home from vacation

in a trip where we thought jenny was going to be able to visit home on vacation, i think we realized the all to familiar phrase "we cannot go home again," what it actually meant. it is not that you cannot go and visit, but in reality it is not your home anymore. we have settled here in pulaski. with as much fun as we had, i have seen how much our lives have really changed in the 1 1/2 we have been married. things have changed. we have changed. we have grown together in to who we are and where we now call home. indiana is now a place where she grew up, a place where we met in college and the place where we came together as one. but it is no longer our home.we were able to have a great time in indiana and today was my first day back to the church for office hrs in which at least seemed like forever. but really it has been two weeks. after logos, jenny and i made the trek out to indiana to visit friends and family members. it was a fun time as we were able to see titus, steve and michelle mowat's six month old, for the first time. we were able to see all the changes on the iwu campus. (it really seems very big now.) we visited with college friends mike and manda light.we were able to visit with family and really for the first time in 6 months, relaxed, watched a lot of football. but when it came right down to it. i missed being in pulaski. i wanted to be able to go back and share life with the teens. i wanted to be there for youth group. i wanted to watch the patriots game with some one else who cared.i very much enjoyed the vacation. it was much needed time away and time together with family. but what i am trying to say, is that is nice to have a new home. a place to experience life. a great place to be involved in a growing ministry. i love this area despite the 24 inches of snow a day and the distance from our immediate family.God really has brought us to this place, that already holds a special place in our hearts. i am only looking forward to seeing what will happen in the future. but i really am home now from vacation.

logos5:the good and the band

like a lot of youth ministries throughout the wesleyan church. it was time for logos5. it was an amazing time of growth for the group of 22 that went. 2 teens of which that made first time commitments to follow Christ. we bonded more then the previous 5 months that i had been there. i saw people stretching themselves because they knew that is where they needed to go rather than the emotion pushing them to where they were not quite yet ready.

the speakers could not have been better. maybe someone reading this went to grand rapids or orlando and you tend to disagree with me but i feel strongly that they wasnt more appropriate speakers to speak. at least to my group. efrem smith brought the word by talking about the word, hence the idea of logos in the first place. dwayne hotten talked about relativism which every person needs to hear these days. anthony graham brought truth like he always does in a gentle but in your face manner. tim elmore brought images into illustrations of our life.

the concert that was put on at logos was another story. the opening band was the worst band that i have ever heard in my life. out of the six songs they did 3 of them were covers. (the blur song "woohoo" and does anyone remember "shout, let it all out" and of course they also covered a song by the band they were opening for, pillar. this from a band who is not yet signed. when grand rapids gets three quality bands.

during some free time we hopped on the t to check out cambridge, harvard square and of all places a thrift store. (the teens found it on line and unanimously voted to go there, so we did.) we also took in a tour of the fenway park. i say the because it is unique. there is nothing quite like it. the smallest and oldest park in the major leagues. i remember growing up and going there every summer. this time however it looked even smaller then it had each previous time i was there.

it really was a good time. overall it took about $5700 plus food to go. it sounds like a lot of money which was one of the things that worried me about taking this trip in the first place. but after all is said and done sometimes it takes sacrifice to see change within the lives of the teens that you spend your life pouring into. pray with me as these teens take these commitments into the new year.

christmas past

december 25th has come and gone. it seems for the past month that i was looking forward for christmas to arrive but yet i was not prepared for it when it came. this year it just did not seem like christmas. with all the anticipation and excitement that one can build, there seemed to be something missing.

everyone around me it seemed were enjoying the holiday season as they talked about shopping and putting up decorations but i guess somehow i missed christmas. i blinked and it was gone.
as much as i could listen to christmas tunes and see the christmas pageant there seemed to be something missing. the harder i tried to make it feel like christmas the less it actually did. even with the world around me covered with snow, i just felt like "it was always winter, but never christmas."

