illustration: the parable of today

i really enjoy a good illustration. both preaching them and hearing them. the illustration helps me to be able to connect the message and the application. sometimes people have a hard time understanding exactly how to connect the two. but with the story comes the understanding of how, what and why it has to do with their life.

Jesus was one of the best story tellers, then and now. he had a way to be able to connect to the people in ways people were able to comprehend and apply it to their lives. the last couple days i have been looking at the parable of the sower. this is about a farmer who spreads his seed on 4 different surfaces.

1. pathway- hard place, where birds were able to eat the seed while others trampled on them.
2. rock- while a good place to use as a foundation. not a good place to place upon. there is no place to be able to collect moisture and not soil for nutrients the plant needs to grow.
3. thorns-while able to grow a certain amount. it has limitations and will eventually harm the plant.
4. good soil- this is obviously the choice of where he should have planted all his seed. it would have paid off in the long run.

obviously one of these were able to produce a great crop. while the other three were not. while Jesus loves to tell these stories he also shares with us how the story can be interpreted. if he did not then we might have been left with more confusion and misunderstanding of what could be a great story.

Jesus explains that the seed is the Word of God. The Farmer and The Word is of utmost importance in this story. The Farmer is the providor of the Word. If it were not for him than the crops would never had a chance to grow. The Word is the provider of growth. Without growth there would never be a crop to be harvested. The different types of surfaces and soil show the difference in human.

the path shows one who is willing to hear but is also a bit hard to penetrate through the surface. because of this birds are able to eat the seed and is trampled on by other people and animals. this surface does not bring growth because the hardness of the surface. this makes the seed able to be destroyed. application is this: do not let yourself or your heart to be hardened. be open to the things of God and what he has for you. let the Word penetrate the surface of your heart to not only the knowledge of what God's word says but also letting it effect your life and your relationship with God.

the rock shows one who does not have much depth. with this lack of depth it is also hard to grow a crop. the rock is not able to collect moisture so even if something does grow then is hard because of the lack of nutrients. this allows one to grow for a short time but does not allow maturity. it has no place to keep its roots and to become big and strong. application is this: when once a little bit of something would be enough to help you grow as a christian their is not enough rooting you to continue a relationship with Christ. this might be because of a lack of discipleship. it shows a lak of commitment and desire to grow.

the thorns display that there are many obstacles that could be a distraction or hindrance to growing a plant. the application is this. when one focuses on an obstacle in front of them they are more concerned with the object than getting rid of the object. this can be worries, blessings, money, lack of money. something that will distract your mind from where it needs to be. when taking care of a garden it is important to take out the weeds and thorns in order to help the plants to be healthy.

when one takes care of the soil, you not only get a good soil. you get a good crop. the good soil is important so the farmer can grow food to provide for his family. this can be applied to living a healthy christian life with healthy beliefs. if we take care of our spiritual lives then we will yield a harvest bigger than what the seed could have ever done on its on.

healhy soil is important. if you are the soil then how do you get to be healthy. work and effort are a must. if not then any field can be grown over in a short amount of time. starting with the weeds and then eventually bigger hindrances like bushes and thorns. the interesting thing is it is your choice to take care of the ground.

spirituality in america

this is the new title on the cover of newsweek in stores all across america today. and also a piece covered by matt lauer on the today show this morning. i am somewhat distraught but not suprised at what this report showed. in the interview on the today show 85% of those surveyed said they were Christian yet only 75% believed that their religion was the only pathway to God. And 95% of catholics believed they were not the only way to God. even matt and the guy from newsweek were bashing on us saying that we need to figure out what we believe because the two contradict each other. also on top of that they were somewhat relieved because it showed more of a view of tolerance for other religions.

no offense to other religions. you are people whom God loves but i cannot come out and say that you are another pathway to God. it contradicts everything i believe. i love you and pray that you will realize Jesus Christ is "the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me." what is wrong with todays christians? can it be pointed to the leadership? are we as leaders in the church failing our calling? or or some taking their calling to an extreme and preaching what people want to hear?

another thing mentioned in the interview is that people are looking to what best fits them. they are looking at what is best in their own situations.

