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.
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