i think i talked and wrote about churches canceling services and others saying happy holidays that i myself misdirected the anticipation of what christmas was all about to turn it into an even that needs to be celebrated the same way by every christian.

each year christmas becomes more commercialized and i complain a little bit more. while i do this i take my focus of the Christ born of a virgin and placed in a manger. so even though christmas has past i think today of the humility of Christ placing himself in the hands of a couple. even though he was God he cried and placed his every need in hands of someone else to provide the food and care that he needed.

one allowing himself to do this is obviously more humble then i. it was never about himself. he cared more for others then he did of himself. i pray even if i "missed christmas" that the incarnation will affect my life this year and hopefully the idea that God came to this earth to die will affect all that i come into contact with.

just a quick thought

i heard it mentioned last week that the vote in iraq was titled the "national unity vote"

why can't the u.s.a. have a vote like that?

a new low

this year we have experienced as a country some change due to the christmas season or should i say holiday season. i am not so sure. somehow the christmas tree has become the holiday tree and we are not eating christmas cookies. somehow the tolerance we had for other religions is starting to change how we celebrate one of our holiday's.

it is bad enough that in the past few years we have seen christmas become x-mas. which i read a few weeks ago an article in relevant magazine on "debunking christmas" and how it is okay to use x in the place of Christ. their reasoning for this is that the first letter im the greek word for Christ is chi. in the roman alphabet x is the symbol of chai. because of this they say x-mas is justifiable.

so let me get this correct x and Christ is the same understanding, oh wait, backing up to what they said is that it is the first letter of Christ. so in reality it should be merry c-mas. but even if x stood for Christ, most people in the christian world would not know that so how does the rest of the world see it. it is all about tolerance. letting people of the world control how we as christians celebrate our holiday.

and now of course we have this whole thing with churches canceling services on christmas sunday. so we can take time and be self absorbed underneath the christmas tree opening up our christmas presents with our christmas sweaters and sipping eggnog in front of the fire place. i do not mind the idea of spending christmas with your family but what is so wrong about making Christ the center of what christmas is about. it is named after him.

but today in the world christmas is all about presents, pleasure and pride. yesterday while driving in to work i heard this on the radio. this is the new low. it was an advertisement for "adult world-- where we put the x in x-mas."

this is where our tolerance has placed us. where we have no say is our own religious holiday.

37%

the last few weeks i have been thinking on the line of politics, in general, george w. and the war in iraq. i have been astounded by many news reports and blogs attacking bush. every now and then a poll comes out and shows what percentage of the american people are in support of bush. the last one i recall hearing was at 37% (this is how many people think bush is doing a good job.)

if you watch the news it seems that everyone wants to pull out of iraq. save the american lives. everyone of course except the american troops. sure they want to come home and get out of harms way. they want to be able to see their families and play with their children.

last night we had a marine surgeon speek. he showed pictures and video. he had a picture of each person who died in combat while he was over in iraq from his fort, with names and dates on each one. he said this "the overwhelming majority of military overseas want to continue in the fight in iraq, in order to achieve the goal. the goal of which to bring enough freedom so that when they do pull out, there will not be a civil war."

obviously they have a job to do, and to pull out now would only be hazardous to everyone in iraq. we talk about feeding the poor and rescuing africa from aids. but i ask what about the human life. when we can help stop many people from death. why are so many americans not willing to see the need in iraq.

and anyways where do these polls come from? i have never been asked. have you been asked?

the lake effect

for years i have watched news reports about 2 foot snows. i have felt pity for the people of this area and possibly thought to myself, " i will never live there." they get this much snow due to what is called "the lake effect." to read more on the lake effect go here http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/lkefsnw1.htm

for the past two years of my life i have lived in south carolina. i havent even seen snow for two years. and have missed it. i miss the look of it (pure white), what you can do with it (snowballs) or what happens when a lot of it falls on a mountain (skiing).