"The bliss Cox felt was mingled with awe—the Holy Spirit was inside his very own body. That helps explain Pentecostalism's historical appeal to the poor and marginalized: rural Southerners, African-Americans and, more recently, Hispanics and other immigrants. It is burgeoning in the developing world. "For people who feel overlooked, it provides a sense that you're a very important person,"

earlier in the article it alks about cox bouncing around from one religion to another. is this what it has come to? where one wants to feel like an important person. where some of the leading books sold are "your best life now." and soon to be "you've got potential, how God maximizes your life."

i however this article is not all bad. there were some very good things to be said overall. one it is a wakeup call for us and ho we need to focus more on the idea of absolutes. it shows us our faults but through knowing our faults it helps us now how we can change. the article closes out with this statement. and this is one all christians need to hear.

Religious revivals are always exuberant and filled with spirit, he says, but the true measure of faith is in adversity and despair, when God doesn't show up in every blade of grass or storefront church. "That's when the true nature of belief comes out," he says. "Joy is appropriate to the beginnings of your faith. But sooner or later somebody will get cancer, or your best friends will betray you. That's when you will be tested."

to read more from this magazine on this topic go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032542/site/newsweek/

something my teens did

1. Reply with your name and I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll pick a flavor of jello to wrestle with you in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal. You MUST. It is written.

through the night

saturday night i left michigan at about 8:30pm, destination- pulaski, ny. knowing that i would be on the road until at least 4:00am. i was not really looking forward to the drive at all. for one it meant me leaving a wedding reception full of friends and two i had just driven it the same route the day before. we had left 7:00am friday morning for justin and lindsays wedding. the trip ended up being a total of 47 hrs. 20 of them being in the car.

it was a great 27 hrs in michigan. catching up with friends, meeting new friends (fiances met since graduation), talking about memories and making some new new memories. ( i am rubber man, i am on a mission)

throughout this trip (the driving part) i had a lot of time to think. i ended up thinking about the people i was passing or the ones passing me. i wondered where they were headed physically but also spiritually. do they have a relationship with Christ. i also thought about what they were driving, how much did they pay for that vehicle. and i wondered if it were worth that amount. did they enjoy the vehicle or could they not wait for the chance to trade it in on a nicer model.

just thinking about how important peoples cars are to them made me wonder how much one would pay for salvation. how important is there soul? is it worth as much as they paid for the humvee or bmw. i like cars, looking at them, driving them, just not the idea of purchasing them. but what we drive can sometimes tell a lot about. if one drives a nice car you can assume they have a good job. if a teen drives a nice car one can assume that his parents have a really good job.

salvation is obviously not purchased but is a gift. however Jesus did ask the rich ruler to sell all he had, give it to the poor and follow Him. however the ruler walked away sad. the ruler had put a price on salvation. a cost that he was not willing to give up. why is it that the most important things in life can be turned down because of the cost.

i wonder if the ruler ever reconsidered and later sold all he had and given it to the poor and then went to follow Jesus. i wonder where that ruler is today and if he can say that he eventually made the right decision. i hope so.

it gets me thinking about people i have met in the past. the friends from high school who were in different religions, or did not have time for Christ and spent it worshipping other things. i wonder if it is possiple that they turned there lives around and have a relationship with Christ now. i wonder about others i looked up to and think to myself if they have slipped away and arent following Christ anymore. i wonder why they have chosen this path and if there is something to help them to bring back there faith.

understanding people is hard. knowing that they have been through some things and have put a cost to salvation is sad. to think they had it and let it slip away somehow is dissapointing. i pray for friends of mine like this. i pray someone in their life will help them out with this. unfortunately something made them turn away their faith. what was it? was it another person? was it the idea that God seemed distant? i pray for them and i pray for the same thing to not happen to me.

i guess that is the whole idea of trust.

friends

friends are an interesting thing. there will always be new friends, old friends, friends that you havent seen in a while, life long friends, friends for a season. i have recently just moved to a new place so i am adjusting to new people, hanging out in new homes and different restaurants. this weekend i am taking off for a wedding and will be able to catch up and/or see friends from college. so with all this going on i have started to think about friends of past, present and future. the different levels of friendships and how they have affected me thus far. in elementary you would play games, do the birthday party thing, have sleepovers. everything revolved around fun in high school you might start to have different groups of friends. church friends, sports friends, school friends. this would revolve sometimes to what season of the year it was. it would involve fun, discipline, commitment, studying and for the most part surface level friendships. it might be that you had a lot of friends therefore you didnt go deep with most. in college though things change, you are in the same community everyday therefore being with some of the same people a lot. so you really get to know more than just what they like but who they really are as a person. you do everything together and get to a level of friendship where there is not just a bond of friendship but also a bond that involves emotion where you feel comfortable to tell them anything and everything. this is a place of accountability, authenticity and community that you never thought were possible in high school. and then even though you move away from college you keep these friends. you keep in touch with them by email, verizon (the in network) and by scheduling vacation to see them. (unlike the high school friends where you would talk by email sporadically until it happened less and less, you would see them during college breaks and then maybe have less and less contact with until you eventually cut ties with. not purposely but you have less in common and you are headed in different directions.)

