some innate pyromaniac that is in us all that just loves fire and things exploding? I couldn't figure it out. I will have to admit that when I was younger I was very excited to see the lights flashing in the sky while when I got old it was probably the fire and exploding that would get me out there early so that I could get as close as I could to watch them shoot up from their point of origination. Probably secretly hoping that one of the guys blows off a hand or something, because that would be awesome. Now I am just not sure….
I understand that it is the celebration of our Nation’s independence, and independence that I love and appreciate and sometimes take for granted; the same independence that many men and women have died and continue to die for; the same independence that allows me to worship the all-knowing and masterful creator God. The same independence that allows my neighbor to worship Buda or Allah or whatever God they so chose to worship. What a great Nation we leave in. As I watched those fireworks wishing that I was back inside playing games I couldn’t help but reflect on my independence in this county that those fireworks were celebrating. This thought eventually led me to thinking about the Independence and freedom that I receive by being a child of that same God that I worship and have pledged my life to back in the 7th grade.
How blessed am I that I worship a God that loves me so much that he would give me freedom from the bondage of sin through the death of His one and only Son. He didn’t have to give me those freedoms but did because of his love for me. When I read books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy and see what it took to atone for your sins I scream praises to God. He saw that we were not cutting it so He gave us another way to atone for our sins with His Son freeing us from the old laws and giving us total freedom and independence from our sin.
As I was still watching the fireworks wondering why we have not got to the point where we can cause a firework to blow up into a picture, like a Scooby Doo or a Fred Flintstone or some other iconic cartoon character that everyone could see. I mean we can send shuttles into space and have space stations orbiting 100’s of miles above our heads but we can’t make a firework blow up in to Scooby Doo’s face? We need to get somebody on that, let’s make fireworks something to oooooohhhhhhhh and aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh at because the colors are getting pretty old.
After having that thought I drifted back to being thankful to the Father for freedom. For allowing me to grow up in the USA, for letting me grow up in my parents home, for giving me the friends and family I have, for my AMAZING wife, for His love, for His Son. I went on and on with all the things that he has blessed me with until someone said something about something and I was snapped back to the LAME fireworks show that never took the shape of Scooby, WEAK!! Even with the pointless fireworks show that I saw I still had a good July 4th. I had an encounter with God and it was pretty incredible.
I believe the children are our future...
I wrote a while back about Coach Dave Bliss and all the full restoration process that he has gone through in the last 5 years or so. How he mad a bad decision and has suffered for that decision and has since come full circle and made a total commitment to God to Glorify Him in everything that he does. Well since then I have listened to the interview again and picked up some more thoughts about Coach Bliss and the way he has battled back from where he was.
This one won’t be as long as the last one.
Coach Bliss was the basketball coach at Baylor when one of the players killed one of his teammates and through that process a lot of other infractions came out about Dave Bliss and some of the poor decisions that he had made. Here is an article from the Rocky Mountain News in Colorado that they wrote Feb of this year http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/bliss-bears-coach-during-scandal-talks-about/ it is a pretty good recount of where Coach Bliss has been and where he is headed.
In the interview he did on a local sports talk show Coach Bliss talked about what he is doing now and what brought him through those times back in 2003. The part that got me in listening to the interview the second time was what Coach Bliss is doing now. He was coaching in the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) for the Dakota Wizards for a year, but after a year realized that was not where he needed to be at that moment and wanted to spend more time with his family. Now Coach Bliss is taking advantage of his past mistakes and encouraging and teaching others not to make the same mistakes that he did.
I am a firm believer in God can take our past “bad decisions” and bring himself Glory from them. Nothing that Coach Bliss did brought any glory to God or himself but now he is taking those past mistakes and showing others how not to follow in his footsteps. That is one of the main goals in his life right now is to encourage others.
He is working with Athletes in Action a Christian Sports organization and coaching a basketball team in July for them. He is also putting action behind his words. Back in March he had an opportunity to speak to a bunch of College Coaches in San Antonio and give his testimony to what happened to him and how he got to where he was and where he is currently.