this summer jenny and i made the move to new york. we can be at lake ontario in about 5 minutes. it is definately a beautiful site. but also with this move we now have the lake effect snow. two nights ago we had 12 inches. last night another 6 inches were added and is still falling right now.

there is something so fresh and new with snow. there are not too many people in the area more happy about seeing snow then me. i am sure eventually it will wear on me too. but for now this snow is nothing but beautiful.

united politics

it is really hard to for me to understand why it is republican vs democrat or conservative vs liberal. i sit on my couch as there are negative campaigns running in both direction. just this morning i saw an interview with john kerry and matt lauer. matt lauer asked him this question. "i read each of your briefs on troops exiting iraq, and it seems to me that they are saying the same thing." kerry fired back that "they are very different."

even christians do not agree with political issues of abortion, embryonic research, gay and lesbian marriage and adoption, capital punishment and war. i have been on blogs of friends and they are attacking bush. while others are patting bush on the back. personally i have never enjoyed a fight. it is just not my style. how far are we going to get when someone is going to disagree with someone just because he is a republican.

since the tsunamis a year bush sr. and clinton have teamed up. two people who have battled it out in a presidential race that got very heated working together for a common purpose. they did a such a great job working together they teamed up again to raise money for katrina victims. it seems to me that we do such a greater job when we work together. we get a lot more finished. we achieve the goal quicker then we could have if it were two individual former presidents.

it is time to come together. throw aside the things that we disagree on and concentrate on what brings us together. what is best for the u.s.? how can we best achieve this? is it possible to throw away all the titles of denominations... oh crap... i meant political parties.

in all reality the church needs to unify. not in the sense of dropping denomination ties. but in the sense of doing all we can to expand God's kingdom. eventuall denominations wont matter. why do they matter now? because for some reason we concentrate on the minors of following Christ rather then the core beliefs.

as far as politics the same needs to happen.

poverty?!

the other day i was talking to someone at church. he explained to me that he "almost did what i am doing. (meaning vocational ministry), but he could not take a vow of poverty." i really did not know how to respond.

there were however to reactions in my head.

1. am i living in poverty? i have everything i need plus stuff i could live without. i dont drive a mercedes. but even if i had money i would still drive a honda. even if some students do have a nicer car than i do. i dont shop at banana republic or wear other designer clothes. but i enjoy the clothes i have. sure i live over a garage. but hey it is a nice garage. and in a few months i will be moving into a 4 bedroom parsonage. i do shop at aldi's (a generic food store) but seriously is it any different then marsh or p&c?

im not really quite sure what poverty is. by this guys view i am living in it. but personally i really do not feel that i am . i am comfortable. i am clean (sometimes). i eat pretty well. and when it is all said and done jenny and i are saving money. in a couple month we will both have our college debts paid off. both drive nice vehicles that should last us quite a while (both honda civics).

i have viewed at least what the world views as poverty. i have been in villages where the houses are made with mud and the roofs with bamboo. i have been in their 1-2 room house. where if you had two rooms you were extremely fortunate. i have sat at their tables where they offer us enough food for them to live off the next week. i have seen and smelled the open sewer. this could definately be seen as poverty.

i have also driven around the area here in ny, and i see these houses that are falling apart and these small little trailers that have 10 people living in them and i wonder if there mom or dad used to work at the steel plant that was closed about a year ago.

i have been to a church down the road and see the poor, hurting crowd that attends there. and notice that they are doing samaritans purse operation christmas child and found out that they sent out about 300 boxes.

i have also attended care and share which our church opened up for people to bring in new and used stuff to share with the community (see blog below) and smelled the stench of the people there.

do i live in poverty? by all means no. am i rich? no.