after college you have a sense that real friends are who you share life with. you have become so close to what will be friends for ever and then you are thrown into a world where there is less community then what you knew for the last 4 years at college. instead of being with someone everyday you now see them once or twice a week. they can still be good friends but what took the first semester (4 months)or less during your freshman year now takes about a year to achieve. not that this is a bad thing it is just... different, something that one will take a while to get used to. but in a way you are still longing for the community that you had in college. it will take a while to connect with someone on that deep level maybe ever.

all this to say that community is important. community changes over time where once in elementary we were okay with games, it just doesnt cut it anymore. we have been changed where the importance is the emotional tie of living life together, helping people get through the tough times, challenging them, encouraging them and pouring a friendship into a life dedicated to each other.

perception

the idea of everyone viewing something the same way is rare. sure i can look at a pencil and know that it is a pencil, and chances are everyone will agree with me. yesterday i was moving some staging and a couple of the guys mentioned hot it was, but i guess it really didnt bother me because i was used to sc weather. other people think that to live 2 hrs away from family is a long way but the past 6 years of my life i have lived about 21 hrs away. one persons taste buds might enjoy a pepperoni pizza but another might detest pepperoni. our senses, attitudes and ideas might be different than another. that doesnt mean that one person is right and the other is wrong. it just means there is a difference in opinion. now lets change direction a little with where this article is going. maybe i am a non christian looking at a church and all i can see is hypocrisy and how things need to be changed. i might believe in God but i want no part of the church because i have been hurt in the past. while someone else in that same church is growing under a discipleship class. loves everything about following Christ. it of course is the same church but yet the church is viewed differently because it is viewed by two different people. one perception of the same thing is slightly skewed from the other. but is one of them right and the other wrong? how can we as christian's help change the perception of those viewing the church as wrong or do we need to change the church from within. just a thought to get your juices flowing. i could of taken this idea and run with it a lot further but i want to hear from you the reader on your opinions.

new york, new york

when one moves, takes a different path obviously there will be changes. the changes will not only affect ourselves but the ones that we have moved away from. they will change the lives of those they come into contact in there new surroundings. families will be transformed, churches will be impacted and things will happen differently then one was used. change will always continue to happen. change makes us who we are and who we will become. change can be seen as a hindrance or we can accept it as a blessing. change can affect us for the better or we can become bitter. your life and mine will always continue to change. i hope and pray that we accept change with love and compassion. i pray that the people we can come into contact with will accept the change with love and desire. i pray that this change will not destroy our focus on who it is about. i pray that we will accept changes not as an inconvenience but as something that will challenge us and continue to mold us into who we should become. life is a blessing that we need to grab hold of and not let the small things that could distract us into being unacception, uncaring and undesiring to show love and acceptance of what is to come. we have just made the move from sc to ny. from the inner city to the farm land. from a smaller church to a medium sized church. from a place of security to a place of hope and desire. i am excited for the change. today is my first office day and it is combined with a funeral service. welcome to new york. jenny is putting stuff away at our apartment today and will eventually start the process looking for a job and get the process rolling of starting grad school next fall. my first service is on thursday (tomorrow). i have never had midweek services on thursday. i need to get used to that but it seems that everything here in pulaski, new york will be welcomed change. i have always been one who loves change, hopefully i can stay that way. hopefully when i start to feel comfortable here in my ministry with the youth then something will poke me in order to move. i dont want to feel comfortable so i invite the change. it is when one becomes comfortable that a stagnant behavior can begin. so i invite those who are comfortable to do something different. i challenge you to begin something new. hopefully we can stay committed with being open top the things of new.