I can honestly say that I have a lot of respect for Coach Bliss. I think that it take a great and real man to trust God and take ownership of his mistakes. And a real man of God to allow God to us those past sins to encourage and teach others. How many less mistakes would there be if we would all teach others how to avoid making the mistakes that we have made or that others has shared with us.
That is one of the reasons that I have chosen to do student ministry for my life. I was blessed to have adults in my life growing up that shared their lives with me and helped me to avoid making mistakes they have made in the past. I know pass those on to students that I come in contact with. Through scripture and experiences that we have we can make a difference and help others not make the same mistakes that we have just by sharing with others. Thanks Coach Bliss.
This one won’t be as long as the last one.
Coach Bliss was the basketball coach at Baylor when one of the players killed one of his teammates and through that process a lot of other infractions came out about Dave Bliss and some of the poor decisions that he had made. Here is an article from the Rocky Mountain News in Colorado that they wrote Feb of this year http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/bliss-bears-coach-during-scandal-talks-about/ it is a pretty good recount of where Coach Bliss has been and where he is headed.
In the interview he did on a local sports talk show Coach Bliss talked about what he is doing now and what brought him through those times back in 2003. The part that got me in listening to the interview the second time was what Coach Bliss is doing now. He was coaching in the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) for the Dakota Wizards for a year, but after a year realized that was not where he needed to be at that moment and wanted to spend more time with his family. Now Coach Bliss is taking advantage of his past mistakes and encouraging and teaching others not to make the same mistakes that he did.
I am a firm believer in God can take our past “bad decisions” and bring himself Glory from them. Nothing that Coach Bliss did brought any glory to God or himself but now he is taking those past mistakes and showing others how not to follow in his footsteps. That is one of the main goals in his life right now is to encourage others.
He is working with Athletes in Action a Christian Sports organization and coaching a basketball team in July for them. He is also putting action behind his words. Back in March he had an opportunity to speak to a bunch of College Coaches in San Antonio and give his testimony to what happened to him and how he got to where he was and where he is currently.
I can honestly say that I have a lot of respect for Coach Bliss. I think that it take a great and real man to trust God and take ownership of his mistakes. And a real man of God to allow God to us those past sins to encourage and teach others. How many less mistakes would there be if we would all teach others how to avoid making the mistakes that we have made or that others has shared with us.
That is one of the reasons that I have chosen to do student ministry for my life. I was blessed to have adults in my life growing up that shared their lives with me and helped me to avoid making mistakes they have made in the past. I know pass those on to students that I come in contact with. Through scripture and experiences that we have we can make a difference and help others not make the same mistakes that we have just by sharing with others. Thanks Coach Bliss.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Glory
I realize that I have become and old man. I am not quite 30 yet but I find that when I am driving in my car if I don’t listen to the iPod then I am listening to sports talk radio. I can remember making fun of my friend Jon for doing that very thing about 6 years ago. I guess what goes around comes around.
That is not the point of me writing this that is just extra. The other day while I was listening to said sports talk I heard an interview by a coach named Dave Bliss. Some of you may recognize the name some may not. If you are a Baylor Bear you probably just cringed. If you want to read the story about what happened to Coach Bliss at Baylor here is a link to the story on Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Bliss#The_Baylor_scandal it was not one of his shining moments to say the least. I had met Dave Bliss a couple times while I was growing up in
Now to the interview I heard on the radio the other day. I heard the man speak that I knew from my teenage years. I heard a man fully reconciled in the eyes of the only One that matters to him. It was said in the interview that Coach Bliss was not looking for the acceptance or forgiveness of man, all though I am sure that he would appreciate it if it was given. He is very regretful of the decisions that he made in his past. You can hear in his voice and the way that he speaks that he is truly sorry for what happened. But he is also not dejected or depressed, you can hear a joy in his voice and it is not a joy of whom he was but who he is, not about how he lived his life but of how he is living his life. I can honestly say that after listening to Coach Bliss’s interview I was inspired to be a better man and make wise decisions.