2 i thought... did you feel called? did you run away from your call? ouch.

thanks

thankful- attitude in which one has gratitude

thanksgiving- action in which one shows gratiude

maybe this will be a typical blog for many this week. the showing of thanks that many people really skip over during the year to show their thankfulness during this time of turkey, pie and football. i know their are many who are thankful for the things around them. i get many thank you cards or words of thanks. but it seems that something significant has to happen to require those thank you's.

when one can go quite a while without feeling appreciated. it seems that during this week many people really show what they are thankful for. but why is it that we wait until this week to put our thankfulness into action by showing thanksgiving for lifes pros.

here is just a few things i am thankful for

1. religious freedom ( i do not have to hide what i believe.)
2. jenny (she keeps me somewhat level headed.)
3. family (even though they are a few hundred miles away.)
4. community (friends and a church where i feel at home.)
5. friends (all over the globe doing some amazing things.)
6. communication (internet, cell phone in order to keep in touch with 3-5.)

is there anybody else out there who is thankful? let's put some action to the thankfulness.

wesleyan conventions

in a month and a half i am leading a trip to go to logos5 (wesleyan youth convention) i have only been to one in my lifetime and that was back when i was in 8th grade. what i remember from this trip was skipping half the seminars and making fun of ray boltz. this was exalt 94 and some of you might remember this back in the day. obviously wesleyan conventions have come along way since then. instead of the slim pickings in christian music we have multiple good quality christian bands. the convention that we will be attending will feature pillar. we will also hear from efrem smith. i am looking forward to this convention. but i question to why they are so expensive? it will cost my teens about $300 each and we are only 5 hrs away from Boston. is it possible to throw a quality convention for less?

indiana wesleyan throws a youth convention every year and offers it for about $35.
bethany bible college has their booster for about the same cost.

now i am sure that the university offsets alot of the cost. but would it be possible for the wesleyan church to do the same with the youth convention.

i have mentioned barn bash ( a day long festival that our youth group sponsors.) this event takes alot of the youth budget for the year but we think it is worth it to have 1500 people come to this outreach and hear the gospel.

now what can we do about the cost before the next national convention in 2 years when it is in orlando? i realize these conventions are worthwhile. but is it possible to lower costs? what are your thoughts?

eternity

What must I do to inherit eternal life?

There are two times this question is asked of Jesus that I would like to specifically address.

The rich young ruler asked this question. Jesus answers this man. “You know the commandments,” and lists off some of the commandments. After this he tells the young man “there is still one thing you lack. Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
The second is asked by an expert in religious law trying to test Christ. Jesus responds by “what does the law of Moses say?” With this asked the man answers Love you God with all your hear, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind. And, Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus then tells the story of the Good Samaritan.

In another teaching by Christ he separates the people on the right and the left; the righteous from the unrighteous. He the talks to those on the right and says this “come you who are blessed by my father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me… These righteous will go into eternal life.”

All these stories revolve around eternal life. They also revolve around helping, goodness and gentleness to your neighbor. I wonder how much of loving your neighbor is important to attaining eternal life. I wonder why there is a lot of emphasis on this concept in the scriptures.

Of course I do not want to take away the factor of belief and John 14:6. That is essential first and foremost. In fact all of these stories address following Christ and loving the Lord. But I do also know that faith without deeds is dead. It is definitely important to help your neighbor. I also want to stress the idea of loving your neighbor. Sometimes we do these things out of duty and the commands put on us by Christ. Is that loving your neighbor or is it just out of obedience.

Thoughts?

respect the past

last saturday i went to a syracuse football game. for those of you that do not know about su football this season let me bring you up to date. they are 1-7 with a new coach; george robinson. . this year the 2 quarterbacks alternate drives.

i received these tickets from one of the many people in our church that have season tickets. i guess he didnt want to see another loss. on the way to the game i looked at the tickets and saw in big print "respect the past." i started laughing and andy ( friend who went with me) asked me why. i told him what the tickets had on them. there really isnt much to respect about their present team.

now i do not now a lot about su football. i have only live here for three months. i did find out that jim brown used to play for su and donovan mcnabb played qb for them not to long ago. also back in 1959 they won the national championship. i can definately respect those three things. i wonder though how much "respecting the past" will get them into a future national championship in football.