a view from ben folds

this is the song jesusland by ben folds
Take a walk out the gate you go and never stop past all the stores and wig shops quarter in a cup for every block and watch the buildings grows maller as you go Down the tracks beautiful McMansions on a hill that overlook a highway with riverboat casinos and you still have yet to see a soul Jesusland Jesusland Town to town broadcast to each house, they drop your name but no one knows your face Billboards quoting things you'd never say you hang your head and pray for Jesusland Jesusl andMiles and miles and the sun goin' down Pulses glowfrom their homesYou're not alone Lights come on as you lay your weary head on their lawn Parking lots cracked and growing grass you see it all from offices to farms crosses flying high above the malls A longer walk through Jesusland Jesusland

in no way do i want to represent ben folds by talking about what this song means, but from my view point, it is a sad song. one looking at christianity and is saddened by the way things are going on. poverty is overwhelming but instead of taking care and training them we throw a quarter into their cup. you have the mansions that God prepared for his people but unfortunately no one lived the life they needed to occupy them. it mentions the televangelists that possibly do more harm than good. it talks about misrepresenting God in billboards and what i want to add; church signs. but yet there is still enough reason to pray for things to change in this thing we call christianity. we have a lot but are we willing to share it? while people starve we build extravagant crap that does no one any good. i definately do not agree with everything benn folds has wrote about but in a way it is good to see how someone views me and you as we label ourselves christians. their should be something more than changing our own life. obviously we must do something to reach out and change this perception of christianity. is it possible to change this view? is it possible to really change how people perceive christianity. i think in the past we have messed up here and there and will continue to mess up. is there something we can do?

weezer is back with "make believe"

not since 1994(blue) or some will say 1996(pinkerton) has weezer put out a cd this good. it is full of many songs that just elate you to think that weezer has finally come to a place in their music wher it has taken melody, lyrics and guitars from the blue album and progressed them into what is now a musically mature weezer. the cd starts off with the first single of this cd with beverly hills, this song is just ok compared to the rest of the album. with songs like "hold me" make me question the spiritual influence of the band. "I am.You are taller than a mountain.Deeper than the sea.You are. Hold me.Hold me.Take me with you 'cause I'm lonely.
I was closer to you back then.I was happier." great lyrics that probably are talking about a girl but i dont care. i know what is taller than a mountain and deeper than the sea. then in "peace" where they say quite often "i need to find some peace." the cd is also complimented by perfect situation, my best friend, freak me out. there is also a harmonica sighting in "haunt you everyday."

this cd is searching. searching for peace, a friend, possibly a lover. but also for purpose, direction, desire i am thankful that the weezer i knew in jr high and high school is finally back with make believe, making great music. i say thank you weezer. your fans are very appreciative.

next blog i will address the new song jesusland by ben folds

u-haul out of town

by this title one should be able to tell that jenny and i are moving. well that is correct. after some initial uncertainty about what might happen. but before i tell you where we are going, here are some of the ideas that we considered over the past 6-7 months

1. jenny being an rd at iwu (shatford to be precise) they were considering her before she removed herself from the process.

2. i going to asbury. then i visited josh and went to a class and decided not for me at this moment.

3. staying in sc to help with a church restart. considered this up until yesterday.

4. sent out my resume to multiple churches in maryland and michigan for youth ministry.

of course non of these things happened. things started to come together when i flew back home for my grandfathers funeral about a month ago. i ran into my home pastor from high school and he asked about my situation. i had told him that we just resigned that previous sunday. little did i know what he was planning. later that day he came to me again and said that his brother in law was looking for a youth pastor, and had called him about 15 minutes earlier and talked to him about me.
three weeks later jenny and i went to the church for an interview. it was a very good church running about 300. pastor bud fancy has 30 years of experience pastoring. including a short time being my parents pastor back in maine. the other assistant greg dakin is a graduate of bethany bible college and was a youth pastor and dyp before moving to new york a year ago. it is in a small town of 5000 very similar to the town i grew up in.
as for the youth group, they have been without a pastor for 7 months and in that time have dwindled in number. they really need some consistency and leadership. they have a barn bash every fall which last year brought in 1200 teens. this year they are bringing in the band, kids in the way.
if you are wondering where it might be it is in pulaski, new york. about 30 miles north of syracuse where jenny will hopefully be able to start graduate work in social work by january. things have come together really fast and at first scared me quite a bit. but i know this opportunity has happened for a reason. i just want to be faithful and be able to give it all the attention that i can from here on.
we will be finished with greenville first wesleyan on wednesday july 27th and we will be up in new york the following week.
please pray for us in this next journey