He has is currently living everyday in a way that gives God the glory. You can hear the Joy of the Lord in Coach Bliss’s voice. Now many of you will think that Coach Bliss is another athlete that “found” God. But he said that he is “not another athlete that found God I just forgot God in my life”. Those words rang in my heart and mind. How many people are there out there that have God in their lives but forget that he is there? I am sure more then we know.
Something else that Coach Bliss said that I think transcends sports and can apply to us all is about how he got into the position that he was in the first place. He said it was a “bad decision” (which I thought was the understatement of the decade). But that is what it was a bad decision, one that he says he didn’t come to overnight. It was a “desensitization that occurs over a period of time” to the decision. He stayed in the gray so long that the gray leaked over into the illegal and immoral. Once he became desensitized to the sin it became harder and harder not to make those decisions that Satan told him he “would not get caught for.” He said that it stemmed from his pride. How many of us deal with that problem? I know I have and even do currently. Probably my biggest sin is pride.
Coach Bliss says that it was subtle changes from his principles and values that lead him down the path that most of us a very familiar with. We all need to be careful about the little things in our lives and have integrity in all that we do because we are not too far from traveling down the road that Coach Bliss traveled. Maybe not as extreme or maybe more so who knows but if we can keep our principle and values we can have the same goals and continue to live like Coach Bliss is living his life now, Glorifying God.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
What do you Know?
This is from October 07:
As I sit here watching the opening game of the NFL regular season (finally), Colts vs. Saints, I find myself thinking, “Thank you God for giving us American football,” because I was starting to get bored with the sports on TV. With all the excitement that I was experiencing for this game to come, which should be a really good one hopefully, I find myself getting frustrated with all the commercials that keep popping up. It felt like it was every 5 minutes. So, I do what most men do during a commercial break…I flip channels. We have digital cable, so I can flip with the guide and not actually change channels until I find something that interests me.
Well, I should be embarrassed to say what I settled on but it’s one of the reasons that I am writing this, so I have to…I settled from the manly football game to the NYC concert of JT. If you don’t know who JT is, I will tell you, Justin Timberlake. Yes that’s right I went to the teen sensation Justin Timberlake concert. As I was watching it, many thoughts started to enter my head. First was “I hope no one finds out about this” (my wife was in the back of the house so she didn’t know). That thought has now been spoiled thanks to me. I watched for a good 15 minutes (longer than any commercial break which means I got a little more into it than I was wanting to). The next thought that passed through my head was, “Man this guy has got some talent.” In the 15 minutes I watched, he went from some pretty impressive dancing to singing to playing guitar to playing piano. All of them were good too. I am not a musician by any means but I know a little about playing, and if he was not playing he did one heck of a job faking. Then, I started thinking about Christian music and how there is not really anyone that is a good comparison to JT, as far as talent alone goes. I am not going to get too into this subject because it is an entire blog on its own. But there was one part that I saw that really got me thinking. During one of his songs he basically had the crowd (which was enormous) sing an entire verse and chorus. And they pretty much knew every word and sang it in unison, not on key but at least all together. I kind of got a little tickled by this (and so did JT). We both smiled. I smiled because it took me a little off guard that that many people would be able to sing in unison a song that I had honestly never heard of in my life, and I am pretty “hip.”
This is when the thinking really got started. I started thinking what if I was on stage at that concert singing and dancing and playing music, and I said 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17, started it “All…,” I wonder how many of the “teenagers” would be able to finish it. There would probably be an awkward silence in the auditorium. Everyone would be waiting for me to finish. I did not pick as obscure a verse as you might think. This is a verse we should all have embedded in our hearts. For those who don’t know, this is what it says, “16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It is a great couple of verses and the truth in them is something every Christian should know. But we don’t, do we? If we did then we would have it set in our heart like we should (“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” Ps. 119:11, another good one we should know). I have asked my students these questions before and now I pose them here: How many songs do you know in their entirety? 30, 40, 50, more? How many songs do you at least know the chorus of? 50, 100, 1,000, more… Now how many verses from the Bible can you quote? 5, 10, 20, 30 maybe. Pretty humbling to think about, huh? Also kind of sad isn’t it? These are questions that changed my life. I have a better grasp on memorizing scripture nowadays. It’s because My Lord is more important than JT or any other artist.