switching respect over to the church. the universal church has has alot to respect with many people like martin luther, john wesley, john calvin, mother theresa. they have done many things for the church today. but i wonder how far we as the church of today can get just "respecting the past."

the church i used to work at has a storied past. they did great things. a former pastor was a gs in the wesleyan church. they had done many great things in the community. but for the past few years they have disconnected with that community and the former pastor is now dead. but yet the church still lives in the glory days of the past. i wonder where we draw the line of respecting the past but being active in the present to prepare for the future. how much of what we do is just to get by?

at the same time i think it is very important to respect the past. a lot of people have gone before us to get us where we are today. many countries before us were very evangelical at one time but have become very secularized. i heard a stat that only 1% of people in england go to church and the same stat can be said for a majority of european countries. the u.s. is headed in the same direction. how can we respect the past enough to change the decline and have a positive future. how can the local church and the universal church do this as a whole united.

riding a scooter

"Great power leads to an even greater responsibility."

Unfortunately for Scooter Libby this holds very true. Being the right hand man to the VP of the U.S. is indeed a great power and an even greater responsibility. While in the U.S. we are innocent until proven guilty I am predicting a conviction. Special prosecutor Fitzgerald obviously did his homework, and was right on when he said that no one is above the law. While purposely or inadvertently Scooter was in the wrong, there is a responsibility for his actions.

I am getting down off the scooter now. What I really want to discuss is the idea of leadership. Leaders are held to a higher level. Whether you are leader of the free world or a pastor of a Free Methodist church there is a responsibility that comes with the position. And you will have to eventually be held accountable for what you do with that power. Since you are in “X” position you will speak, teach and lead those in your work place or congregation. These people will listen, learn and follow you because you are in this position. It is very possible that you could lead astray if you are not careful with your words, or turn someone away because of your actions.

James 3:1 says “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”

Now obviously we are not perfect. We will mess up. We will say the wrong thing. But with a great power we do have a great responsibility to make things right. We are human but we are also in a position of leadership. And because of this we will be held accountable with what we teach. We do not have to be Scooter Libby but I am sure at times in our lives we all have been. We are just not in the position where it would be a federal case. But we will affect the lives around us.

So what do we do now?
Do we review our lives and see where we are at fault?
Do we act on our responsibility and apologize?
Do we ignore the responsibility?
Will we become accountable now so we are not judged later?
So what do we do now?

a letter to a friend

to the readers. this letter is for a specific friend. i am sure we all have some just like it.

gabe,
it seems so long ago that we were in high school. a lot of things have happened since this time to change us and mold us into who we are now. i am a youth pastor and you are pursuing music.

i always looked up to you back then, becuase you were so talented musically. i remember hanging out and listening to you play your guitar. it has been a couple of years since we last talked and my last memory of you is playing your guitar in church. the song was nothing but the blood of Jesus. i remember your testimony and how you said you were struggling but you were holding your faith together by the blood of Jesus.

i have still followed your music and every now and then listen to stuff on your website. i am saddened though to see where your relationship with Christ has gone. you claim God is distant in your life and doesnt really care. i am sorry you feel this way. i pray that God will draw near to you to make his presence known. but i know in order for that to happen you have to choose to draw near to him. start listening to his voice and to obey him.

i will always look up to you and will always try to follow your music. but my prayer is that you will find faith again and hold onto it. i miss you man.

hope all is well

built a house

Jesus took a while pouring His life into the lives of the disciples so they in turn would have a ministry that would build the church. now two thousand years later i am seeing people wanting to tear it down, to start a reformation, or just to seperate themselves from it. the church has been important for generations and has been used to be a hosptial for sinners and a haven for the saints.

Jesus approached peter after the resurrection and asked him "do you love me?" well of course peter says yes. Jesus asked him the second time, "do you love me?" and again peter says yes. Jesus asks again for an unprecedented third time, "do you love me?" this time peter is a little hurt replies again "of course Jesus you know everything you know i love you."