good bye greenville hello pulaski

prayer

i have been thinking about the concept of prayer lately. what it takes to pray, what it means to have a heartfelt prayer. i really still have no conclusions other than the whole idea of converstation between God and me (for some reason i do more talking then listening) but this next blog is dedicated to those of us who would like a better prayer life. this insert was written for the church newsletter that i am currently employed for the next 20 days. for those of you that do not know i resigned three weeks ago.

“Praying Well”

Prayer in my life has always been open ended. Sometimes it is hard to know exactly how and what to pray. Never really understanding what it takes to pray. No one ever really gave me a guide to say this is the right and the wrong way to pray. So for me to be writing something on prayer is not the easiest thing. But I want to talk to you about prayer. I want to tell you how not to pray and from that conclude ways that are okay to pray.

1. We do not pray to enhance our self. What good is a prayer when we are asking for God to bless us, to enhance our career, to pad our portfolio? It is not that God does not care about our financial situation but rather more concerned for our heart for others. If we focus only on ourselves we lose sight of what we can for others and how we can enhance the community of God.

2.We do not pray in front of others to sound godly. We pray in front of others so we can corporately agree with the prayers offered by the other person. There is something to be said when a group of believers come together and offer up the same prayer in unity rather than just a personal prayer time.

3. Prayer is not something to always pass on to someone else. This can be said for leaders within a group. What happens when a group prays together but never hears the leader pray? You can see into a person’s heart when they pray. More so than when you are just talking to them about a vision and purpose for the group of people. When a prayer is said you can see what is most important to them.

4. Prayer is not limited to certain times during the day. Most people will pray during the same time everyday. Maybe one will have a devotional every morning, pray before each meal and when they go to bed each night. Prayer is a continuous conversation with God. In reality he is always with us and hears what we say to our friends, our thoughts and really everything that goes on in our life. He knows our heart and will see through us to our core. Rather than praying and checking it off the list of things to do that day. Lets open our life as a prayer.

5. Prayer is not limited to us talking. In any conversation with our friends, if we were the only ones who talked. It could be very one sided, only hearing the opinions of one person rather than having a dialogue to see if God has a suggestion on the matter. Therefore we try to listen to God’s opinion.

Prayer will always be a work in progress. One week might be better than the other. But we need to make time for both personal and corporate prayer. It helps build us up. It encourages, challenges, humbles, leads, equips and helps us press on through the tough times. Prayer is something we all need; young, old, rich and poor alike. Prayer is the one common thing that we all have to connect to God. Music, preaching and opininions might drive us apart but prayer is what brings us together.

so that was the newsletter article, tune in later for some more articles on the idea of prayer and the conclusion of what and where jenny and i are going to end up in the next phase of our life.

about time

it has finally been brought to the boards attention that i will be leaving greenville first wesleyan as of the end of july. they of course were really supportive and said that we need to follow God's leading wherever that might take us. well this weekend it is taking us to central new york. not really my first choice on location, but it really does seem to be the right place. jenny and i will be interviewing for a youth pastor position at pulaski wesleyan church (about 30 miles north of syracuse.) jenny has actually been to the church before when she was on a summer travel team with iwu. she enjoyed the church and was able to stay with a family on lake ontario with jet ski's and a boat. i think if we end up going to this church this family would quickly be on my hang out list.
to top that i have virtually known the senior pastor my whole life. he was my parents pastor before i was born and they have stayed in a somewhat consistent connection with him throughout the years.
after only a year and a half here (it seems longer) i am ready to leave and put this church behind me. i will miss the teens, young adults and the youth pastors from the district. i love the city of greenville. i will not miss the summer heat. as this new challenge unfolds before us of finding a place for ministry i realize that i am somewhat intimidated about what God might ask us to do. to leave a place where we have been so accustomed and move to a place where we know so little. i have always been a guy that likes to try new things. now i guess i might try new york.

in memory of...

this is a blog on many different thoughts that i had, and things this past week. it might be a little choppy but it is not ment to be one continuous story with a lot of details.