Last thought about this concert I have been watching (BTW the score is Indy 24 Saints 10 and Indy just intercepted a Brees pass, way to go Freddy Keiaho). What kind of impact could Justin Timberlake have on this country if he came to know the Lord? He filled up Madison Square Garden with young people, looks like the average age is about 25ish. They were hooked on his every word. What if every word was Christ centered? We would truly see a God movement through our country. But you know what? You have just as much influence in your circle of friends. Use your new found love of scripture to share it with a friend this week.
Grace and Peace.
As I sit here watching the opening game of the NFL regular season (finally), Colts vs. Saints, I find myself thinking, “Thank you God for giving us American football,” because I was starting to get bored with the sports on TV. With all the excitement that I was experiencing for this game to come, which should be a really good one hopefully, I find myself getting frustrated with all the commercials that keep popping up. It felt like it was every 5 minutes. So, I do what most men do during a commercial break…I flip channels. We have digital cable, so I can flip with the guide and not actually change channels until I find something that interests me.
Well, I should be embarrassed to say what I settled on but it’s one of the reasons that I am writing this, so I have to…I settled from the manly football game to the NYC concert of JT. If you don’t know who JT is, I will tell you, Justin Timberlake. Yes that’s right I went to the teen sensation Justin Timberlake concert. As I was watching it, many thoughts started to enter my head. First was “I hope no one finds out about this” (my wife was in the back of the house so she didn’t know). That thought has now been spoiled thanks to me. I watched for a good 15 minutes (longer than any commercial break which means I got a little more into it than I was wanting to). The next thought that passed through my head was, “Man this guy has got some talent.” In the 15 minutes I watched, he went from some pretty impressive dancing to singing to playing guitar to playing piano. All of them were good too. I am not a musician by any means but I know a little about playing, and if he was not playing he did one heck of a job faking. Then, I started thinking about Christian music and how there is not really anyone that is a good comparison to JT, as far as talent alone goes. I am not going to get too into this subject because it is an entire blog on its own. But there was one part that I saw that really got me thinking. During one of his songs he basically had the crowd (which was enormous) sing an entire verse and chorus. And they pretty much knew every word and sang it in unison, not on key but at least all together. I kind of got a little tickled by this (and so did JT). We both smiled. I smiled because it took me a little off guard that that many people would be able to sing in unison a song that I had honestly never heard of in my life, and I am pretty “hip.”
This is when the thinking really got started. I started thinking what if I was on stage at that concert singing and dancing and playing music, and I said 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17, started it “All…,” I wonder how many of the “teenagers” would be able to finish it. There would probably be an awkward silence in the auditorium. Everyone would be waiting for me to finish. I did not pick as obscure a verse as you might think. This is a verse we should all have embedded in our hearts. For those who don’t know, this is what it says, “16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It is a great couple of verses and the truth in them is something every Christian should know. But we don’t, do we? If we did then we would have it set in our heart like we should (“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” Ps. 119:11, another good one we should know). I have asked my students these questions before and now I pose them here: How many songs do you know in their entirety? 30, 40, 50, more? How many songs do you at least know the chorus of? 50, 100, 1,000, more… Now how many verses from the Bible can you quote? 5, 10, 20, 30 maybe. Pretty humbling to think about, huh? Also kind of sad isn’t it? These are questions that changed my life. I have a better grasp on memorizing scripture nowadays. It’s because My Lord is more important than JT or any other artist.
Last thought about this concert I have been watching (BTW the score is Indy 24 Saints 10 and Indy just intercepted a Brees pass, way to go Freddy Keiaho). What kind of impact could Justin Timberlake have on this country if he came to know the Lord? He filled up Madison Square Garden with young people, looks like the average age is about 25ish. They were hooked on his every word. What if every word was Christ centered? We would truly see a God movement through our country. But you know what? You have just as much influence in your circle of friends. Use your new found love of scripture to share it with a friend this week.
Grace and Peace.
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