Jesus replies each time to feed His sheep. but the last time Jesus adds this "others will take you where you do not want to go." peters life was eventually taken as a martyr. he lived a life that was worthy even though at one time he denied the Christ.

where would the church be today if peter was never reinstated by Christ. would he have continued fishing? rather than building the church and feeding the sheep he could have spent the rest of his life catching salmon.

because of this Jesus built a house. a house now that is big, strong and there to protect his sheep. under the care of a shepherd they meet to protect them from the wolves and lions. so many people today are leaving the church. they feel they are better off. they feel that it is easier to be a christian away from the church.

and maybe they can but i know when a sheep stay with the flock and a wolf comes around the other sheep make noise as a warning to protect the other sheep. the sheperd will know whats going on and can do his best to help protect the sheep from the predator. i also know that sheep on there own dont stand a good chance on their own. sure they can find food on their own. the scriptures are just as easy to read as it is for the sheep to eat the grass in front of them but who will protect that lone sheep when they are off on their own trying to live like a sheep without the flock?

i think i am becoming legalistic

i am not sure why this is but i think i am becoming legalistic. in a way i think all of us are becoming legalistic. we are right... you are wrong. you need to believe this in order to have salvation. i have grown up a christian. i have always gone to church. i am striving to become Christ like. i have been in a constant pursuit of being a deeply devoted follower. and then i realized i have been legalistic.

usually the title legalistic condones we are the one and only way. well i have thought about it and i think i want to be more legalist. except i do not want to be a wesleyan legalist. i want to be a christian legalist. i am tired of being accused by the outside world as illtolerant of others beliefs. i think we as christians are very tolerant and loving. sure there might be some who are not but the majority of christians are. but i have decided for myself that i am done being tolerant of other beliefs. i will still be tolerant of the people. but to tell you the truth on the issue of christianity... i am going to be legalistic.

buddha didnt say i am the way the truth and the life, neither did muhammed, or jon smith. Jesus Christ did and i am going to stick to that idea. as for those people that once accused me of being illtollerant or a legalist, they are not jus accusing me anymore. i am a legalist

situation response 1b

i think one has to be careful in how he views any of these.

"why does the screen have to cover the cross?"

• well uh... sir, it doesn't. however we decided to leave the cross in the middle and the best place to put a screen for the projector is in that same place. (this answer might not necessarily be the best. or maybe it is.
• oh i never noticed that it did

"why do we need the screen in the first place?"

• i feel so inhibited when i worship with a hymnal in my hand. this free's up my hands to worship as i feel led
• everybody is doing it (peer pressure)
• you can use it for so much more then power point

"the cross is only a symbol of what we believe, do we need it there anyways."

• i prefer it to be there but a choice between the cross and the screen i would have to go with the... (either answer here could come back to haunt you, so be careful.)
• the cross only stands for death, why isnt the tomb stone Chrsitianities symbol?

stand by tomorrow to the conclusion of what actually happened

situation response 1

"why does the screen have to cover the cross?"

"why do we need the screen in the first place?"

"the cross is only a symbol of what we believe, do we need it there anyways."

these are three responses to situation 1. all of them different. why is it that we can have so many responses to one situation. are any of them the right way to think? does it even matter? thoughts... anyone?

situation 1: cross being covered

i am going to be starting a new series having to do with situations within the local church. some of these have happened in churches that i have attended, pastored, or other people i know have happened to. with each of these situation there are different responses that happen by individuals within the church. now i will make up some of the resonses and some will be real. but on your part i am wondering how you would respond in each of these situations.

situation 1 begins with a sanctuary being remodeled. (we know there will be issues with every remodel.) with the remodel happening everyone agreed that the cross would stay on the front wall of the sanctuary. now the problem with this is that during the remodel a screen was put in for the new projector. this screen would now cover up the majority of the cross. how did people react to this? how would you respond to this?