this past sunday afternoon i received a phone call that i had been expecting for quite some time. my grandfather had passed away. despite the possibility that it might happen, it did not take away the shock that i felt. i thought i knew how i would handle it but all i could do was sit and think about papa.

i have always been close to papa. we have may shared stories of fishing, playing, riding the tractor and being in his garden. when i was younger i would go weeks at a time to go visit papa and gram. it was always a time that i looked forward to.

we took the flight to maine which was longer than anticipated (and by the way there are no more benevolent prices for airplane tickets) but we finally arrived at my grams house at 11:30pm. my gram was already asleep so talking to her would have to wait for tomorrow.

the next morning it seemed that everyone was in relatively good moods talking about what would take place that day with viewing hours and a meeting with the pastor.

we planned a service with the pastor as well as told stories of papa's life. it was good to here some stories of him that i have never heard before. one of which showed his prankster mentality. he put a plastic fly in someone's oatmeal. it got me thinking about how funny my grandfather was. he was always telling some sort of joke or pulling some sort of prank. the service would be full of music, mini-homily (given by me,) a special moments (an open mike) and a message by the pastor.

the first time i viewed my grandfather. all i could think is that it looked nothing like him. there was something missing. and then i figured of course there is a lot missing. it might be flesh but what makes the human is the soul and it was no longer with him. of course he looks different.
the viewing that day led to comments about papa like:

"he was a good man"
"at church every time the door opened"
"spiritual wisdom"
"love for people"

but the biggest comment of the day was how much of a jokester my papa was.

the next day at the funeral i spoke shortly on how overjoyed the disciples were when they saw the resurrected Christ. when they saw his scars and how overjoyed papa must be at that moment.

my favorite moment though were the special moments. people told different stories about papa. one of them was my mom's roomate in college. she talked about being a new christian when she went to the univ of maine at farmington and how much of an influence "boots" was on her in her early walk.

"boots" is a nickname my father earned when he used to play soccer with the boys ministry at his church. he wore his steel toe work boots and bruised many a shins playing the game.

other stories talked about clam digging, how he was more than a friend... he was a buddy, how meghann (one of my cousins) would never fall asleep in his parents arms but could in papa's, his dedication, his friends and falling asleep in a middle of a lake while taking (jed) another cousin fishing.

we then drove to the graveside funeral which is a story in itself because papa went there in a casket only later to be moved to be cremated. the pastor here said something i really like. "everything mortal of ernest would be buried." this goes back to the idea that i stated earlier no soul to be buried.

later the american flag was presented to my grandma. i wondered why this was because my papa never served. not that he didnt want to though. he really wanted to but he had a bad heart so was never accepted into the military. i thought that this was a good gesture by my uncle who spent 20 years in the navy. because at times papa would talk about how he wished he could have served with his friends.

as we got back in the van the song on the radio was todd agnews version of amazing grace. it was really quite fitting for the moment. just like the whole week. it was nice to be able to mourn, cope and eventually celebrate the life that papa lived and the life that he is now experiencing in the presence of Jesus.

taxes and death

some people say the only two things you will never escape are death and taxes. unlike taxes death happens everyday. today i received word from my parents that my grandfather has died. this being my first close family member who has died it truly is an interesting situation. i have never experienced this before. but my thoughts are not taken to me losing a grandfather but a wife losing a husband and a daughter losing a father. it has to hurt them much more than it hurts me. my grandparents had been married for 53 years. and my mother is 47. i am only 24.

my grandfather was a great man. he was the quiet silent type. not the in your face military sargeant but the laid back surfer type. he was the most laid back guy, who would sit and go with the flow. one time my sister put a head band on him decorated with 20 or so barettes. my greatest memories are of him and i fishing or on the tractor. when jenny and i were married last summer he was the one skipping out of the church. he was also the one dancing the ymca. he might of been old but he was full of life right up to the end.

the past 2-3 weeks he has been visited by a hospice nurse and could only get around with a wheel chair. i loved that man. he was the kindest most gentlest man that i have ever had the chance to know. it is sad to see him go. but i realize he is not suffering any longer. he is in a much better place. it will be hard for my grandmother how could it not be after seeing the same person every day for 53 years. i can only compare that to the ten months jenny and i have been married. my thoughts are with grandma as she deals with this. please pray for my family.

survived by a wife. two daughters. five grandchildren. earnest cook lived a life of love.

goodbye papa, enjoy God

camp

you know summer has arrived when it is time for sc district camp. camps start as early as possible around here. the last of the schools finished the 04-05 school year just this past wednesday. and this monday approximately 100 jr highers will be at table rock wesleyan campground to enjoy everything there is at camp.

i personally love camp. everything about it. when i was younger it was something different, get out of the house and be able to hang out with friends for a full week. and all that stuff about God was good too.

now that i am older. i still love camp. it is the thing that i look forward to the full year of youth ministry. what really is youth ministry without camp? the teens do not get the much needed mountain top experience. not to take away from the weekly youth meeting but there is something that brings out the teens emotion, spirit and joy with spending a week in a different place, with different people, hearing a different speaker.

did i mention i love camp. it is obviously for different reasons then when i was younger but not to far off. i love seeing teens excited. i still love the games, in fact one thing we do at sc camp is counselors vs campers basketball. in a way i feel bad for the campers (especially the jr high, they are to young) but i love to beat them so much. in the many years that they have had these basketball games the counselors are unbeaten. i want to say 48-0 but i am not positive. i love being a counselor. it is actually part of my job description with the church that i pastor at. i get paid to go to camp. what an awesome thing. when some of the counselors actually use their vacation to go to camp, i get paid to go to camp. three weeks of it.

camp is fun for other reasons like the poker games that start at midnight, the idea of not having to cook or do dishes for a full week, climbing the mountain, swimming, playing sports, oh and did i mention that our camp has a water slide! i leave sunday after the pm service for camp.

the only downside to camp is that this is my first year being married so i will have to spend a week away from jenny as she will have to work. someone has to bring home the bacon. i will see her on wednesday night of camp as she and some other sponsors will bring teens to the service. but it will be ok, why because i love camp.

letting down others part 3

james 3:1 "not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will be judged more strictly."

last week i focused on different people in the ministry, whom i have seen fall. some of them i know personally. others i only recognize the name. these people were held to higher standards because of the positions that each of them held. each of them were teachers in their own way whether they were a prof, pastor or denominational official. we as humans look up to them. they are highly regarded because of what they have been able to accomplish in their daily task of life.

what i want to refer to in the rest of this article is why they are held so highly.

they are people in positions that people look up to them. and when one looks up to you, you are able to influence them. this influence will not only affect their lives but also the lives that these others come into contact with.

i am a youth pastor, so between 1 and 3 times a week i will speak to different people. i enjoy this time where i can challenge people to think out their views and also demonstrate my own. if i use this to speak my own personal opinions, preach heresy of some sort and through this one of my teens falls or it hinders their own walk than i am the one at fault. in james 3 where i took this passage we are influencers because of the words that we speak. we are able to help steer them with like bits with a horse or a rudder from a ship. our tongues are so small but effectively influence those around us.

1 Corinthians 10:32-33a "do not cause any one to stumble... even as i try to please everybody in every way"

i hope most of you have read this verse. this verse shows the freedom that we have when we are a believer in Christ. He allows us to do and get away with a lot of different things. but one with influence is put in more situations where he can stumble and therefore cause others to stumble as well. when we as teachers of the law only speak the word and then do not act on them someone is bound to find out and might stumble because of our actions.

paul continues to write in the following verse 34 to "follow my example, as i follow the example of Christ." unfortunately pastors fall and their influence on other people will effect those that look up to them because they have followed the pastors example. the interesting thing is that there can be times in a pastors life where they are not following Christ the way they should.

i wonder if for these reasons that pastors, teachers, etc. because of their influence if they are not attacked more by satan than the christians not involved in full time ministry. just a thought.
we need to check ourselves. we need to have times for accountability and continue our own relationship with Christ. most who have fallen have let these three things slide. we will be attacked more, tempted more, and therefore have more chances to fall. however there are many reasons why we need to continue perservering. one of them being not to let others down there by hindering their relationship with Christ. and even though we will be tempted there will always be a way out of that temptation. 1 Cor 10:13

letting people down part 2

previously i wrote about not wanting to let other people down. i think that is a part of us all. we want to please people and make them happy but for the most part we do not want them to be dissapointed in us. we want to live up to the potential that we have but at the same time we dont want to hurt another person.

it is inevitable though that we will let people down from time to time. and in reality we will be let down by people around us.

i have been let down a few times by different people but i want to dedicate this blog to those in the ministry that have let myself or others down in the past.

1. i had this youth pastor once who left our church to become a senior pastor. this didnt hurt but about a year later i found out his wife and him were going through a divorce. i lost track of him.

2. my first youth camp was one of my most memorable speakers of my life. about 4 years later he had an affair with a student. i believe this man is now a janitor.

3. my freshman year of college. the senior pastor of a church right beside the campus had an affair with one of the congregants. last i knew he was selling cars

4. my senior year of college. the associate pastor at the church i was attending had an affair with one of the congregants. also selling cars.

5. also senior year. denominational figure somewhat close to my father growing up was caught misusing funds.

6. also senior year. yet another denominational leader was caught in fbi sting operation meeting up with what he thought would be a 13 year old.

i only had a personal relationship with half of these people. and i want to stress that i am not positive that by these persons moral failures that they let me down personally. why? well i am not positive how many times the devil has tempted them in all of their own circumstances. i also dont how how hard the devil pursued them to get them to fall. i also do not know what i would do in their situation.

i am however disappointed in the idea that some of these people were unrepentive.

i am also disappointed by the concept that only one of these people received help from our denomination to eventually gp back into the ministry. maybe these people didnt ask or even want help but i want these people to know that they are appreciated no matter what they have done in the past.

by my observations i think it is more acceptable for someone who does not claim to be a christian. lives a life of sin, theft, drugs, etc and then commits his life to Christ and turns around and then feels a call to the ministry. we need to accept them so the can reach people that we are unable to reach. but why is it to accept someone who was a pastor or another denominational figure who has fallen back into the ministry. this is something that has been on my mind lately what do you think? grace, grace God's grace. grace that will pardon and cleanse our sins.

a new challenge for two as well as for you

i am what you might say a huge music fan. out of a desire to have a bass guitar in our worship band (our regular left for the summer, he is a swu student) and i wanted to learn something new. so i decided to learn an instrument. i bought a fender precision bass (the standard model) it has been fun and challenging the past couple weeks to learn something new as well as stretch the mind. of course i still have a long way to go on learning an instrument.

my mother in law also just started to take violin lessons. you got to give her props for that. i think people get to content with their knowledge and their ability in certain areas. it is nice to be able to stretch yourself for a change,

so i challenge you to find something new, something different that you have never been able to do and have some fun doing it.

letting people down part 1

i am eventually going to leave greenville. it definately will not be today but down the road within the next few months it will be inevitable that jenny and i will pack up the stuff in our two bedroom apartment to move on to our next appointment.
but what hurts most about is the people that will be hurt, saddened and missed. i think for me that is one of the hardest things about leaving a church. the idea that you might be letting someone down. i know i cant live life always wondering what people will think about one of my decisions and how that will effect them in the direct or even distant future. it happens, we consider the feelings of others. it is apart of human nature to want to win approval of your peers, to make people happy and not to have anybody affected by your decisions.
we have all been let down by someone in our lives. it will happen. i have been let down by other pastors, my parents, my wife, my friends. it will happen. but when i have been let down it has eventually made me stronger, wiser, hopeful and willing.
what is best for God needs to be considered. if you are letting someone down when God's best is at hand then it will all be worked out.

they will know we are christians...

the old hymn that was infrequently heard the past has been brought up into christian music once again. it can be heard on the new jars of clay cd. i also heard it at the audio a concert the other day. i like the song. people should know that we are christians by our love. we should be the most loving people on the face of the earth. i think christians can and do love really well. however, i think some of the people whom love best are not even christians.

the past few months with the tsunami i have seen people come together and help aid those areas affected. christians and non christians alike have stepped up to take care of those who could not help themselves. in this way i think the world is starting to unite in ways that have never been seen before. we focus on all the wars, the poverty, hunger rather than the good that is going on.

last night jenny and i watched "about schmidt" i love jack nicholson. the movie is about a guy who just retired, his wife suddenly dies and jack sponsors one of those children overseas. he writes to this child about all his life's problems. i wonder how many different places you can sponsor these children and how many childrens lives have been affected because of the money that comes in.

i am not sure what all of you are involved in, if you give money for a sponsored child in india, serve at a soup kitchen or even rake leaves for your next door neighbor. actively pursue a life of love. the book of james challenges us, jesus commanded us, now it is up to us.